Helpful info

Glossary

Fine motor: referring to movement of the small muscles in the fingers, toes, eyes and hands.

Gross motor: referring to movement of large muscles in arms, legs and trunk.

Hypersensitivity: Over sensitive to sensory input, characterised by a tendency to be either fearful or cautious

Hyper-reactive: Over reacts to sensory input, may appear anxious, or over-cautious

Hypo-sensitivity: Under sensitivity to sensory input as expected, can appear to ignore or not be aware, can be difficult to engage.

Intervention: Often referred to as treatment, programme, therapy, etc.

Manual dexterity: The ability to manipulate, use items, tools with one or two hands in a variety of ways and with a variety of grasps.

Motor planning: the ability to conceive of, organise, sequence and carry out unfamiliar and complex body movement in a co-ordinated manner.

Occupational Therapy: A health profession that helps people improve the functioning of their nervous system in order to develop skill leading to independence in personal, social, academic and vocational pursuits.

Physiotherapy: A health profession devoted to improving through activities that strengthen muscular control and motor co-ordination.

Praxis: the ability to interact successgfully with the physical environment, to plan, organise, and carry out a sequence of unfamiliar actions, and to do what one needs and wants to do.

Sensory diet: the multi-sensory experiences that one normally seeks on a daily basis to satisfy one’s sensory appetite, a planned and scheduled activity program that an Occupational Therapist develops to help a person become more regulated.

Speech and Language therapy: The health professional concerned with the development of communication and language, both understood and expressed using words.