Sensory Integration¶

Learner Variable · All learner variables
Evidence · 5 claims (1 show a difference, 3 mixed, 1 no difference) · 2 studies (2 causal), q3 · 0 of 2 report an effect size · 5 claims rest on one study

Description¶

Sensory integration is the brain's capacity to receive, process and organise information arriving through several senses at once, such as sights, sounds, smells and touch, and turn it into appropriate physical and emotional responses. When it is difficult for a learner, sensory input can interfere with focusing on reading, writing or mathematics, and the LVN describes knock-on effects on peer relationships, participation in class activities and sleep, all of which can make learning and engagement harder. Learners can have higher or lower thresholds for input in a given sense, and difficulty can show as over-sensitivity or as sensory-motor difficulty. The LVN covers it from pre-kindergarten to grade 12, and notes that its link with mathematics performance weakens as children get older. It is measured with sensory profiles completed by parents, teachers or learners themselves, and with clinical test batteries of visual, tactile and kinaesthetic processing and motor performance. It overlaps with self-regulation, since integration combines sensory processing with behavioural regulation, and with learning disabilities and developmental differences.

Implications¶

Context¶

Noise, lighting, crowding and other sensory features of a room can distract or distress some learners; quieter spaces and choice help.
Group work and play depend on sensory comfort as well as social skill.
Physical activities that require coordination and balance may need adapting.

Target Learners¶

Young children and school-age learners with sensory processing differences.
Learners who are over- or under-responsive to sound, touch or visual input.

Target Learning Objectives¶

Sustained focus and participation in class.
Peer relationships, emotional regulation and sleep, as conditions for learning.

Claims¶

Group x condition interactions show condition-dependent activation differences in superior temporal, parietal, cingulate, medial frontal, and middle temporal regions [~M] — learners who differ on it differ in outcomes
In an auditory number-cue detection task, both blind and sighted adults detect targets faster on number-size/location congruent trials, with no group difference [-M] — learners who differ on it differ in outcomes
Number-size/location congruency modulates the cognitive P300 only in blind participants [~M] — learners who differ on it differ in outcomes
Number-size/location congruency modulates the early sensory N100 only in sighted participants [~M] — learners who differ on it differ in outcomes
The authors interpret blind participants' number-space congruency processing as restricted to a controlled, working-memory-dependent cognitive level [+W] — learners who differ on it differ in outcomes

Measures¶

Sensory Profile 2 (SP2) (Dunn, 2014): parent and teacher questionnaires on sensory processing, praxis and social participation from birth to about 15, in several languages.
Sensory Integration and Praxis Tests (SIPT) (Ayres, 1989): a comprehensive battery of visual, tactile and kinaesthetic processing and motor performance.
Adolescent/Adult Sensory Profile (Brown et al., 2001): a self-report survey of sensory processing for ages 11 to 65.

Affect Regulation: sensory integration difficulties go with anxiety and weaker emotion regulation.
Self-Regulation: integration combines sensory processing with behavioural self-regulation.
Sleep: difficulties, especially touch sensitivity, often come with sleep disturbance.
Social Awareness and Relationship Skills: difficulties can reduce social participation and play with peers.
Auditory Processing: auditory processing difficulties may contribute, and thresholds for sound can differ.
Academic and Critical Literacy: learners with difficulties may need extra support because input distracts and discomforts.
Attention: difficulties can show as differences in attention.
Communication Skills: sensory integration supports listening by helping discriminate speech sounds.
Executive Function: difficulties may come with weaker inhibition and cognitive flexibility.
Visual Processing: thresholds for visual input can be higher or lower.
Working Memory: sensory-motor difficulties may come with working memory difficulties.
Physical Well-Being: sensory-motor challenges can lower physical activity and fitness.

Examples¶

Key Sources¶

Digital Promise. Learner Variability Navigator: Sensory Integration (Building Literacy 4-6, Building Literacy PK-3, Building Math 3-6, Building Math PK-2, Portrait of a Learner 4-8, Portrait of a Learner 9-12, Portrait of a Learner PK-3). lvp.digitalpromiseglobal.org. Licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Page metadata

Field	Value
`type`	`learner-variable`
`id`	`sensory-integration`
`title`	`Sensory Integration`
`description`	`The brain's ability to take in, organise and combine information from several senses and turn it into fitting physical and emotional responses.`
`status`	`review`
`canonical`	`True`
`generated`	by `claude/unspecified` on `2026-10-16`
`trust`	unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content

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