What Interoception is
Interoception is the sense of knowing what is going on inside our bodies. It includes things such as feeling hunger, thirst, temperature, pain, needing the toilet and noticing how our emotions feel.
Hypersensitive
| Potential signs | Potential impact | Strategies to assist with learning |
|---|---|---|
| The sensation of hunger, thirst or bathroom needs can cause them to be extremely anxious. The slightest change in temperature or even hearing their own heartbeat can be extremely distracting. | They may have trouble maintaining focus on a task because they are distracted by what is going on in their body | Activities which give our body proprioceptive sensation or activities which help us to connect our physical feelings within our bodies to our emotions can be particularly helpful to start to improve interoception awareness |
| Frequent trips to the toilet. | Mindfulness and meditation encourage children to be more aware of what is going on inside their bodies. | |
| Extreme response when they have an accident or bump. | Reluctance to engage in PE or run around at play time where heart rate increases. | Yoga focuses on listening to your body and providing good vestibular and proprioceptive input, it is helpful for developing interoception. |
Hyposensitive
| Potential signs | Potential impact | Strategies to assist with learning |
|---|---|---|
| Frequent toilet accidents | Avoidance from participation in daily activities. | Mindfulness and mediation encourage children to be more aware of what is going on inside their bodies. |
| Do not realise they are hungry or full. | Gaining or losing significant weight. | Yoga focuses on listening to your body and providing good vestibular and proprioceptive input, it is helpful for developing interoception. |
| Do not feel they are in pain or not feeling well. | Breathing techniques and exercises are helpful for calming, as well as paying attention to what is going on inside our bodies. | |
| Alerting activities are a great way to talk about heart rate and breathing rate. How do you feel after exercising? Is your heart racing? How do your muscles feel? Are you breathing hard and fast or slow and steady? | ||
| Cues or visual prompts that encourage children to identify body functions and feelings including using Social Stories can be useful. |
