How to Measure Interoception in Young Children: What the Research Says

Interoception is our ability to sense internal body signals like hunger, heartbeat, or the need to use the bathroom. It’s a key part of self-regulation, emotional development, and body awareness. A recent scoping review examined how to measure interoception in young children, from infancy through childhood. The findings offer helpful insights for occupational therapists, physical therapists, educators, and parents who support children’s growth.

What is Interoception?

Interoception includes three related skills:

• Interoceptive accuracy is the ability to notice signals inside the body, such as a racing heart or a full bladder.
• Interoceptive sensibility refers to how aware someone feels about those internal signals.
• Interoceptive awareness describes how well someone can judge the accuracy of what they feel and how confident they are in those perceptions.

If you want a simple overview of interoception, read: What is Interoception?

Why Does Interoception Matter for Kids?

Interoception is at the heart of how children understand and respond to what their bodies need. It’s the internal guide that helps them stay physically comfortable, emotionally balanced, and socially connected.

When interoceptive development is on track, kids can:

• Understand when they are hungry, full, tired, or need the bathroom
• Notice physical signs of emotions like butterflies in the stomach when nervous or a tight chest when upset
• Respond to body cues to take breaks, calm down, or ask for help
• Practice self-care such as dressing appropriately for the weather or noticing when they’re feeling unwell
• Stay engaged in school and social situations because their internal needs aren’t getting in the way

When interoception is underdeveloped or dysregulated, children might:

• Ignore or miss bathroom cues and have accidents
• Overreact or underreact to pain, temperature, or hunger
• Have difficulty identifying or managing emotions
• Struggle with transitions or become overwhelmed by physical sensations
• Show behaviors that seem confusing to adults, like sudden outbursts or fatigue without explanation

These challenges often overlap with difficulties in proprioception, the sense of body position and movement. Both systems are part of the body’s internal map. When they work together, children can better interpret what they feel and how to act on it. Learn more about the connection here: Interoception and Proprioception

How To Measure Interoception in Different Ages?

The research review looked closely at how to measure interoception in young children.

Infants (0–2 years)

• Since babies can’t communicate verbally, researchers rely on nonverbal approaches. One method is looking-time tasks. These measure how long infants look at visual stimuli that are either in sync or out of sync with their heartbeat. Longer looking times suggest that babies can detect internal patterns.
• Another method is using EEG to record heartbeat-evoked potentials (HEPs). These show how the baby’s brain reacts to their heartbeat. These methods suggest that interoceptive processing begins early, with signs of cardiac sensitivity as early as 3–5 months, though conscious awareness develops later.

Preschoolers (3–6 years)

• For young children, researchers have adapted tasks to match short attention spans. One common method is the Jumping Jack Paradigm. Children do jumping jacks for a few seconds, then estimate their heart rate by picking from pictures of different-sized circles. This approach helps children become more aware of their heartbeat after movement.
• Another task uses eye tracking. Children try to follow a bouncing rabbit that matches their heartbeat, ignoring one that moves out of sync. These activities show that interoceptive accuracy improves with age and may relate to early emotion regulation skills.

School-age Children (6–12 years)

• Older children are ready for more advanced tools. Many studies use a simplified heartbeat counting task, where children try to count their heartbeats over short intervals. This helps researchers measure interoceptive accuracy.
• Validated questionnaires also give insight into a child’s interoceptive sensibility. Two commonly used tools are: The MAIA-Y, a child version of the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness and The SAQ-C, a child version of the Self-Awareness Questionnaire. Validated questionnaires like the MAIA-Y and SAQ-C are among the few available tools developed specifically for children.

These tools help children reflect on how they notice and respond to internal signals. Learn how to use this information to set meaningful goals in Interoception IEP Goals.

Key Points about How To Measure Interoception

Supporting interoceptive development doesn’t require fancy tools. It begins with everyday routines, movement, and meaningful connection. By weaving interoceptive awareness into therapy, routines, and classroom activities, we help children build a stronger connection to themselves and the world around them.

• Movement matters – Physical activity helps children tune into internal signals like heart rate, breathing, and muscle fatigue. It creates natural moments for them to notice how their body feels before, during, and after movement. This can be especially helpful for children who struggle with body awareness. See how this connection plays out in Sensory Processing and Interoception
• Body awareness grows with age – Interoceptive accuracy improves over time, but it doesn’t just happen on its own. Children benefit from repeated opportunities to reflect on their physical states. Simple questions like “Is your tummy feeling full or still hungry?” or “Does your heart feel fast or slow right now?” help build interoceptive awareness.
• Support from adults is key – In infancy and early childhood, responsive caregiving is foundational. When adults consistently notice and respond to a child’s cues, it teaches the child that their internal signals matter. This helps lay the groundwork for lifelong self-regulation.
• Self-awareness tools can help – For school-aged children, self-report tools like the MAIA-Y questionnaire offer a structured way to explore how they perceive and respond to body signals. These insights can guide therapists and educators in building targeted supports. To dive deeper into how interoception connects to emotional cues, see Interoception Awareness: Understanding Body Language to Support Self-Regulation

This research shows that interoception starts developing very early and continues to evolve throughout childhood. Measuring it requires age-appropriate tools and an understanding that children may not always be able to describe what they feel. Whether you are a therapist, parent, or teacher, supporting interoception means helping kids notice, understand, and respond to their own body signals. In doing so, we give them skills that last a lifetime.

REFERENCE

Addabbo, M., & Milani, L. (2025). Measuring interoception from infancy to childhood: A scoping review. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 106161.