Sensory Processing

Sight (eyesight)
The dominant sense. Approximately 80% of information enters the brain through the visual pathway.

Hearing (audition)
This is the second most dominant sense and the most sensitive, processing a broad range of sounds. Also assists in balance.

Touch (tactition)
Originating in the bottom layer of the dermis, touch sends signals from every part of the body to the brain, greatly impacting learning.

Taste (gustation)
A “chemical” sense. Detects sweet, sour, salt, and bitter.

Smell (olfaction)
The other chemical sense. Olfactory receptors detect odor molecules.

THE OTHER SENSES

Vestibular (equilibrioception)
Often called the “sixth sense,” the vestibular system impacts your balance and spatial orientation (movement, direction, acceleration).

Proprioception (kinesthetia)
This sense provides the brain with information on the position of the one’s own body parts.

Pain (nociception)
Integrates with every other sense, sending signals to the brain to alter behavior to alleviate the pain.

There is disagreement among neurologists as to the number of senses and their definition, although we are commonly taught there are five. We have listed vestibular, proprioception, and pain as they frequently integrate with the traditional five and our audience of educators and therapists regularly work to improve these specific additional senses. There are several more and we will join you in further study of the brain and sensory integration as more courses are added to this site.

A Symptomatic Diagnosis?

Many learning problems, such as ADHD and dyslexia, are commonly diagnosed based on observable symptoms alone. Because visual, auditory, and other sensory processing deficits have many of the exact same symptoms, students are often misdiagnosed with a permanent learning disability. While that diagnosis may be accurate, it is worth working backward to determine if a particular sensory skill problem is present. Discovering a hidden processing problem that can be addressed is at the heart of early intervention. Educators and parents who take our courses tell us they learned answers to their most difficult questions about certain students – “Why aren’t they learning?” and “What am I missing?”

Adult Literacy

Site training for organizations that work with adults includes additional materials and tools that engage the adult learner in the vision skill development process. Organizational structure and weekly face-time with the learner are also taken into account when implementing the Vision and Learning program.

As an Educator or Therapist, Do You:

• work with bright people who genuinely try, but have little success?
• have students whose learning problems remain a mystery, despite prior interventions?
• notice visual issues such as skipping lines, reversing letters, eye strain, extra blinking?
• have students who consistently avoid near-point work?
• know good readers who will not read for long or do not remember what they read?
• question an ADD or ADHD diagnosis because it doesn’t seem to fit?

These courses have answers.

How Will You Know?

For someone struggling to read and learn we should be asking whether the eyes can track smoothly and accurately on a line of print. Are visual discrimination, figure-ground, visual memory and other perceptual skills developed sufficiently to quickly perceive and remember visual information? Do we know what the student experiences while learning?