What is the tactile system?
The tactile system allows us to explore and understand our surroundings through touch. We touch many things throughout our day: brushing
crumbs off our hands, combing our child's hair, helping grandma or grandpa put
on clothes, giving hugs, eating food, doing homework, playing in the ocean, and
more. When we have trouble with our tactile system it can create challenges not only in our lives but family and friends lives as well. Here are some examples:
Over responsive (hypersensitive)
-doesn't like to be touched
-doesn't like certain textures like tags in clothing, shoes on feet, gloves on hands
-Doesn't like to eat certain foods
-Doesn't like teeth to be brushed or nails to be cut
-doesn't like water getting on their face when hair is being washed
-dosen't like to get dirty; very quick to clean themselves
-Doesn't like crowds and does not want to get too close to people
-Walks on tip toes
Under responsive:
-Always touching people or items
-trouble identifying objects with fingers only (stereognosis)
-trouble with distinguishing hot vs cold
-Poor safety awareness
-may get injured easily
-May not know that they are in pain and hurt
-may have difficulty holding onto pencils, scissors, etc
-difficulty putting on gloves
Some activities that you can try:
-One of the most popular things to do is play in a sensory bin, which is usually filled with rice or beans and other goodies like favorite animals, toy characters, play utensils, cups, bowels, balls, anything you think of.
-messy play with paint, slime, yogurt, jello, etc. Have fun at your own risk.
-create a vegetable or flower garden
-let your kids help out with cooking. homemade bread anyone?
you can also try limiting how much they are exposed to unwanted touch.
For example:
- if clothing tags cause a meltdown, is it really necessary to keep it in the clothes?
-If Hair washing is an issue because they don’t like their face to get wet, try a visor.
-have wet wipes available if you know they will go into a tantrum if their face isn't clean.
-instead of using their hands to play in the sandbox, how about a stick, toy truck, or barbie doll?
Slowly exposing your child to different textures may help them to enjoy and love to touch a variety of things. Remember, play with different
textures but never use force. For someone with sensory sensitivities baby steps
win the race.
As always, I hope that this helps and bless you in some way.
Disclaimer:
Though I am an occupational therapist, I am not your occupational therapist. The information that I provide is for general education purposes only. If you find that you or your child needs any help, seek out a trained provider and work in partnership with them.
