Your child's ability to recognize when they're hungry, need to use the bathroom, feel tired, or experience emotions all depends on a sensory system that most people have never heard of: interoception. This "eighth sense" is the foundation for emotional awareness, self-regulation, and even our sense of self. For many children, especially those with neurodevelopmental differences, interoceptive processing works differently.
Download the One-Pager
Your child can tell you when they’re hungry or need the bathroom — right? Not always. Sometimes they seem to melt down “out of nowhere,” can’t tell if they’re full, or don’t notice they’re too hot until they’re flushed and sweaty. It’s not about ignoring signals — it’s about whether their brain even gets those signals in the first place.
If vision is your child’s camera and hearing is their microphone, interoception is their dashboard — the inner system that tracks what’s happening inside the body. It tells the brain:
When the dashboard is clear and accurate, kids can meet their needs before things get intense. When it’s glitchy, the brain either misses important alerts or sends false alarms.
The dashboard sends too many urgent notifications.
You might see: feeling “too full” after small bites; frequent “I have to go” bathroom trips; heightened awareness of small discomforts (tiny itch, minor temperature shift).
The dashboard doesn’t send alerts until the need is extreme.
You might see: not noticing hunger until starving; missing bathroom cues until it’s urgent; seeming unfazed by pain or injury.
The brain actively looks for internal sensations, sometimes to regulate.
You might see: frequently touching or pressing on body parts; asking often about heartbeat, breathing, or digestion; doing activities that create strong internal sensations (running to feel heartbeat, eating spicy foods).
Think of it this way: Interoception is your child’s built-in weather app. If it’s inaccurate or laggy, storms feel sudden and sunny moments might get missed.
You’re giving your child repeated, low-stakes practice in noticing, naming, and responding to body cues — building the accuracy of their inner dashboard.
This sense changes with context. A child might be over-responsive to fullness but under-responsive to thirst, or accurate with physical cues but miss emotional ones.
This pattern map will help you predict where support will be most useful.
Parent Takeaway: Your child’s “out of nowhere” reactions often have roots inside the body. Strengthening interoceptive awareness is like upgrading their internal GPS — fewer missed turns, more timely stops.
Curious how the body’s dashboard works behind the scenes?
References: Craig, 2002; Critchley et al., 2004; Khalsa et al., 2018; Mehling et al., 2012.
Educational Content Only
This framework is one way to understand your child's experiences. It complements—never replaces—professional clinical services, medical advice, or therapeutic interventions.
Trust Your Instincts
Every child's brain works differently. You know your child best, and what resonates for one family may not apply to another.
This content is developed with care, grounded in research, and offered with respect for your family's unique journey.