Description
This workshop continues the focus on sensory modulation and reactivity by examining two sensory systems that are often less emphasised in sensory integration teaching: the auditory and olfactory systems. It explores how sound and smell can influence arousal, emotion, attention, behaviour, sleep, participation and social engagement.
Participants are introduced to key features of auditory processing, including sound frequency, loudness, pitch, sound localisation, auditory pathways, cortical processing and auditory reactivity. The session considers hyperacusis, sound sensitivity, auditory processing differences and the impact that sound can have on participation, social interaction, school or clinic environments, and everyday routines.
The workshop then explores olfaction as a primitive but powerful sensory system with close links to emotion, memory, appetite, mood, social connection and environmental safety. It considers smell sensitivity, loss of smell, distorted smell perception, and the thoughtful use of scent-based strategies such as aromatherapy, while acknowledging the need for careful individualised reasoning and the limited evidence base.
The final section focuses on the reticular formation as a key structure in arousal, alertness, sleep, sensory transmission, motor readiness and regulation. Participants are supported to think about how sensory input can increase or reduce arousal, how arousal influences learning and performance, and how therapeutic choices can be graded to support regulation without overwhelming the person.
Through teaching, clinical discussion and video observation, this session helps therapists connect sensory reactivity with real functional concerns, including anxiety, sleep, communication, participation, postural control and engagement in therapy.
Learning outcomes
By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:
- describe key auditory processing features that influence sound perception, localisation and sensitivity
- explain how auditory reactivity and hyperacusis may affect arousal, anxiety, communication, participation and social interaction
- differentiate between auditory hyperreactivity and broader auditory processing challenges
- recognise the role of olfaction in emotion, memory, appetite, mood, safety and social connection
- consider how scent-based strategies may be used thoughtfully within an individualised regulation plan
- explain the role of the reticular formation in arousal, alertness, sleep, sensory transmission and motor readiness
- discuss how sensory input can be graded to increase or reduce arousal in therapy and daily routines
- use clinical observation to reflect on how auditory, olfactory, vestibular, proprioceptive and environmental factors influence regulation and participation
Participants will learn it through focused teaching, neuroscience explanation and video observation, discuss auditory and olfactory contributions to reactivity and arousal, apply the ideas to real clinical examples, reflect on how sensory input can support or disrupt participation, and take the learning back into practice through more precise regulation-focused reasoning.
