The child who swings between extremes has trouble finding the comfort zone — the area in which her body is comfortable, efficient, and alert. Her efforts to reach that zone may send her careening from understimulation to overstimulation; distract her so much that she's unable to regulate other areas or pay good attention; or prove impossible if she's stuck on one end or the other. The ability to correctly attune the sensory system so it gets just enough of everything is called sensory modulation, and in children with sensory integration disorder it is woefully lacking.

It may be useful to think of sensory modulation in terms of the climate control system of a house. Some houses have thermostats that constantly keep the temperature within a comfort zone, turning on the air conditioner when the weather gets warm, cuing up the heat when the weather gets cold, keeping things balanced. When the temperature sneaks outside of the comfort zone, it's quickly brought right.

Different houses may have different comfort zones — what seems like a good temperature to you may seem cold or unbearably warm to your neighbor — but the person who has set the thermostat doesn't have to do much more than that to keep things within an acceptable range and doesn't have to think much about the whole process.

Making Adjustments

Some houses, though, don't have thermostats. Maybe they have window air-conditioning units and space heaters. It's still possible to keep things within a comfort zone with these tools, but it's a little more work. More effort has to be put into the fine-tuning. Things can get out of hand more quickly.

Then, too, if these tools are working too well, they can actually reverse the problem. An air conditioner on full blast can make a room too cold. A person sitting right next to a heater may get too warm. Still, with a little effort, a comfort zone can be maintained more often than not.

Then there are houses where windows and the fireplace are the only sources of climate control available. Staying within a comfort zone can be very difficult in those environments, with constant monitoring and adjusting needed, and even those efforts are limited and often inadequate.

In some extreme circumstances, a comfort zone is unattainable. A power outage, an area with extreme weather, windows that won't open, or a lack of useable fuel can all make a reasonable range of climatic comfort a pipe dream.

All efforts must be focused on basic survival, never mind comfort, and there is always a certain degree of physical or environmental danger involved. Any attempt to get in the way of these survival measures will be met with severe resistance. Energy must be zealously conserved, or used only in the pursuit of coolness or warmth.

Love Your Thermostat

When it comes to sensory integration, most of us have reliable thermostats. You may swing into the discomfort range now and then, but get back in line so easily you hardly notice the effort. Some people have to work a little harder at it, making frequent adjustments and accommodations that are noticeable but not a nuisance, while others find it a nuisance but attend to it anyway. But children with sensory integration disorder are often like those powerless, fuel-less houses in which survival is the only goal and measures that would be unthinkable for most are the only options available.

If only you could install a reliable thermostat in your child. Sadly, it's not that easy. Things may never be that simple or that regular for him. But you can shoot for window units and space heaters, or even windows that slide open easily and big cords of wood by the fireplace. Any move toward a more reasonably regulated comfort zone will be an improvement. Even finding the comfort zone is sometimes a very large achievement for parents and kids alike.