Swings & Sensory Integration
Vestibular, the sense of Balance.
Our nervous system is made up of many different sensory systems and making sense of all that information requires balance. Jean Ayres, the founder of sensory integration theory, suggested that the same balance processes we use to stay upright are used to organise our senses. In practice, this means that stimulating our sense of balance improves our ability to filter out noise and focus on the signal. Disabilities might require specialised equipment to overcome obstacles to play, for it is in play, rolling, wrestling and gambolling that all creatures best stimulate the vestibular.
Categories within Swings & Sensory Integration
Balance
The visible expression of vestibular function.
Spatial Awareness
Spatial awareness draws on vestibular, proprioceptive, and visual systems working together
Gravitational Security
Ayres' term for the sense of safety and stability that a well-functioning vestibular system provides. Gravitational insecurity is a powerfully motivating force.
Movement Seeking and Motion Sensitivity
Under and over sensitive ends of the spectrum.
Rhythmic Movement
Predictable movement is organising for the nervous system, long understood, rockabye baby.
Spinning
Intensely stimulating. Spinning and swinging (and bouncing) stimulate different parts of the vestibular system, at different intensities, with different effects. Play can hurt, but that is never its intention, please use these tools… carefully, especially spinning.
Vestibular Input and Sensory Integration
Beyond the visible the Vestibular is busy balancing the whole sensory system. The brain must prioritise, filter irrelevancies out and pay attention, this is sensory integration, and the vestibular system is central to it.
Sensory Integration
The brain's ability to organise information from multiple senses simultaneously. Vestibular stimulation is the most powerful way to support sensory integration.