Tactile System 101

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The tactile system is responsible for our sense of touch including our sense of pain and pressure which we receive through the receptors in our skin. This system helps us process the things we touch and understand the qualities of what we touch. For example, hard, soft, smooth, rough, weight, and size. This system plays a critical role early on in helping us learn body awareness and all that we come into contact with daily. This system plays a direct role in motor planning, self awareness, social emotional regulation, and visual processing.

It is one of three systems that are focused on in treatment of sensory processing disorder.

Dysfunction can appear as under responsiveness to touch or pain. It can also appear as over-responsiveness to textures and touch. Avoiding touching any texture such as paint, sand, food to name a few. Becoming bothered by tags in clothing. Avoids being touched or needs to touch everything or rub textures to their face, fingers, or lips.

Simple Activities to Help Strengthen System:

Use of sensory bins with a different tactile media such as dry rice, water, dry macaroni, beans, sand, and kinetic sand.
For sensory avoiders, try slow introduction of wet textures such as paint, foam soap, shaving cream, whipped cream by modeling play and using utensils to first touch the textures with.
Use of heavy work activities such as weight bearing activities on hands – walking like an animal (cat, dog, bear, etc) tug of war, pushing a weighted down stoller to increase grounding and security.
For tactile seekers use sensory bins and textured play as a way to calm the system before engaging in purposeful play with toys.
Fidget toys such as blankets with tags, fidget spinners, koosh balls, stress ball, and dimple key chain that can keep hands busy.
Use of pressure such as weighted blanket, deep massage to body, activities that include pushing and pulling