Sensory

Targeted provision and strategies for learners with sensory differences.

Learners rely on seven senses (sight, hearing, touch, taste, smell, vestibular (balance), and proprioception (body awareness)) to understand and interact with the world. These senses shape attention, memory, and cognitive development, making them fundamental to learning. Sensory integration occurs when the brain processes input from multiple senses smoothly. Difficulties in this area can affect focus, coordination, and learning.

In this section, examples of provision and strategies are organised by sensory modality to help tailor support to individual learners in your setting

Short code	Description
Identifying sensory differences	Assessment tools
Tasting (gustatory) differences	Information and adjustments
Smelling (olfactory) differences	Information and adjustments
Tactile (touch) differences	Information and adjustments
Proprioceptive differences	Proprioceptive differences affecting the sense of self-movement, force, and body position.
Vestibular differences	Vestibular differences affecting a learner's sense of balance
Interoceptive differences	Interoceptive differences, affecting how learners are able to recognise what is happening inside our bodies (such as feeling hunger, thirst, pain, or emotions like anxiety) Information and adjustments