The Tactile System
The tactile system includes nerves under the skin’s surface that send information to the brain. This information includes light touch, pain, temperature, and pressure. These play an important role in perceiving the environment as well as protective reactions. Both over sensitivity and decreased awareness of tactile input is possible.
Tactile defensiveness is a condition in which an individual is extremely sensitive to light touch. Theoretically, when the tactile system is immature and working improperly, abnormal neural signals are sent to the brain which can interfere with other brain processes. This, in turn, causes the brain to be overly stimulated and may lead to excessive brain activity, which can neither be turned off nor organized. This type of over-stimulation in the brain can make it difficult for an individual to organize one’s behavior and concentrate and may lead to a negative emotional response to touch sensations.
Possible Signs of Tactile processing deficits:
Tactile Input
Hypersensitivity: heightened response to touch resulting in a flight or fright.
Tactile defensiveness is a condition in which an individual is extremely sensitive to light touch. Theoretically, when the tactile system is immature and working improperly, abnormal neural signals are sent to the brain which can interfere with other brain processes. This, in turn, causes the brain to be overly stimulated and may lead to excessive brain activity, which can neither be turned off nor organized. This type of over-stimulation in the brain can make it difficult for an individual to organize one’s behavior and concentrate and may lead to a negative emotional response to touch sensations.
Possible Signs of Tactile processing deficits:
- Withdrawing when being touched,
- Dislikes kisses,
- Dislikes rough clothes, tags, and/or seams in socks
- Refusing to eat certain ‘textured’ foods and/or to wear certain types of clothing
- Complaining about having one’s hair or face washed,
- Avoiding getting one’s hands dirty (i.e., glue, sand, mud, finger-paint), and
- Using one’s finger tips rather than whole hands to manipulate objects.
- Misperception of touch and/or pain (hyper- or hyposensitive) and may lead to
self-imposed isolation, general irritability, distractibility - Doesn’t realize hands or face are dirty,
- Touches everything and anything constantly,
- May be self-abusive, plays rough with peers,
- Doesn’t seem to feel pain (may even enjoy it!)
- Persistently walks on toes to avoid sensory input from the bottom of the feet.
Tactile Input
- Throws arms back when about to be picked up by adult or pulls away when trying to hold child’s hand.
- Is always hanging on adult or laying between his box spring and regular mattress.
- Avoids touching certain surfaces or textures (i.e. fabrics, carpets).
- Prefers to touch specific fabrics (i.e. ladies hose).
- Dislikes getting hands or feet messy (i.e. sand, creams, paint).
- Touches everything in sight.
- Avoids being touched on the face, hair or head (i.e. washing face, hair cut).
- Doesn’t react to pain such as cuts, shots, bruises, or breakage of bones.
- Person may bite his or her own skin.
- Reacts negative when approached from behind.
- Wears shorts even in extreme cold temperature.
Hypersensitivity: heightened response to touch resulting in a flight or fright.
- React negatively and emotionally to light touch, unexpected touch, or certain texture
- May act out, hit, rub spot touched, scratch skin, reject cuddling.
- May be fearful or act out in lines, when approached suddenly, or when touched when not seeing it coming.
- Reject all touch from others, especially if not mother or father.
- Rejects hand over hand assistance
- Prefers hugs over kisses, needs the deep pressure of the hug.
- Overreacts to bumps or bruises, or may be "hypochondriac"
- Avoids touching certain textures, pulls away from touch to items, rubs and scratches when wearing tags, or certain fabrics (wools, polyester, non 100% cotton)
- Fusses about stiff clothes, appliques in clothes, tags, collars, elastic, turtlenecks, hats, gloves, scarfs, shoes and socks, prefer long or short sleeves.
- dislikes grooming touch such as washing and cutting
- Avoids messy play in paints, sand, glue, mud, etc.
- Hurries to wash off hands, rubs hands on clothing when touched with mess
- Avoids going barefoot
- Walks on tiptoes, doesn=t crawl
- Resists oral touch: toothbrushing or food textures
- Temperature preferences
- touches others very hard and firm, is rough with objects and people
- Unaware of messiness on face or hands, may crave messy activities
- High pain tolerance
- Unable to identify body parts touched without looking
- Unable to perform some fine motor tasks such as fasteners
- Difficulty holding tools, writing utensils, eating utensils
- Touch objects repeatedly such as stroking hair, favorite blanket or toy
- bumps into others, bumps walls, touching others excessively
- rub or even bite self
- prefer strong tastes in foods (salty, sweet, spicy)
- Use mouth to explore more than hands (more intense sensation from the mouth)
Children who have a difficult time staying still are able to sustain sitting behavior for longer periods of time when they are manipulating something in their hands; at school, church, long car rides you name it. Use of fidget toys help these restless children better focus at home, school or even during a trip to the grocery store.
Having Fidget toys readily available at all times, ready to squeeze, rub, stretch, hold allows the child to sustain sitting behavior for longer periods of time. Often children need something simple that they can carry in their pockets!
Having Fidget toys readily available at all times, ready to squeeze, rub, stretch, hold allows the child to sustain sitting behavior for longer periods of time. Often children need something simple that they can carry in their pockets!