Interception: What is it, and why is it
important to learning, and sensory processing?
By Lea Altea Winnen November
5, 2024
When learning about the body’s sensory systems, we know there
are five senses: sight, touch, smell, hearing, and taste. It keeps things simple and to the point, but
in reality, there are 8 senses: visual (sight), gustatory (taste), olfactory
(smell), tactile (touch), Auditory (hearing), vestibular (sense of your head in
space), proprioceptive (sense of your limbs in space), and interoception. The focus of this article will be on interoception,
what it is, how it works, and why it is important. Interoception is signals
within the body communicating with other parts of the body. It's your body signaling that it needs to
pee, eat, sleep, and experience pain, fear, hunger, etc. According to Harvard Medical Magazine in the
article, “Making Sense of Interception” it states, “…interception processes
information from the heart, gut, lungs, and more as our internal organs interact
with the brain.” This information keeps
our bodies in balance and interacting cohesively. The article goes on to address how we [society]
know almost nothing about how these interactions happen on a metabolic and
cellular level. Also, the evidence
demonstrates that it could be the link between such conditions as “…anxiety,
eating disorders, addiction, and chronic pain.” In the article, It covers a study done in the
1980s by Rainer Schandry, a psychologist.
The study had participants try and count their heartbeats without taking
their pulse. It was found that people
with conditions like anxiety were more accurate on the count than individuals
with conditions, such as eating disorders and autism. But the Harvard Medical Magazine article also
goes on to explain, that interaction is much more than an individual’s ability
to count heartbeats. The vast
connectivity of our internal structures and how it communicate with each
other and the brain has opened huge opportunities for study in the neurological
sciences. Scientists are beginning to
map out the connections between structures within the body, particularly, the
Vagus nervous system and the brain through a vast interconnective highway.
Why is this important?
How our bodies communicate within ourselves determines how we interact
with our external selves. If someone is
experiencing chronic pain and doctors cannot figure out what could cause such issues,
then it may point to the body and brain connections. It gives the medical sciences different ways to
address imbalances, disorders, and illnesses within. Could there be a malfunction in the vast interconnective
highway between our bodies and our brains? For our kiddos and students who have
conditions, like ASD, ADHD, or other sensory issues, It can give us insight
into other techniques and innovative ways to address these issues within the
academic and home environments. It opens
up an understanding of how to meet these challenges for these individuals. For
example, a student may not realize they need to go to the bathroom when they
are engaged in a task they enjoy and have frequent accidents. Helping that student engage with their
interception within themselves, can increase their attention to these moments
and decrease accidents.
The Havard Medical Magazine article went on to talk about
how Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or CBT, and other mindfulness-based practices
were being used to assist individuals in finding the right balance between over-listening
or under-listening to their internal connective biological dialog. Because this is a new frontier in the medical
sciences, many different frameworks can be used to explore the needs of our
children and students, with special conditions.
Such as Children who have a difficult time sitting still at a desk,
table, or on the floor and paying attention could benefit from these innovative
techniques and strategies. Such as using a wiggle disc or yoga/ exercise ball
to feed their internal need for sensory input to move. If they fidget and tap their fingers, other
sensory interventions can be used to help occupy their hands. Students who wander the room can be given
specialty sensory tools or tasks to help keep them in their seats or be given a
location within the classroom to decrease the impact on other students’
learning.
One consideration to bring into focus is to increase the
teachers, staff, and parents' understanding of why students with special needs
may need these sensory interventions.
Many times, these students’ sensory needs are not understood, and
therefore teachers, staff, and parents interact with inappropriate strategies
or discipline in an attempt to counter the particularly disruptive behaviors,
such as limiting outside recess or having the child sit on a hard cement floor
outside the classroom doorway. Both
these methods are counteractive to the needs of that child, decrease their level
of engagement/ learning, and increase their anxiety/ body-brain connection,
and willingness for participation within the classroom’s social setting.
By encouraging an understanding among parents, family
members, teachers, staff, and other individuals who may be interacting with
such students and why its important to that student’s learning could improve
not only the student’s relationship with other students and, staff but also
increase their ability to want to engage in an active learning environment in a
positive way.
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