Glossary of language used when talking about sensory processing and regulation:
Auditory
Relating to the sense of hearing.
Body Scheme
Internal awareness of the body.
Cognition
The mental process of knowing. Including aspects such as awareness, perception, reasoning and judgment.
Cognitive Regulation
Allows children to use cognitive (mental) processes necessary for problem solving and related abilities in order to demonstrate attention and persistence to tasks.
Emotional Regulation
The ability to exert control over one’s own emotional state.
Gustatory
Tasting or the sense of taste.
Interoception
Our sense of knowing what is going on INSIDE all parts of our body.
e.g. When we are hungry, thirsty, have a headache, nervous (increased heart rate, butterflies in stomach), pain, need toilet etc.
Motor Planning
The ability to organise the body's actions: knowing what steps to take, and in what order, to complete a particular task.
Olfactory
Relating to the sense of smell.
Perceptual Motor
A combination of sensory skills and motor skills that allow a person to synchronise body movements.
Postural
The position in which someone holds their body when standing or sitting.
Proprioception
Knowing where your body is in space (body awareness) and the ability to safely manoeuvre around your environment.
Reflex
A way for the body to automatically and rapidly respond to a stimulus to minimise any further damage to the body.
Screen
To filter, select or remove someone or something that is or is not suitable for a particular purpose.
Sensory break
Daily breaks for both home & school that contain recommended activities.
Sensory motor
The process of producing a response (motor output) to sensory messages (sensory input).
Sensory processing
Organising and processing (receiving and responding) to information that comes in through the senses.
The processes involved in self, sensory, emotional and cognitive
regulation.
Sensory regulation
Allows children to maintain an appropriate level of alertness in order to respond appropriately across environments to the sensory stimuli present.
Tactile
Relating to the sense of touch.
Vestibular
The sensory system that responds to changes in head and body movement through space, and that coordinates movements of the eyes, head, and body.
Visual
Relating to the sense of sight.
Visual-Spatial
The way we perceive space and our position or orientation within that space.
