Glossary
Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.
15 results found in sensory processing.
- Audio-Visual Entrainment (AVE, Brainwave Entrainment)
- Audio-visual entrainment (AVE) is a therapeutic technique that uses rhythmic light and sound stimuli to influence brainwave activity, guiding the brain toward specific frequency states associated with…
- Autistic Meltdown (Meltdown, Sensory Meltdown)
- An autistic meltdown is an intense, involuntary response to overwhelming sensory, emotional, or cognitive overload, during which an autistic person may temporarily lose the ability to regulate their b…
- Binaural Beats
- Binaural beats are an auditory phenomenon that occurs when two tones of slightly different frequencies are played simultaneously in separate ears through headphones, creating a perceived third tone wh…
- Cymatics
- The study of visible patterns and shapes created when sound vibrations pass through physical media such as water, sand, or metal plates. Cymatic patterns are deterministic — the same frequency produce…
- Decreased Sound Tolerance (DST, Sound Intolerance)
- Decreased sound tolerance (DST) is an umbrella term for conditions in which everyday sounds are perceived as uncomfortably loud, threatening, or emotionally distressing. It encompasses hyperacusis (ab…
- Intentional Sensory Stimulation
- A design approach for technology that deliberately leverages optimal sensory modes — visual, auditory, haptic, or multimodal — to facilitate comprehension and engagement, rather than simply reducing i…
- Interoception (Interoceptive Awareness)
- The sense of the internal state of the body, including perception of heartbeat, breathing, hunger, thirst, temperature, pain, and emotional feelings. Interoception enables people to recognize and resp…
- Multi-Sensory Environment (MSE, Snoezelen, Multisensory Room)
- A specially designed space that combines sensory stimuli — such as lighting, sound, textures, and aromas — to provide therapeutic, calming, or stimulating experiences for people with disabilities. Ori…
- Phonophobia (Sound Phobia, Ligyrophobia)
- Phonophobia is an intense fear or aversion to specific sounds or loud noises that goes beyond simple discomfort, often leading to avoidance behaviors such as fleeing from environments where triggering…
- Photosensitivity (Light Sensitivity, Photophobia)
- An abnormal sensitivity to light that can cause discomfort, pain, or visual disturbance. Photosensitivity affects many people with visual impairments and certain neurological conditions including migr…
- Sensory Based Motor Disorder (SBMD)
- A subtype of Sensory Processing Disorder in which the brain has difficulty using sensory information to plan and execute motor actions. SBMD encompasses two sub-types: postural disorder, which affects…
- Sensory Processing (Sensory Integration, Sensory Processing Differences)
- Sensory processing refers to the way the nervous system receives, organizes, and responds to sensory input from the environment, including sound, light, touch, smell, taste, and movement. When sensory…
- Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD, Sensory Integration Disorder, Sensory Integration Dysfunction)
- A condition in which the brain has difficulty receiving, organizing, and responding to sensory information from the environment and the body. People with Sensory Processing Disorder may be oversensiti…
- Sound Localization (Auditory Localization)
- The ability to determine the direction and distance of a sound source using auditory cues such as differences in timing and intensity between the two ears. Blind and visually impaired people often dev…
- Tactile Reading (Touch Reading)
- The process of reading text through the sense of touch, primarily using the fingertips to perceive raised characters such as braille. Tactile reading requires distinct perceptual and cognitive skills …