DOES MY CHILD SHOW SIGNS OF A SENSORY PROCESSING DISORDER?
A child may need to be evaluated if difficulties are seen in one or more of these areas causing functional challenges:
overly responsive to sensations
Some children have a “fight, flight, or freeze” response to sensations not typically bothersome to children the same age.
overly-responsive examples
- Unusual dislike of bathing, face or hair washing, haircuts or nail cutting.
- Tendency to avoid physical contact, becomes tense when held.
- Agitated by unexpected light touch.
- Dislikes contact with sand, dough, glue or finger paint.
- Overreacts to getting dressed or to certain textures of clothing.
- Aversion to or withdrawal from touch or textures.
- Greater than expected sensitivity to sound, odors, tastes, or lights
- Demonstrates an unusual fear to movement and/or heights
- Covers ears around specific sounds, unable to tolerate a movie theater
- Very picky eater
- Gags in response to odors that are typically non-noxious
- Expresses discomfort or “zones out” in loud or busy environments like sporting events, malls, crowded streets, birthday parties, loud classrooms or family events
- Becomes anxious when feet are off ground, may not enjoy swinging, jumping and/or climbing
- Hesitant to go on escalators or elevators
- Difficulty regulating sleep / wake cycles
*While this checklist can not diagnose a child with SPD, it can be a helpful guide to see if additional testing should be done.
under responsive to sensations
The nervous systems of some children are not able to recognize the sensory information that is coming into the brain. Subsequently, these children may seek out constant stimulation or more intense or prolonged sensory experiences. For instance:
under-responsive examples
- Often unsafe as they swing, jump, fall, crash, kick, push or climb.
- Does not seem to get dizzy as readily as other individual’s.
- Does not typically seem to notice pain.
- Unable to get individual’s attention by calling their name.
- Does not notice need to use the bathroom.
- Appears to be in their “own world.”
- Performs movements in a slow fashion.
*While this checklist can not diagnose a child with SPD, it can be a helpful guide to see if additional testing should be done.
sensory craving
Sensations for some children may not be registered the correct way or in the way the child wants. Sometimes that will lead to a constant desire for sensation.
sensory craving examples
- Fidgeting, wiggling and restlessness which interferes with daily routines
- Constant desire for jumping, crashing, swinging, spinning, bumping, pulling, pushing, hanging, or being upside down
- Rapid changing of activities interfering with completion of tasks
- Touching others/invading personal space
- Constant touching/feeling objects
- Licking/sucking/chewing non-food items
- Making excessive noises
- Playing too roughly with peers
- Talks frequently and has trouble with turn taking
- Could watch visual stimulating scenarios for too long
- Eating foods with strong flavors/tastes
*While this checklist can not diagnose a child with SPD, it can be a helpful guide to see if additional testing should be done.
sensory discrimination
Discrimination is the ability to recognize the details within sensory inputs, as well as recognizing the differences between sensory inputs.
discrimination challenges examples
Difficulty with:
-
Using appropriate force needed for a task (writing/pushing/kicking)
- Figuring out how to handle delicate items / using less force for delicate items
- Throwing accurately to a target
- Carrying a tray with items on it
- Locating desired items within a busy space
- Maintaining attention within crowded/busy environments
- Typically examines items with touch rather than eyes
- Putting belongs away in proper place
*While this checklist can not diagnose a child with SPD, it can be a helpful guide to see if additional testing should be done.
difficulties with motor planning or “praxis”
Motor planning is the ability to translate sensory input into organized, purposeful motor output.
Motor planning is complex and requires (1) coming up with an idea for movement, (2) having an accurate awareness of one’s body in space, (3) beginning the movement, (4) executing the steps of the movement activity with the proper timing and sequencing, (5) adjusting the body as needed during the movement activity and (6) stopping the movement.
difficulty with motor planning examples
- Unable to ride a bike or skip rope
- Taking excessive time to complete routine tasks
- Trouble tying shoes
- Figuring out how to carry several objects at one time
- Was slow to roll over, creep, sit, stand, walk or achieve other motor milestones
- Avoiding participation in sports or other age appropriate physical activities
- Difficulty learning new motor tasks or sequence steps for an activity
- Poor gross motor skills overall, such as kicking, catching, or throwing a ball
- Trouble devising new ideas for play or uses for toys
- Prefers to play only with the same equipment and/or toys
- Appears clumsy, awkward or accident prone
- Difficulty following a series of verbal directions in class
- Difficulty with tasks that have several steps
*While this checklist can not diagnose a child with SPD, it can be a helpful guide to see if additional testing should be done.
difficulties with postural control
Postural control is important as our core and trunk provide a stable base of support for actions we produce at our hands and feet. Children with a postural disorder may exhibit the following signs:
difficulty with postural control examples
- Low muscle tone
- Low endurance and fatigues quickly (appears to be sluggish/lethargic)
- Poor balance
- Poor body awareness
- Slow, cautious movement or a preferance for sedentary activities
- Difficulty moving on uneven surfaces
- Decreased motor control
- Inefficient vestibular (awareness of where he is in space) and proprioceptive (awareness of position of muscles and joints) processing
- Uses a wide base of support such as a W-sit or standing with legs far apart when standing
- Leaning into surfaces such as furniture or desks, slouching over, or propping up their head on hand when seated
*While this checklist can not diagnose a child with SPD, it can be a helpful guide to see if additional testing should be done.
difficulty with gross motor coordination
Gross motor coordination is highly dependent on the registration and integration of vestibular input. Vestibular input helps us maintain our balance, coordinate the movement of our eyes with our head, use both sides of the body at once, and feel the direction and speed of movement.
Click here to learn more about how sensory integration affects gross motor coordination
difficulty with gross motor coordination examples
- Difficulty riding a bike or performing jumping jacks
- Difficulty with tasks requiring both sides of the body
- Difficulty with tasks requiring both hands
- Appears to have “loose” muscles and joints
- Trouble keeping eyes on a moving target
- Difficulty maintain balance
- Falls frequently
*While this checklist can not diagnose a child with SPD, it can be a helpful guide to see if additional testing should be done.
difficulties with interoception
Interoception is how we recognize our internal feelings through sensation in our organs and is all about our mind-body connection! This is what enables us to notice our body signals, connect those body signals with their meaning to us and regulate effectively using that information. This includes feelings like a growling stomach, racing heart, full bladder, tiredness and more! Interoception is integral to being able to care for our own needs – so growing interoceptive awareness is important to our well being. This often requires direct, structured opportunities to learn about the inner experience!
Difficulty with interoception examples
- Feeling stress or nerves/anxiety as more extreme body aches and pains
- Frequent headaches, stomach aches, body pains
- Child is overly aware of body sensations
- Difficulty regulating body temperature
- Difficulty recognizing feelings of nausea, hunger/satiety or thirst
- Frequent bathroom accidents – does not recognize the need for bathroom
- Difficulty labeling emotions
*While this checklist can not diagnose a child with SPD, it can be a helpful guide to see if additional testing should be done.
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