The Integrated Tree Interoception Model™
Understanding how body signals, regulation, executive function, and participation work together.
The Integrated Interoception Tree Model™ helps therapists, educators, and caregivers understand how internal awareness develops, from safety and connection to participation and performance, using a clear visual framework that supports more effective care for children.
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Children's behavior and learning do not emerge from a single system. Internal body signals, nervous system regulation, thinking skills, and environmental demands interact continuously.​
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The tree represents the biological and developmental system of a child. Executive function operates within the canopy of life activities, where children adapt to internal and external demands throughout the day.
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Model Introduction
Understanding the Tree
Just as a tree grows from the ground upward, children's participation and behavior develop from deeper biological systems.
The Integrated Interoception Model™ uses a tree to illustrate how sensory systems, internal body awareness, and lived experience support our engagement with the world.
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When deeper systems are supported, participation improves, and behavior begins to change naturally.
The Ground
The Ground: Environment and Safety
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If the ground is unstable, everything built above it becomes harder to access.
Interoception does not begin solely within the body. It begins in relationships.
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The ground of the Integrated Interoception Tree Model™ represents the early and ongoing experiences that shape how the nervous system develops access to internal signals. These include attachment, co-regulation, environmental safety, and predictability.
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Before children can notice or understand what is happening inside their bodies, they must first experience enough safety for those signals to be accessible. The process begins at birth.
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Co-regulation, consistent caregiving, and supportive environments act as the nutrients that allow the system to grow. When the conditions are present, internal signals become clearer, more tolerable, and more meaningful over time.
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When conditions are inconsistent or overwhelming, access to internal signals may be limited, delayed, or difficult to interpret.
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The model shifts the question from “What skill is missing?” to “What conditions are shaping access?”
The Roots
The Roots: The Seven Sensory Systems
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The roots represent the sensory systems that gather information about the body and the environment. The systems form the foundation for how the brain understands movement, balance, touch, and the surrounding world.
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Vision
Auditory
Tactile
Olfactory
Gustatory
Vestibular
Proprioception
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The systems provide the foundation for understanding the environment and organizing movement.
The Trunk
The Trunk: Interoception
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The trunk represents interoception, the awareness of internal body signals.
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Interoception helps the brain recognize sensations such as hunger, thirst, breathing, fatigue, pain, and emotional activation. The signals help the body understand when something needs attention or adjustment.
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When interoception is clear and accessible, children are better able to regulate their bodies, recognize their needs, and respond to the demands of everyday life.
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Interoception supports the development of regulation, emotional awareness, and executive function, helping children participate more fully in everyday activities.
The Canopy
The Canopy: Lived Experience
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Just as a tree spreads its branches into the surrounding environment, children grow and participate within the experiences of everyday life. The canopy represents the world children move through each day. It includes the environments, expectations, and relationships that shape daily participation.
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School routines
Social relationships
Play
Family life
Community experiences
Learning expectations
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The experiences form the context in which children use their sensory systems, body awareness, and executive function skills.
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The canopy is where children learn, interact, and grow, supported by the deeper systems developing below.
Leaves
Leaves: Participation and Performance
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The leaves represent participation in everyday life.
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Participation includes the activities children engage in throughout the day as they learn, interact, and care for themselves.
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Learning and school tasks
Play and exploration
Social interaction
Self-care routines
Daily responsibilities
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When the sensory systems, interoception, and executive function support the body effectively, children are better able to engage in daily experiences.
Fruit
Fruit: Behavior/Observable Outcomes
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Fruit represents the signals that the system produces. It is the visible signal of the entire system, but it is not the root cause.
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Sometimes the fruit is:
Struggle
Distress
Avoidance
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Sometimes the fruit is:
Confidence
Persistence
Independence
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Behavior is often the most visible signal of how the deeper systems of the body are functioning. When we support the sensory systems, interoception, and regulation that develop below the surface, participation and behavior begin to change naturally.
Where Executive Function Fits
Executive function skills help children plan, initiate, organize, shift attention, and complete tasks in daily life.
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The skills do not develop in isolation. They grow from the sensory systems, body awareness, and regulation processes represented in the Integrated Interoception Model or the tree.
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When the body's systems are supported, children are better able to access the executive function skills needed for learning, problem-solving, and participation.
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The Executive Function Express provides a practical framework for understanding how thinking skills operate during real-life activities. The model places interoception and regulation at the foundation of executive function, connecting body awareness with planning, organization, and flexible thinking.
