Proprioception or Movement Breaks
Proprioception refers to movement and the awareness of our body in the space around us
Proprioception helps us to
- understand our position in the space around us
- calm down
- get going
Movement breaks are a great way to:
- organise the brain
- organise sensory input
- improve attention
- improve body awareness
- decrease defensiveness
Movement breaks can be categorised into 8 different movements:
- Running
- Jumping
- Climbing
- Lifting
- Crashing
- Hugging
- Pushing
- Pulling
Struggles with proprioception can look like:
- puzzles – not completing the edges first as there’s little understanding of edges and boundaries, both with the puzzle and their body
- scooting into parked cars or walking out in front of cars
- death grip when holding hands while walking
- struggling with balance
- falling off a chair straight onto their face, with no hands out or any reaction to try and ‘catch’ themselves
- not being able to sit still
- constantly jumping, moving, crashing into things
Things you can do to help:
A kid that is repeatedly bouncing off the walls and running into things/constantly banging into you
- likely seeking sensory input and feedback
- Try giving them a
- weighted blanket
- a big squeeze
- a heavy lifting activity (like stacking chairs) or
- a pushing/pulling game
- to give them the proprioceptive input that their body is seeking, but in a safer and more socially acceptable way.
Find this printable in Little Wooden Toybox’s Emotional Regulation and Sensory Profiles
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