Fetal Observation Report

Sensory loss can often be a ‘hidden’ disability which can frequently lead to isolation and frustration at not being able to communicate efficiently with other people. With hearing loss, day-to-day activities such as hearing a doorbell, using the telephone, watching television or taking part in conversations can produce feelings of inadequacy.

Sensory impairments usually result in the other senses becoming stringer. Although it could delay the child’s development if it isn’t diagnosed early, the earlier it is diagnose the earlier the child can be supported and be taught relevant things in a way that suits them.

Auditory Processing Disorders, also known as Central Processing Disorders, are difficulties in the processing of auditory information in the central nervous system. The definition for an Auditory Processing Disorder is frequently changing and evolving. According to ASHA standards in 2005, a “central processing disorder refers to difficulties in the perceptual processing of auditory information in the central nervous system and the neurobiological activity that underlies the processing and gives rise to the electrophysiological auditory potentials (ASHA 2005).” Recent evidence has declared auditory processing disorders to be a legitimate clinical disorder resulting from confirmation of the link between well-defined lesions of the central nervous system and deficits on behavioral and electrophysiological central auditory measures (Musiek, F. Journal of American Academy of Audiology). An individual is likely to perform normally in tests including clicks and tones, rather than speech. There is a significant difference between the receptors for audition and speech processing. It is imperative that these disorders are diagnosed and treated early in a child’s development to eliminate developmental negative consequences.

Figure 2. Tactile threshold was decreased in CCI group compared to control groups over time (A). * denotes significant differences compared to naive (p ≤ .001) and # denotes significant differences compared to sham (p ≤ .001) using 2-way ANOVA and Bonferroni test. CCI showed higher tactile allodynia 28 days compared to 14 days post-surgery (B). * denotes

Having a dual sensory loss means you can’t look for different clues when communicating, it may become almost impossible to go out on your own and to carry out daily living tasks without somebody there to help.

Joanni appears to have intact vestibular processing. Joanni demonstrates inadequate proprioceptive and tactile awareness in the hands and fingers as evidence by his inability to appropriately latch his zipper or ability to manipulate other small objects when doing fine motor activities. Proprioception is the way receptors in our joints perceive muscle movements and it is important because those receptors allow us to coordinate movements. The Tactile system works through receptors in our skin which provide us with information about temperature, pressure, touch, and pain. One of the most important functions of the tactile system is to help alert us of danger in our environment A delay in processing this information may impact a person with fine

The Bionic Ear has revolutionised the lives of deaf individuals all over the world, it is not only a great scientific achievement, but also a great progression in a socio-cultural context within the lives and communities of the deaf and hearing-impaired individuals. The Bionic Ear with the aid of IT has provided new capabilities and in turn gives individuals new choices of

What would it be like to not be able to hear, see, touch, taste and smell? That is the question that scientists have been trying to answer with Sensory Deprivation experiments throughout the years. “Sensory deprivation is the deliberate removal of stimuli from one or more of the senses,” (Hanchett 1). Sensory Deprivation can be scary. Losing all of your senses and the idea of the material world not being at your fingers for just a second is a frightening thought to most. We all depend on our senses to keep us alive. We can look and see if a car is

Sensory losses can affect on normal living in a variety of ways. These can be hidden disability which can ultimately result in social isolation and frustration due to not being able to communicate efficiently. In case of hearing loss, day-to-day activities such as hearing a doorbell, using the telephone, watching television or taking part in conversations can build a sense of discomfort and inadequacy. On the other hand, those who have vision impairment cannot distinguish faces during face to face talk, feel difficulty in watching TV and reading time

Human limitations will change the ability to accurately receive sensations. People senses can be different then others, so the fact that this

Cross-modal plasticity (CMP) is a fundamental feature of the nervous system, whereby the loss of one sensory modality leads to enhanced sensory performance in remaining modalities. Several studies have observed that areas within the occipital cortex (O.C.) of blind individuals are recruited to process non-visual input. This was reported in blinded monkeys, wherein the O.C. showed robust activation during tactile stimulation. However, different areas show different susceptibilities to such plasticity depending on the developmental age at which the sensory deprivation occurred. One study showed that O.C. activity varies between sighted and congenitally blind participants, and those blinded later in life. Their findings indicated that the longer a person has been blind for, the higher the amount of CMP. This might result from a variety of mechanisms such as the emergence of new connections due to sensory deprivation or the unmasking of preexisting connections. That said, to prove that the activation of the O.C. is truly an indicator of CMP, scientists investigated whether stimulating the cortex with TMS would disrupt participants’ tactile acuity. Results showed congenitally blind individuals to have a much higher error rate in reading

Sound localization occurs via interaural delay and interaural intensity, which affect the olivary bodies. Binaural hearing, the use of both ears, allows these processes to occur. However, individuals with asymmetric hearing loss or autism may struggle with sound localization, as binaural hearing is impossible and the olivary bodies have defects, respectively. One of the properties of sound, amplitude, tests spatial hearing abilities in this experiment. The hypothesis states that an increase in amplitude results in improved sound localization. In the study, a 180-degree angle was formed by lettered points. Blindfolded subjects pointed to the location a sound was played at, albeit a loud, moderate, or soft tone. Additionally, subjects completed trials in which the right ear was shut and both ears were open, in order to test binaural versus monaural hearing.

People who are both blind and deaf can make touch as an important tool to help them interpret speech and this was the case of Hellen who depended on touch. Even though Hellen Keller was blind and deaf, she still had an important sense that played a significant role in her speech and it was touch. She learned to speak by touching and pacing her fingers in certain positions that would allow her to feel the vibration of words and tongue movements. In addition to touch, she still had the senses of taste and smell. For instance, smell gave her cues to perceive the emotions of others. Touch played an important role in Hellen’s development and understanding the world around

Our senses are linked to memory and cognition. Damage leading to the disruption of sensory input from one sense can lead to the improvement of the remaining senses. In the event that the visual cortex is damaged, the sensory cortex will respond more to input from the other senses (Bates). When sensory deprivation occurs at an early age, the other senses become heightened more than they would be in people who lose the ability to use one of their senses later in life (Bates). Christina Karns, Mark Dow and Helen Neville of the University of Oregon performed an experiment to see how the loss of hearing at an early age affected neuroplasticity in the brain of a deaf person (Karns). They also wanted to determine if this 'reorganization' in the brain would lead to altered perceptual abilities (Karns). Another point of interest was ascertaining if deafness affects how the brain processes both vision and touch together (Karns). Their participants included

Brain plasticity is an active area of research that focuses on how physiological and environmental change can modify the structure and function of the brain. The region primarily responsible for this phenomenon is the cerebral cortex, which is found on the outer layer of brain to play roles additional roles in conducting thought, memory and perception. Particularly, when individuals are diagnosed with sensory deprivation, brain plasticity can compensate this disadvantage by strengthening another sense. This relation was further explored when M.M Shiell hypothesized, “compensatory visual enhancements in deaf people are supported by plasticity in [the] auditory cortex” (Shiell et al., 2016), to introduce her study on comparing relative thickness