language contains expressions which reflect this range of personal experience. Comments such as “I just couldn’t get it all together,” “I felt especially touchy about that,” or “I feel as if I'm on overload” reflect our experience with the lower ranges of sensory processing and integration. For most of us this is a transient state triggered by fatigue, overwork, or a situation which places high demands on the ability to focus attention and reduce distractions. The threshold for moving into sensory overload with reduced sensory integrative skills varies greatly among individuals. One person may experiencea high level of energy anda normal ability to focus the attention at a complex business meeting or a convention. Another person in the same environment may experience fatigue and confusion. When children or adults experience sensory integrative difficulties, the brain does not process or organize the flow of sensory impulses in a way that gives them precise information about themselves and the world. Learning is difficult and individuals often feel uncomfortable with themselves and have difficulty coping with stress and demands. This. often results in additional emotional or behavioral difficulties. If this is a temporary situation, the individual may feel frustrated, dis- couraged, or antisocial. If these experiences recur frequently or in specific situations, situations that are associated with reduced functioning, they may be consciously avoided. --- PAGE 4 (OCR) ---
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Hemi-Sync® Journal 1991-1 (Winter) · 1 Hemi-Sync® Journal 1991-1 Winter.pdf
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HEMI-SYNC JOURNAL NEUROLOGICAL ORGANIZATION AND SENSORY INTEGRATION Sensory integration occurs at all levels of the central nervous system. However, the brain stem (including the midbrain, pons, and medulla oblongata) appears to play the most significant role in sensory processing. The brain stem and the thalamus receive sensory information from every sensory modality. Information passing through these struc- tures is modified, integrated with other sensory information, and directed to the brain’s cortex. As multiple sensory information impinges upon the brain, a finely tuned filter system comes into play. Sensory input pertinent to the individual's inner needs and goals reaches a level of consciousness. Input which is less important or dis- tracting is dampened down centrally. The reticular formation in the brain stem (which plays the central role in this filter system) is often considered the master control mechanism of the central nervous system. It helps the brain to focus on one type of sensory input by inhibiting other types of input. This allows the individual to focus attention, and reduces the level of distraction. Children who have been labeled hyperactive or individuals temporarily on sensory overload are unsuccessful in filtering out irrelevant information. They are pulled from one experi- ence to the next and are unable to maintain the focus of attention needed for successful learning. If the overloading
situation is sustained or occurs frequently, the individual usually discovers ways of reducing or deadening the sensory input. An autistic child may retreat to an inner world through organizing or hypnotic activities such as rocking, rhythmical spinning of objects or flapping fingers, avoiding eye contact, or hyperventilating breathing patterns. A normal adult, experi- encing a reduction in the ability to filter sensory input and Poor sensory integration may use variations of the same strategies. They may find eye contact more difficult, move to an inattentive world of daydreaming, or use alcohol or drugs to deaden the senses and find greater internal calmness. HEMI-SYNC AND SENSORY INTEGRATION Hemi-Sync is an excellent example of the sensory integra- tive process of the brain. Two independent auditory signals are integrated in a way that produces a whole (i.e., Hemi-Sync) which is different from each of the separate parts. Initial processing and integration occurs in the brain stem. In addi- tion, the tendency toward synchronization of the right and left hemispheres appears to enhance attention, sensory and ex- trasensory awareness, and intuitive processing, and to in- crease successful adaptation to personal experiences. Since 1981 I have been using Hemi-Sync with young children who experience sensorimotor and sensory integrative disabilities. Both clinical experience and preliminary research indicate that the addition of Hemi-Sync signals (containing