Exploring the perception of healthy human infants

Sensory integration helps babies improve their ability to face the world! Is "sensory integration" really that magical? Let many toys and potential development courses advertise as "promoting the development of sensory integration" How important is sensory integration? It is closely related to every feeling and every action in the daily life of infants and young children, and it deeply affects children's ability to face the external environment! This paper introduces parents to sensory integration, including seven senses: touch, vestibule, proprioception, sight, hearing, taste and smell, and provides some sensory integration activities that can be carried out at home, which not only grasps the key to the baby's early development, but also accompanies the baby to grow up healthily and happily! Don't read or listen to the articles on sensory integration development! Zhang Jun, a functional therapist in Ankang Children's Development Center of Geng Xin Hospital, said that sensory integration is very important for children! A baby's brain is like a super "computer" for sensory processing. Children will learn and understand themselves and the external environment by developing actions and feelings. Only children with good sensory integration ability can correctly and quickly perform some "feelings and actions" in daily life. Therefore, if the development of sensory integration is fully established, we can face the constant changes and challenges of the outside world independently in the future.

Touch: Do you know the baby's first language? The baby has a touch in mommy's stomach! Touch is considered to be the most important thing. It can help the baby to establish relationships with others and explore the external environment. Therefore, before the baby can speak, the interaction with others and the environment depends on touch.

According to Zhang Junli's occupational therapist, the most common thing in clinic is that the baby began to learn to crawl in 7 or 8 months, and the nurse only asked him to bring a walker and had no chance to practice crawling. At this time, the child's hands may be "too sensitive", such as: the baby's hands are afraid of touching things and sand; In fact, these behaviors of the baby are not afraid of being dirty, but because they feel "uncomfortable", so they are rejected! In addition, if the baby's skin contacts with different materials too little, it is easy to become very sensitive. In the process of growing up, there may be behaviors such as playing with things on your hands and around you, and even grabbing girls' hair.

Vestibular sense: sense of balance, spatial relationship and attention vestibular sense mainly manage sense of balance, spatial concept and attention, such as spatial movement up and down by elevator. Dad can imagine better than mom: we usually look at pictures, and no matter how our heads move, the pictures can be positive and remain stable! Children with immature vestibules feel like "reading in a moving car".

When I go to school in the future, something will happen. For example, children feel that the blackboard is crooked, or they have been unable to concentrate, which will affect the concentration in class and affect the impression of teachers or classmates on children.

What is immature vestibular sensation? The baby's attention to one thing is too short: for example, the speed of changing toys is too fast, and the baby's head is always biased to one side; Older children, such as those who like to climb up and down repeatedly, or in class, always notice that they are distracted by not sitting up straight. These behaviors may be related to vestibular sensory immaturity.

Little supplement: Babies with cerebral palsy or Down syndrome usually climb when they are over one year old or two years old. When they grow up, their concept of space is not as good as that of ordinary children.

Help your baby's "vestibular sense" develop better! Zhang Junheng's functional therapist said that in fact, as long as the head moves, it will go to the vestibule. Therefore, it is suggested that when the baby is 0~2 years old, dad can take it to the park and play on the beach by the sea. Helping children climb and explore the environment in a safe environment, such as kneeling, standing, turning, squatting, etc., is helpful to the development of vestibular sensation!

The development opportunity of "vestibular sensation": the baby will start to turn over and lie down when he is 4-6 months old, and begin to practice the ability of sitting and crawling when he is older. At this stage, the baby will begin to have the spatial concept of "up, down, left and right". At this time, the baby can explore the environment and contribute to the development of vestibular sensation!

Sensory integration helps babies improve their ability to face the world! Hearing: the response to sound. The baby has already remembered sounds and reactions in the fetal period! Parents can help their children develop their hearing by talking to them or using beautiful melodies. In the case of normal hearing, the following phenomena can help parents observe whether their children's hearing perception is abnormal:

1 Over-sensitivity: When the environment is noisy, you will scream for no reason and cover your ears to escape from the environment.

2 * * * hearing constantly: I often * * my organs, such as singing and talking, keep talking to myself.

3 Less response to the environment: calling the baby's name, or "jumping" or something (loudly), but there is no response.

Development of hearing;

age

Development characteristics

Three months old

I began to change my expression to my parents' voice.

Five months old

You can say that dad's voice is better than mom's.

6 months old

There will be a reaction when the name is called.

1 year to 1 year and a half.

Understand simple instructions, such as "come" and "sit"

1 year and a half to 2 years old

Can understand two or three simple words and hum some children's songs.

Sensory integration helps babies improve their ability to face the world! Taste: It will affect children's expressive ability. Taste will affect children's "language ability development". Functional therapists in Zhang Jun say that the taste of the mouth is very important for the development of children's chewing ability. For example, caregivers overprotect babies, but when they should bite hard things, they still paste into mud. Although it is out of intimacy, it may cause the baby's mouth to have no strength, so that the tongue will not lick everywhere in the mouth, nor will it lick the lips up and down, thus affecting the child's pronunciation and expression ability.

The development of taste:

age

Development characteristics

neonatus

The act of sucking.

1 to 3 months old

Can distinguish different tastes, such as sweet and sour.

Three months old

I like to learn and feel things with my tongue. I like to put my toys in my mouth.

4 to 6 months old

Will have an obvious reaction to the taste they don't like, showing love or rejection.

7 to 12 months

The baby's acceptance of taste has widened, and he has learned to accept various tastes.

Sensory integration helps babies improve their ability to face the world! Why is sensory integration abnormal? Abnormal sensory integration is mainly divided into congenital inheritance and acquired influence. The former, such as congenital disorder; The latter includes many factors. For example, a functional therapist in Zhang Jun experienced a baby who was born with mental retardation and abnormal sensory perception, but neither of his parents had genetic diseases. Later, it was discovered that it was caused by mother taking cold medicine in early pregnancy. In addition, children who are injured by lack of oxygen during their brain development, such as cerebral palsy, usually have sensory integration problems.

Other possible factors are as follows:

1, environmental toxins: environmental toxins such as plasticizers, pesticide residues, and eating waste oil by mistake.

2, premature baby: living in an incubator for a long time, no one touched him, touched too little.

3, placenta previa: the position of the placenta is too low, the fetal position is not so positive. (an unchangeable factor)

4, lack of exercise during pregnancy: mother does not exercise much during pregnancy, and the fetus does not get enough.

5, sensory deprivation: foreign * * *, the baby's activity space is too small, or there are too few imitation objects.

When is the best time to treat sensory integration disorder? According to Zhang Jun's occupational therapist, the best treatment time is generally 4 to 12 years old, because in the process of evaluation, children need to have better cognitive ability, while children over 4 years old have better understanding and more mature sensory organs, so they are more suitable for evaluation. Of course, there are some exceptions. For example, we often receive cases of special children in clinic: if children who have experienced cerebral palsy are over 2 years old, they will find that they have sensory problems.

How is abnormal sensory integration evaluated? Doctors will first observe children's behavior, emotional disorders, school reactions or attention problems. If the doctor suspects that the child has abnormal sensory integration, he will refer it to a functional therapist for professional evaluation. Occupational therapists mainly use evaluation tools such as record forms or scales for in-depth evaluation, rather than "watching" or filling out questionnaires for parents to determine whether children have sensory problems.

What is the difference between sensory integration training and sensory integration course? Sensory integration course can only be regarded as children's development in the form of activities and games, while sensory integration training can only be evaluated by functional therapists. Zhang Junheng, an occupational therapist, said that sensory training is a dangerous thing. For example, children with abnormal brain structure should avoid "jumping up and down" activities, such as jumping out of bed. Such activities may cause epilepsy in children, but non-medical personnel may not know it. Therefore, occupational therapists will evaluate and record the taboos of different children, and then help them improve.

Play with your baby and let your child grow up healthily! Zhang Junli's occupational therapist suggested that spending an hour with children every day, taking them to the park for a walk, doing sports, or playing games and telling pictures at home will help the baby's development. The case evaluated by the functional department is that parents think that the hospital's evaluation standard for children is too high, and he thinks that it is good for children to grow up happily. It is important to grow up happily, but it is also important to help children grow up healthily, and "accompanying children" is the best way. Most sensory problems can be prevented unless they are caused by congenital factors.

When the baby is still young, if you give it a proper * * *, will it be less easy to feel abnormal? If it is an acquired factor, parents can help their baby through some small activities, which can of course make the sensory integration develop better. But besides the right * * *, it is more important to "give the right * * *"! Zhang Junheng's functional therapist said that it would be more effective to consult a functional therapist if there are some places that parents can't practice. For example, the baby will cry all the time, but it doesn't stop crying after a few more hugs. Instead, it is suggested that parents can use a bath brush or a bath ball to help their baby gently brush his back, which can improve this situation.

Sensory integration helps babies improve their ability to face the world! I feel that unity and practice are more important than winning at the starting point!

Sensory integration activities suitable for 0~2 year old babies at home;

Love children 1: taste the jam at the activity stand.

Apply jam around the baby's face and next to his mouth (mainly within the range that the baby can lick), so that the baby can lick it with his tongue to help the baby improve his tongue movement.

Love children 2: a simple pairing game of visual activities

Simple matching activities, such as holding red blocks, letting children hold red blocks, or matching the shapes of other common fruits and animals in daily life, can help children practice visual memory.

* Intimate reminder: This game is based on the premise that children can understand the rules.

Love children 3: proprioception activities push small boxes

Choosing a small box of moderate size that children can push and letting children practice the action of "forcing" can help children understand body perception and promote the development of coarse movements.

Love children 4: vestibular sensory activity ball, therapeutic ball

Let the child sit on it, and the parents hold the baby's waist and gently shake it up and down, left and right or clockwise.

* Intimate reminder/This activity should be carried out gently on the premise that the baby is happy. This activity is not recommended if the baby's bones are not fully developed or show fear or crying behavior.

Love children 5: tactile activity 1. Baby * * *

Gently lift the baby's arm, gently hold the baby's palm with one hand, gently hold the arm with the other hand, and gently press and rotate from the arm to the palm to help the baby feel deep pressure.

2. Doudou Box

In a safe space, prepare a small box, put different beans in the small box, and let the baby feel the touch of different beans, which can help the child's touch development.

3. Tactile book

Give your baby picture books of different materials, such as cloth books and touch books, to help your baby experience different tactile sensations and improve the "tactile" discrimination ability of your baby's hands.

* Intimate reminder/suggestion: Give your baby a book at a time. If you choose too much, it may distract your child and have a counterproductive effect.

4. Bath brush

Choose a bath brush with soft bristles. When the baby is taking a bath, use a bath brush to "follow the brush from top to bottom" on the baby's limbs. On the belly, it is "gently brushing from bottom to top, all the way to the chest", giving the child a proper sense of touch.

Warm embrace

After taking a bath, wrap the baby's whole body with a soft bath towel, hold it tightly with "appropriate strength" through the towel, and then let it go slowly, which can help the baby's tactile development.

* Intimate reminder/Dad must avoid covering the baby's head than Mommy, so as to avoid the stuffy nose and mouth and cause discomfort to the baby.

Experience nature

If the baby is older, you can take the child to the seaside, beach or grassland to experience nature, such as walking on stones and sand with different tactile sensations, giving the child a more realistic tactile sensation.

7. Explore the environment

In a safe space at home, encourage your baby to explore the environment more, and "climb more and touch more" with the company of your family, so that your baby can feel the touch of different household items and furniture. In addition, parents should always pay attention to the health and safety of their children, especially those who just walk, to avoid falling.

Zhang Education: Fu Jen Catholic University Experience: Korea Intellectual Sensory Integration Potential Development Institute, Banqiao Daxin Rehabilitation Clinic Current position: Ankang Child Development Center, functional therapist of Xindian Gengshen Hospital.