Vestibular Sense - Our sense of movement and balance

This is our sense of movement and balance. It detects direction and speed of movements and gravity.

Over responsive

Some children struggle to cope with different movements. This encompasses movements that are fast, spinning movements, backwards movements, sudden changes in movement or taking their feet off the ground. This could include activities such as going on a roundabout, a swing, riding a bike or playing sports. They might experience headaches, nausea or motion sickness following movement. They also might display extreme emotional reactions to certain movements e.g. fear. These children may seek out sedentary activities such as reading, doing a puzzle or playing video games.

Under responsive

Some children need more movement than others to support their focus on tasks. These are the children that we see fidgeting and struggling to remain seated or switching off when asked to sit for long periods of time. They may seek out fast and impulsive movements e.g. seeking out a wide variety of equipment in the playground, wanting to climbing trees, enjoying rollercoasters. They may not always consider the risks they are taking with movements e.g. jumping from a height.