Sensory-Motor Development

Consider how important our 5 senses are to success in school. The sense of hearing must be just right. Too hypersensitive, and the child looks like she has ADHD, as she notices every little sound including the buzz of the lights, the squeak of a chair, or the drop of a pencil. It isn’t that she doesn’t pay attention to the teacher, it’s because she pays attention to everything. On the other hand, if the sense of hearing is not sensitive enough, from many ear infections perhaps, a child may not process what is heard well at all. After one of my students finished Listening Therapy, she said that she could understand her teacher for the first time! We just don’t know what another person actually hears.

Vision is much more than seeing clearly. When a doctor has you look at a chart 20 feet away, the only thing tested here is ability to see at a distance. Everyone should have a full vision assessment every two years. It should include a test for acuity, tracking (to read smoothly across the page and line to line) and convergence (to quickly refocus near to far and back again) among other tests. I was once speaking to a 12 year old boy who had worn glasses since he was 4. One of his eyes moved away from looking at me while the other stayed focused on me. I asked him if he saw double-vision, and he replied, “Yes, doesn’t everyone?” We simply do not know what others see and hear, and not all professionals are trained to ask the right questions.

When we write with a pencil or pen, it is generally thought that we are only using fine motor muscles, when it is necessary to correctly build our gross motor system first, so the fine motor system works correctly. Movement is integral to full development. Part of being able to use our large motor system well is a well-developed sense of balance and the usage of our proprioceptive sense – the internal detection and coordination of muscles and joints. In order to comfortably sit still in a chair for a period of time, these two additional senses must be working.

The sensory-motor system

The sensory-motor system is created in utero and refined during the stages of development. While a child could be successful in vision therapy without completing neuro-development, I have seen greater improvements in less time with less stress by working the Pyramid from the base to the top.

The PYRAMID OF POTENTIAL DVD SERIES includes exercises to strengthen auditory and visual senses as well as development of balance, proprioception, and motor skills.