Sensory Processing & Modulation
Supporting regulation, coordination, attention and confidence through a body-based approach.
The foundation for regulation, attention and participation
Sensory processing is how the nervous system receives, organises and integrates information, and how it uses that information to guide responses.
It is not a single step, but a continuous process — where input and response are constantly influencing one another.
This underpins how a child moves, attends, responds, regulates and participates across their day.
When this system is working efficiently, the brain is able to organise input and generate responses with more ease, stability and consistency. When it is working less efficiently, the nervous system is required to work harder — often resulting in overwhelm, fatigue or inconsistent responses.
Where sensory input comes from
Sensory input is continuously generated from both the environment and the body.
The most foundational input comes from:
Vestibular system → movement and spatial orientation
Proprioceptive system → muscle and joint feedback
Environment → everything surrounding the individual
These systems provide constant information that helps organise:
Posture
Arousal levels
Attention
Emotional capacity
Key Sensory Systems
-
Vestibular System (movement, balance & spatial awareness)
The vestibular system (inner ear) provides foundational input about movement, head position and spatial orientation. It plays a key role in organising posture, coordination, eye movements and alertness.
It includes:
Linear movement → forward/back, up/down (e.g. walking up stairs, swinging)
Rotational (angular) movement → spinning, turning
Gravitational input → head position relative to gravity
When this system is working efficiently:
Walks up and down stairs with confidence
Enjoys swings, slides and climbing
Maintains balance when running or changing direction
Can sit upright and attend with relative ease
When this system is working less efficiently:
Avoids stairs, climbing or changes in height
Becomes dizzy easily or experiences car sickness
Appears unsettled with head movement (e.g. tipping head back)
Seeks spinning, jumping or constant movement
Finds it difficult to stay still or maintain posture
-
The proprioceptive system provides feedback from muscles and joints to support body awareness, force regulation and motor planning.
When this system is working efficiently:
Uses appropriate force (e.g. controlled pencil grip, gentle touch)
Demonstrates stable posture and endurance
Moves with coordination and control
Appears grounded and organised
When this system is working less efficiently:
Moves constantly or appears “on the go”
Appears to float between activities without clear body organisation
Uses too much or too little force
Bumps into objects, furniture or others
Seeks crashing, pushing, pulling or deep pressure input
-
Tactile System (touch & body boundaries)
The tactile system processes information about touch, texture, pressure and body boundaries.
When this system is working efficiently:
Comfortable with a range of textures (clothing, food, play)
Engages in messy play
Maintains appropriate personal space
When this system is working less efficiently:
Avoids textures such as paint, sand or certain foods
Dislikes clothing tags, seams or fabrics
Overreacts to light touch
Seeks excessive touch or close contact
Difficulty with personal space
-
Visual System (visual processing & integration)
The visual system supports how we interpret, track and organise visual information, and how this integrates with movement.
When this system is working efficiently:
Tracks words when reading
Copies from the board with relative ease
Engages in drawing, puzzles and writing
Coordinates vision with movement (e.g. catching a ball)
When this system is working less efficiently:
Loses place when reading
Difficulty copying from the board
Avoids table-top tasks
Appears visually fatigued or distracted
Difficulty tracking moving objects
-
Auditory System (processing & filtering sound)
The auditory system supports how we interpret, filter and retain sound, particularly in busy environments like classrooms.
When this system is working efficiently:
Listens and follows instructions
Filters background noise
Retains and processes verbal information
When this system is working less efficiently:
Appears not to listen or needs frequent repetition
Difficulty remembering what was said or read (especially at school)
Easily distracted by background noise
Becomes overwhelmed in busy or loud environments
-
Interoception (internal body awareness)
Interoception is the awareness of internal body signals such as hunger, thirst, fatigue and emotional states.
When this system is working efficiently:
Recognises and names emotions
Notices internal cues (e.g. hunger, needing the bathroom)
Begins to regulate responses
When this system is working less efficiently:
Experiences big or unexpected emotional responses
Difficulty identifying or describing feelings
Misses internal body cues
Becomes overwhelmed once emotions escalate
Interoception develops on top of the external sensory systems — particularly vestibular and proprioceptive.
Without a stable external foundation, it is significantly more difficult to accurately interpret internal signals and respond in a regulated way.
Understanding Sensory Processing vs Sensory Modulation
Once sensory information is received and organised by the nervous system, the next step is how the body responds — this is where sensory modulation comes in.
Sensory modulation is the nervous system’s ability to filter, prioritise and grade responses to sensory input in a way that supports regulation and participation.
When this system is working efficiently, children are more able to:
Stay regulated in busy or stimulating environments
Shift smoothly between activity and rest
Respond to situations in a way that feels proportionate and manageable
When modulation is working less efficiently, responses can look different:
Over-responsive → heightened, fast or intense reactions
Under-responsive → reduced awareness or seeking additional input
Inconsistent → fluctuating responses depending on load, fatigue or environment
While sensory processing is about how the brain receives and organises information, sensory modulation reflects how that information is expressed through the body and behaviour.
This is often where differences in behaviour, attention and emotional regulation become more visible — not because a child is choosing these responses, but because their nervous system is working harder to find balance.
Why do sensory differences occur?
Every child develops their sensory systems through movement, interaction and experience.
Differences may be influenced by:
Early movement and developmental patterns
Retained primitive reflexes
Variations in nervous system sensitivity
Neurodivergence (e.g. ADHD, autism)
Periods of stress or reduced capacity
Limited access to varied movement experiences
How it can be supported
Sensory modulation isn’t something we “fix” — it’s something we support and build capacity within over time.
This is done by working with the body to provide the input the nervous system needs to feel more organised and regulated:
Proprioceptive input (pushing, pulling, climbing, deep pressure) to support grounding
Vestibular input (movement and balance) to support alertness and organisation
Foundational movement patterns (rolling, crawling, reaching) to support coordination and stability
Rhythm and predictability to help settle and organise the system
Environment and relational support to reduce overwhelm and support co-regulation
Over time, this supports the nervous system to respond with more ease, consistency and flexibility across daily life.
This approach moves beyond managing behaviour at the surface.
By supporting the underlying sensory and motor systems, we create the conditions for regulation, attention and participation to develop more naturally — with less effort and greater confidence over time.