Most people understand that we have five senses – known as the external senses for making sense of the world outside our bodies:

• Sight – what we see

• Sound – what we hear

• Touch – what we feel

• Taste – what we sense in our mouths

• Smell – what we sense with our noses

We also have internal senses that are as important;

• The vestibular – spatial awareness;
  • Located in the inner ear
  • consists of the two structures within the bony labyrinth: the semi-circular canals and the vestibule as well as the membranes contained within them.
  • It is the main system for balance and movement, helping the body maintain its postural equilibrium
  • It is also very closely linked to vision being essential for coordinating the position of the head and movement of the eyes

• Proprioception – external body awareness:
  • the sense that tells the body where it is in space
  • sensory receptors in our skin, muscles and joints that tell us where the different parts of our body are in space i.e.
    • to be able to write, we need to know where our fingers are and how to move them in relation to each other,
    • playing sport activities requires a lot of proprioceptive input
  • plays a large role in self-regulation, co-ordination, posture, body awareness, the ability to focus, and speech.

• Interoception: internal body awareness
  • helps us to feel and understand what is going on inside our body
  • Sensory receptors inside our organs, including your skin send information about the inside of our body to our brain.
  • Helps with regulation of our vital functions like body temperature, hunger, thirst, digestion, and heart rate.
  • Is both conscious and unconscious
  • difficulties in this area can make self-regulation a challenge e.g. understanding when one is hungry or thirsty, when you have had enough to eat or if you need to go to the toilet.