Sense of Well-Being ~ The Interoceptive Sense

by Lorna d’Entremont

Parents of children with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) know very well that besides sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell there are other senses many forget. There are 8 different senses when these last three are added:

· Vestibular, the sense of balance

· Proprioception, the ability to know how your body parts are oriented

· Interoception , the internal sense of body function that tells you of pain, hunger, need to use the bathroom…

What is the interoceptive sense?

Clare J. Fowler in her review of the book Visceral Sensory Neuroscience: INTEROCEPTION by Oliver G. Cameron M.D. Ph.D. writes, “The system of interoception as a whole constitutes “the material me” and relates to how we perceive feelings from our bodies that determine our mood, sense of well‐being and emotions.” Interoceoption is our sensitivity to stimuli originating inside of the body. Interoception is described as the sense of internal body function. As humans, we perceive feelings from our bodies that relate our state of well-being, our energy and stress levels, our mood and disposition.

The interoceptive sense relates to the “sensory nerve cells innervating the viscera (thoracic, abdominal, pelvic organs, and cardiovascular system), their sensory end organs, or the information they convey to the spinal cord and the brain.” (From www.answers.com medical dictionary, 2007)

The interoceptive sense includes input about the following:

• Heart rate: speeds up or slows down too fast or too slow based on demands

• Thirst: cannot regulate thirst; always needs to drink or never wants to, or changes from one to the other

• Hunger: unable to regulate hunger; eats too much, eats not enough

• Digestion: hunger and thirst problems upset digestion; frequent diarrhea or constipation

• Rate of arousal: inability to control or predict state of arousal; jumping from one to the other without just cause

• Bowel and bladder: great difficulty with toileting; cannot feel the sensation to go or feels them to the point of pain

• Mood: severe mood swings throughout the day

• Respiration: breathing too fast, too slow, or cannot switch as body demands

• Temperature: becoming too hot or too cold sooner than others

Interoceptive Defensiveness

Sensory processing challenges can show as over or under sensitivities. Each person is different. For individuals who are hypersensitive to interoceptive input, ordinary body sensations can be distracting and unbearable. For example, hunger pains are so irritating that it may cause the person to eat more often to avoid this pain.

Interoceptive Under-Responsiveness

Individuals, who have under sensitivities or under-responsiveness to interoception, will not respond quickly or adequately to the ordinary body sensations. For example, this individual may not feel hungry or thirsty and neglect to eat or not eat well.

Problems Parents Will See

Therefore, if your child has problems with sleep, potty training, bowel movements, feeding, tolerance to hot or cold temperatures, ability to regulate thirst and hunger, severe mood swings during the day, heart and respiration rates … have your child evaluated for Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) because your child’s interoceptive sense might need to be regulated. Sensory Processing Disorder can affect people in only one sense–for example, just taste or just sight or just sound–or in multiple senses. Furthermore, SPD is a disorder that kids with Autism (ASD), ADHD and Bipolar Disorders may also have and can explain the difficulties of diagnosing problems easily. If it is determined that your child does have SPD, you will probably be seen by an occupational therapist who will help your child and help you with techniques to regulate the interoceptive senses or any others.

Children with sensory processing disorder (SPD) react inappropriately to their environment. This can be very difficult for their families to understand and creates even bigger challenges for the children especially when they are at school. The moment parents notice any of the above problems and can start intensive interventions, the better it will be for the child, his teacher, his friends, and his whole family. Early intervention is KEY!