Proprioception and the beginning of our foray into diagnoses and therapy.

When Ryan was in preschool, there were some odd things that he did that had us puzzled.  Well – there were a lot of things that he did that had us puzzled, but I just want to talk about one thing in particular.   When Ryan would cross a room, for whatever reason, he would just start walking, or more often than not, running to get to where he wanted to go.  Not an issue, right?  No, it became quite a big issue, when he paid no mind to whatever might be in his path.  Whether it was toys, furniture or people.  Many children go through this during their formative years.  But in the case of Ryan, it became an issue that he would have for years.  And in a worst way, this proprioceptive issue that Ryan had, came to a head when he was 5 years old.  But first let me give you a general description of what proprioception is.

Proprioception (which can also be called kinesthesia) falls under the general umbrella of sensory processing. It is the body’s ability to sense its location, movements, and actions. It’s the reason we’re able to move freely without consciously thinking about our environment. Examples of proprioception include being able to walk or kick without looking at your feet or being able to touch your nose with your eyes closed. Another description is knowing where your body is in space. Most of us know where our arm is if we have it over our head. People with proprioceptive issues may actually think it’s out in front of them.

When Ryan was 5 and in transitional kindergarten, he was playing with PVC piping at school.  (I know, I know, why the school allowed kids to play with PVC piping is still a question I can’t answer.)  So, as Ryan was playing with it, he must have thought how fun it would be to pick up 2 pieces and start swinging it around.  Well, as “luck” would have it, he came into full contact with a classmate’s head.  He didn’t hit him on purpose.  In fact, he had no idea that his actions led to the bloody mess of his friend’s face.  His teachers asked him what happened, and Ryan couldn’t answer them, even though they had witnessed the entire event.  They asked Ryan to apologize, but he said he didn’t understand why he had to do that as it didn’t register that he even had anything to do with it.  Because of this, Ryan was suspended from school.  His dad and I talked to him  to try and understand what happened, but again, Ryan couldn’t verbally explain anything to us.  And he couldn’t understand why everyone was so upset with him.  The following week, when Ryan was allowed to come back to school, we met with his teachers.  One of the teachers told us that he thought Ryan may have proprioceptive issues,  He had been watching Ryan for some time and noticed some of the motor skills that Ryan had exhibited that led him to believe that he had a disorder. 

Some of the motor skill issues that a child with proprioceptive issues may include:

1. Being awkward or clumsy

2. Not knowing their own strength- ie hugging really hard, or not understanding how heavy or light  an object is.   Or they might break pencils and crayons a lot due to not feeling how hard they are pressing.

3. Not liking activities that other kids might like such as being on a swing

4. Being in constant motion

5. Walking into walls

6. Swinging  legs under desks

7. Not being able to sit still

Most of these things are ways that a child is trying to physically feel things.  They’re trying to get feedback from their own sensory system, which is not working the way that it should.

Ryan had every single one of these motor skill issues.  At the time, we just thought that this was just Ryan, and that he would grow out of them.  But the incident with the PVC pipes, was a final straw and something needed to be done.  So we asked the question, “What can we do?”

The answer was first an evaluation with an Occupational Therapist.  The OT confirmed that Ryan did indeed have proprioceptive issues as well as other sensory integration dysfunctions.  We started therapy twice a week to help Ryan learn skills to help him get the sensory input he needed.  We were also able to identify his strengths, and use them to counterbalance his weaknesses. Homework was also an important aspect of the therapy regimen so we could work on activities on a daily basis. Although therapy helped to some degree, and he had OT through the 3rd grade, Ryan continued to have proprioceptive issues throughout elementary school, middle school and even high school . Later, when he was diagnosed with ADHD, the proprioception issues became a comorbidity. But that’s a tale for another day. As I said earlier, this was the first “official” diagnosis we got for Ryan, and it was just the beginning of our journey.  

If you notice that your own child may have proprioceptive issues, I’d love to hear from you,  I want to encourage you to talk to your child’s teacher, or pediatrician. Hopefully, you can get the help your child needs so they can become the best version of themselves.  Please share this with anyone you know who might need to read this or could benefit from the blog.