“Proper development of the Auditory and Vestibular System (hair cells in the inner ear) affect proper development of Visual Processing Skills as well as all other senses.”

Auditory Systems—work with the vestibular system to process sensations of movement and sound; “the only sense to begin in the womb.”

Vestibular—“tells us where our body and heads are in relation to the earth’s surface.” Thus, gravity stimulates the nervous systems ability to:

• Balance and move efficiently (coordination) from the neck, eyes, inner ear, body
• Detect are we moving or are objects moving
• Know direction of movement & speed (up, down, forward, backward, fast, slow)
• Able to coordinate visual/motor or just visual task (left to right through midline)
• Have good postural responses needed to keep upright, crawl, run
• Able to locate and discriminate among the sounds vibrating in her inner ear

“ The receptors for vestibular sensations are hair cells in the inner ear, which is like a “vestibule” for sensory messages to pass through.  They register every movement we make and every change in head position—even the most subtle.” 

 TEST:  Stand up in a two-footed position, close your eyes, and tip your head way to the right.   KEEP EYES CLOSED—now resume your upright head posture.  Try again, but just stand on one foot and try to close your eyes without falling.

Information from, The Out-of Sync Child by Carol Kranowitz