The role of caregivers requires that they continuously assess the needs and performance of children and provide the support necessary for them to achieve their potential. A thorough understanding of child development, including the role and impact of sensory development, is critical for caregivers to properly evaluate and assist these children. The most important step in promoting integration in children is to recognize that it exists and that it plays an important role in children's development. Armed with information and understanding, child care providers can observe and evaluate a child's responses to various sensations and determine their sensory integration skills and needs. By helping children develop sensory processing abilities, caregivers foster success in all developmental areas and support the achievement of every child's potential. Since processing sensory information is the foundation of all learning, all seven sensory systems are important in a child's development. This article discusses the seven major sensory systems in the human body that provide avenues for the processing of sensory information as well as the symptoms of sensory dysfunction. It also discusses the development and impact of sensory integration, the term for the unconscious process of sharing and organizing sensations and turning them into perceptions. (Contains 6 resources.)