Proprioception and interoception

Sensory integration

﻿In today's lesson, we are going to learn about two really long words called proprioception and interoception. So, we have already looked a little bit at proprioception, which is our power sense, our body sense. And we're going to look together with interoception, which is the inside of our body sense. We as therapists have tried to think of the best way to continue to support children, young people, and their families. We will be exploring topic areas that we regularly provide advice and support on across all ages and abilities. Each lesson will have ideas and activities that can be carried out at home or in school. This information is to be used alongside any specific strategies or resources which have been given by your child's school or therapist. If you have any questions or would like help tailoring this to your child's needs, then please contact your local therapy service. Right, so let's have a look again at our sense of inside our body first. And we're just going to remind ourselves what this means. So, the inside of our body sense really looks at the organs inside. So it can look at our heart, our lungs, our bladder, and all the other internal organs that help us to survive, and to learn, and to play. But if we just very quickly look at the proprioception sense, that is the sense that is a little nerve messengers that is in our joints and in all of our muscles, and tells us about how heavy something is, and where your body is in space. So, these two work really closely together. Because we know that our inside of our body space helps us to stay safe, to be healthy, to make sense of our feelings, to make decisions, to play, to learn, and to be independent. And we know that our proprioception sense also do that. But they work really closely together. And I'm going to show you exactly how this works. So we're going to pause the video now to collect all the things that you will need. So, you're going to need an old sock, some sand or flour. You're also going to need some water. So, once you've got all of these bits together, press play, and we will carry on with the lesson. Right, let's see how our proprioceptive sense help us to digest our food. What you're going to do is you are going to ask your parents and carer to help you with this activity. So first of all, you're going to mix the sand and the flour to make a little mud paste. Then you're going to fill the sock with mud about three or four, yeah, 3/4 full. And then you're going to cut off that fabric toe with the sock to create a long tube. So, remember to ask your parent or carer to help you, especially when you're using scissors. And that you're safe to use it. Next, there's going to be the fun bit. Try and use your hands and see if you can squeeze the sock on the outside with your hand. And see if you can squeeze all of that mud all the way through the sock tunnel. This is exactly the same way that your proprioceptive sense works, because that tube is a little bit like your tummy or it's a little bit like your intestines, which is another bit that we will talk about later. And the muscles in your tummy have to contract, and to relax, and it's the same action that's required in your proprioceptive sense. So, your proprioceptives help this movement along. So you're going to have a go now. So we're going to pause the video here for you to complete the task. And then, once you've done it, you can press play again. Wow, that was amazing. Really, really well done in making your model of a tummy and using the proprioceptive sense to squeeze all of the mud through. So the mud really represents our food. And you've just shown how it all works. Let's have a little look more at the proprioceptive sense. So, with your parent or carer now see if you can stretch your arms, your legs, and your body, and be as tall as a tree. See if you can really feel those muscles stretching and stretching out. Can you feel some of your organs also stretching out? Maybe around your tummy, maybe around your lungs? Especially as you take a deep breath in. Just be aware of the inside of your body, and also of your proprioceptive muscles when you do a stretch. Wow, that looks great. Next, see if you can feel your heartbeat. So, ask your parent or carer to help you if you're not quite sure where to put your hand. But it's somewhere in the middle of your chest toward the left hand side. And that will show you. So, it's around here. So I'm doing it on the other side. So, if that's your left side, that's where you're going to sort of try and feel your heartbeat. So, see if you can do that. Amazing. Well done learning about the proprioceptive sense and the interoceptive sense, two really long words. But I know that you're really good at finding these words and the meaning of them. And I hope you've enjoyed this lesson. Have a great day. Share your work with Oak National. If you'd like to, please ask your parent or carer to share your work on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, tagging @OakNational and #LearnwithOak.

Proprioception and interoception

Proprioception and interoception

These resources were made for remote use during the pandemic, not classroom teaching.

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