How do you know how to move your foot from the gas pedal to the break without looking down while driving? How do you know how much force to use when picking up a glass of water from the table? Your body’s proprioceptive system guides these movements! The proprioceptive system is an “invisible” sensory system located within our muscles and joints. It is activated with traction, compression, pushing, and pulling. It not only guides the amount of force we use when we move, but it also guides our movements without the use of our vision system. This sensory system helps us to have body awareness (understanding where your body is in space) and spatial awareness (understanding and interacting with the environment around you).
Are there any signs that my child’s proprioceptive system isn’t processing information efficiently?
- Poor coordination
- Heavy writing pressure or too much force used on tools
- Bumps into people, furniture or walls
- Driven to seek activities that involve pushing or pulling
- Chews on toys or clothes more than other children
What can I do to help?
- Review and identify body parts to help teach body awareness
- Incorporate heavy work activities such as pushing and pulling weighted objects
- Environmental modifications such as a designated place to sit or stand
- Use a chewy necklace as an alternative option in order to fulfill need to chew
Check out the video below (that was made for our Tuesday’s Talks, Tips, & Tricks series – follow us unsocial media or subscribe to our mailing list to follow along) on Proprioception! Keep your eye on this blog as we continue to add more information and ideas to try at home!
