OT Aerialist

Glossary

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Adaptive Response

In action that is appropriate and successful in meeting some environmental demand. Adaptive responses demonstrate adequate sensory integration and drive all learning and social interactions.

Auditory

Language processing skills: availabilities of listening, verbally, communicating, acquired as hears and perceived sound and interacts with environment.

Auditory Figure-Ground

The ability to discriminate between sounds in the foreground and background, so that 1) can focus on a particular sound of voice, without being distracted by other sounds.

Auditory perception

The ability to receive, identify, discriminate, understanding response to sounds.

Bilateral Coordination

The ability to use both sides of the body together, in a smooth, simultaneous, and coordinated manner.

Bilateral integration

The neurological process of integrating sensations from both body sides; the foundation for bilateral coordination.

Binocularity

(binocular, vision; eye teaming): forming a single visual image from two images, that the eyes separately record.

Body Awareness (Scheme)

The mental picture of one’s own body parts, where they are, how they interrelate, and how they move. Also, it’s parts and relationship to themselves in their environment.

Cocontraction

All muscle groups surrounding a joint contracting and working together to provide that joint stability, resulting in the ability to maintain a position.

Depth Perception

The ability to see objects in three dimensions into judge relative distances between objects, or between oneself and objects.

Directionality

The awareness of right/left, forward/back, and up/down, and the ability to move oneself in those directions.

Discriminative System

The component of a sensory system that allows one to distinguish differences among stimuli. This system is not innate but develops with time and practice.

Dyspraxia

Deficient motor planning that is often related to a decrease in sensory processing.

Eye–Hand Coordination

The efficient, teamwork of the eyes and hands, necessary for activities, such as blank with Toys, dressing, and writing.

Equilibrium

A term used to mean balance.

Extension

A straightening action of a joint (neck, back, arms, legs).

Fight or Flight Response

The instinctive reaction to defend oneself from real or perceived danger by becoming aggressive, or by withdrawing.

Figure-Ground Perception

The ability to perceive a figure in the foreground from a rival background.

Fine Motor

Referring to movement of the muscles in the fingers, toes, eyes and tongue. Using small muscle groups for controlled movements, particularly in object manipulation, (Fine Coordination/Dexterity.)

Fine Motor Skills

The skilled use of one’s hands. It is the ability to move the hands and fingers in a smooth, precise and controlled manner. Fine motor control is essential for efficient handling of classroom tools and materials. It may also be referred to you as dexterity.

Fixation

Aiming ones, I at an object, or shifting ones, gaze from one object to another.

Focusing

Accommodating one’s vision smoothly between near and distant objects.

Form Consistency

Recognition of a shape, regardless of its size position or texture.

Gravitational Insecurity

Extreme fear and anxiety, that one will fall when one’s head position changes.

Gross Motor

Movements of the large muscles of the body. Using large muscle groups for controlled, goal-directed movements.

Gross Motor Skills

Coordinated body movements involving the large muscle groups. A few activities requiring the skills, requiring running, walking, hopping, climbing, throwing and jumping.

Gustatory

Relating to the sense of taste.

Habituation

The neurological process of tuning out familiar sensations.

Hand Preference

Right- or left-handedness, which becomes established in a child as lateralizarían of the cerebral hemispheres develops.

Hypersensitivity

(Also hyper-reactivity or hyper-responsiveness). Over sensitivity to sensory stimuli, characterized by a tendency to be either fearful and cautious, or negative and defiant.

Hypersensitivity to Movement

A sense of disorientation and/or avoidance of movement that is linear and/or rotary.

Hyposensitivity

(also hyporeactivity or hyporesponsiveness). Under sensitivity to sensory stimuli, characterized by a tendency either to crave intense sensations, or to withdrawal, and be difficult to engage.

Inner Drive

Every person’s self motivation to participate actively in experiences that promote sensory integration.

Integration

The combination of many parts into a unified, harmonious whole.

Kinesthesia

The conscious awareness of joint position and body movement and space, such as knowing where to place one’s feet when climbing stairs, without visual cues.

Lateralization

The process of establishing preference of one side of the brain for directing skilled motor function on the opposite side of the body, while the opposite side is used for stabilization. Lateralization is necessary for establishing hand preference and crossing the body midline.

Linear Movement

A motion in which one moves in a line, from front to back, side to side, or up and down.

Low Tone

The lack of supportive muscle tone, usually with increase mobility at the joints; the person with low tone seems “ loose and floppy”.

Midline

A median line (midsagital plane) dividing the two halves of the body. Crossing the midline is the ability to use one side or part of the body (hand, foot, or eye) in the space of the other side or part.

Modulation

The brains ability to regulate its own activity.

Motor Control

The ability to regulate and monitor the motions of one’s muscle group to work together harmoniously to perform movements.

Motor Coordination

The ability of several muscles or muscle groups to work together, harmoniously to perform movements and patterns

Motor Planning

The ability to conceive of, organize, sequence, and carry out an unfamiliar and complex body movement in a coordinated manner, a piece of praxis.

Muscle Tone

The degree of tension normally present when one’s muscles are relaxed, or in a resting state.

Olfactory

Relating to the sense of smell.

Oscillation

Up and down or to and fro linear movement, such as swinging, bouncing, and jumping.

Oral-Motor Control

Coordinating oropharyngeal musculature for controlled movements.

Pain Response

Interpreting noxious (harmful) stimuli.

Perception

The meaning the brain attributes to sensory input.

Plasticity

The ability of the brain to change or to be changed as a result of activity, especially as one responds to sensations.

Position in Space

Awareness of the spatial orientation of letters, words, numbers, or drawings on a page, or of an object in the environment.

Postural Adjustments

The ability to shift one’s body in order to change position for a task.

Postural Insecurity

A fear of body movement that is related to poor balance, and deficient “body-in-space” awareness.

Postural Stability

Being able to maintain one’s body in a position to efficiently, complete a task or demand, using large muscle groups at the shoulders and hips

Praxis

The ability to interact successfully with the physical environment; to plan, organize, and carry out a sequence of unfamiliar actions; and to do what one needs and wants to do. Praxis is a broad term denoting voluntary and coordinated action. Motor planning is often used as a synonym.

Prone

A horizontal position of the body, where the face is positioned downwards.

Proprioception

The unconscious awareness of sensations coming from one’s joints, muscles, tendons, and ligaments; the “position sense”.

Receptive Language

The ability to understand how words express ideas and feelings; language that one takes in by listening and reading.

Right-Left Discrimination

Ability to identify discriminate, and understand the concept of right and left. Can be affected by short-term memory (aphasia).

Rotary Movement

Turning or spinning in circles

Self-Help Skills

Competence in taking care of one’s personal needs, such as bathing, dressing, eating, grooming, and studying.

Self-Regulation

The ability to control one’s activity level and state of alertness, as well as one’s emotional, mental or physical responses to senses; self-organization.

Sensorimotor

Pertaining to the brain-behavior of taking in sensory messages and reacting with a physical response.

Sensory Awareness

Receiving and differentiating sensory stimuli.

Sensory Defensiveness

A child behavior in response to sensory input, reflecting, severe overreactions, or a low threshold to a specific sensory input.

Sensory Diet

The multisensory 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 self-regulated.

Sensory Dormancy

A child’s behavior in response to sensory input, reflecting under-responsiveness, or a high threshold to a specific sensory input.

Sensory Input

The constant flow of information from sensory receptors in the body to the brain and spinal cord.

Sensory Integration

The normal neurological process taking in information from one’s body and environment through the senses, of organizing and unifying this information, and using it to plan and execute adapter responses to different challenges in order to learn and function smoothly and daily life.

Sensory Integrative Dysfunction

The inefficient neurological processing of information received through the senses, causing problems with learning, development and behavior.

Sensory Integration Theory

A concept based on neurology, research and behavior that explains the brain-behavior relationship.

Sensory Integration Treatment

A technique of occupational therapy, which provides playful, meaningful activities that enhance an individual’s sensory intake and lead to more adaptive functioning in daily life.

Sensory Modulation

Increasing or reducing neural activity to keep that activity in harmony with all other functions of the nervous system. Maintenance of the arousal state to generate emotional responses, sustain attention, develop appropriate activity level and move skillfully.

Sensory Orientation

Selective attention, supporting our inner drive to engage with the stimulus, response and learn.

Sensory Processing Skills

The ability to receive and process information from one’s sensory system including touch (tactile), visual, audio (hearing), proprioceptive (body position), and vestibular (balance). Behavior, attention and peer interactions are greatly influenced by the child’s ability to process sensory stimuli.

Sensory Registration

Initial awareness of a single input. Assigning value and emotional tone to a stimulus.

Sensory Threshold

Individual neural responses to sensory input across each sensory system. The point at which the summation of sensory input activates the central nervous system. This is the mechanism that drives our reactions to sensory input and whether we over-react or under-register the input.

Somatosensory

Referring to tactile-proprioceptive perception of touch sensations and body position; body sensing.

Spatial Awareness (Relations)

The perception of one’s proximity to, or distance from, an object, as well as the perception of the relationship of one’s body parts.

Stereognosis

Identifying objects by feeling their size and weight, while the eyes are closed.

Supine

A horizontal body position where the face is positioned upward.

Tactile

Refers to the sense of touch and various qualities attributed to touch: to include detecting pressure, temperature, light touch, pain, discriminative touch.

Tactile Defensiveness

The tendency to react negatively and emotionally to unexpected light touch sensations.

Tactile Sense

The sensory system that receives sensations of pressure, vibration, movement, temperature, and pain, primarily through receptors in the skin.

Topographical

Terminating the location of objects & setting, and the route of the location

Tracking

Following a moving object or a line of print with the eyes.

Vestibular

Refers to our sense of movement and the pull of gravity, related to our body.

Vestibular Sense

The sensory system that responds to changes in head position and to body movement through space, and that coordinates movements of the eyes, head and body. Receptors are in the inner ear.

Visual

Stimuli through the eyes: peripheral vision, acuity, awareness of color and patterns.

Visual Closure

Identifying forms or objects from incomplete presentations. Ability to identify and complete figures when only fragments are present.

Visual Discrimination

Differentiating amongst symbols and forms, such as matching or separating colors, shapes, numbers, letters, and words.

Visual Figure-Ground

Differentiating between objects in the foreground and in the background.

Visual-Motor

Referring to one’s movements based on the perception of visual information.

Visual Motor Skills

The ability to visually take in information, process it and be able to coordinate your physical movement in relation to what has been viewed. It involves the combination of visual perception and motor coordination. Difficulty with visual motor skills can result in inaccurate reaching, pointing, and grasping of objects, as well as difficulty with copying, drawing, tracing, and cutting.

Visual-Perception

The ability to perceive and interpret what the eyes see.

Visual Perceptual Skills

The ability to interpret and use what is seen in the environment. Difficulties in this area can interfere with a child’s ability to learn self-help skills, like tying shoelaces and academic task, like copying from the blackboard or finding items in a busy background.

Visual-Spatial Processing Skills

Perceptions based on sensory information received through the eyes and body as one interacts with environment and moves one’s body through space. Including: depth perception, directionality, form constancy, position in space, spatial awareness, visual discrimination, visual figure-ground.

Neuro

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Akinesia

Impairment of voluntary and spontaneous movement

Bradykinesia

Slowed motor movement

Dysmetria

Decrease coronation of movement