Sensory Disorders, also referred to as Sensory Processing Disorders or Sensory Integration Dysfunction, are becoming more recognizable as we are learning new information about the nervous system and how it affects behavior.
A child with sensory modulation disorder, a subtype of sensory processing disorder, may have symptoms similar to those of mild autism, ADHD, or Asperger Syndrome and can be misdiagnosed. This is usually because children with these disorders may also have sensory challenges, but sensory processing disorder can occur by itself.
When the nervous system perceives information through the senses and interprets that information we are able to respond in an appropriate manner. Children that have a sensory disorder, may not be able to learn how to respond appropriately to stimuli in the environment, as a result of being unable to interpret the information. Understanding how sensory processing can affect behavior is very important for being able to identify why your child might be behaving in a certain way.
Sensory disorders usually affect people in multiple senses, but may be more noticeable in only one of the bodys senses, such as touch, sound, or sight. It can also cause different reactions in different people depending on how that persons individual body is interpreting the sensory information.
Some children may find certain sensory input to be over stimulating and therefore find it difficult to be around loud noises, bright lights, or to wear certain types of clothing material. Others may crave sensory stimulation and be found in the subtype of sensory seeking.
Treatment Options
Treatment options for sensory disorders will typically include sensory integration therapy and occupational therapy, but will vary for each child depending on his or her specific needs and symptoms.
Symptoms of Over-responsive and Under-responsive Sensory Modulation Disorder
General symptoms, for this particular type of sensory disorder, may include being overly sensitive to lights, sounds, movement (car rides), or smells, under-reactive to sensory stimulation, hyperactive or lethargic behavior, difficulties with coordination, delays in speech, language acquisition, or motor skills, and weak associations of behavior.
For children that are experiencing difficulties with a particular sense you might see more specific symptoms of a sensory disorder including:
1. Tactile sensitivity: Sensitivity to input from the skin such as touch, weight, temperature, and pain. Some more specific symptoms include(1):
Frequently craves touch, back massages, and hugs
May engage in self injury, such as biting, pinching, or head banging
Insensitive to injuries
Oral fixation indicated by frequently mouthing objects
Seeks activities that involve messy play
Likes to touch soft or smooth surfaces
Likes the feeling of objects that have vibration
C. Other signs of a sensory disorder related to tactile sensitivity:
Poor fine motor skills and problems completing tasks, such as zipping pants and other fasteners
Difficulties using scissors, pencils, crayons or silverware
Struggles to define physical characteristics of objects in terms of shape, size, texture, temperature or weight.
May be afraid of the dark
Problems identifying objects just by feeling them.
2. Vestibular Dysfunction: Sensitivity to input from the inner ear about equilibrium, gravitational changes, and movement.
3.
Proprioceptive Dysfunction
The bodys inability to appropriately process and interpret input from the muscles and joints related to body position and the sense of weight, pressure, and position of neighboring parts of the body.
4. Auditory Dysfunction:
Difficulty processing auditory stimuli and responding appropriately with no known hearing loss. This has also been referred to as auditory processing disorder. However, this term implies that the only challenge is with the auditory sense and usually an individual with auditory processing problems also has other related sensory processing problems.
6. Olfactory Dysfunction: A sensory disorder symptoms involving sensitivity to smells and difficulty processing smell sensory input.
7. Visual Input Dysfunction Difficulty processing visual sensory input without any diagnosed visual impairment. Some symptoms of visual input dysfunction include(1):
A. Hypersensitivity to visual input
Overly sensitive to bright lights
Easily distracted by visual stimuli throughout a room and unable to keep eyes focused on a task for a sufficient amount of time
Struggles in bright rooms or rooms with too much visual stimulation, such as bold patterns on the wall
Avoid eye contact
Like to play in the dark
May get headaches easily after reading, watching TV, or playing on the computer
B. Hyposensitive to visual input
Struggles to differentiate between letters and numbers that appear similar or between different colors, shapes, and sizes
Over focused on details with difficulties seeing the bigger picture
Problems locating important items
Easily loses place when copying from a book or a chalkboard in class
Difficulty controlling eye movements to track moving objects
May show symptoms of dyslexia by reversing words or letters when copying
Makes statements about seeing double and confuses left and right
Problems with spacing and size of letters when writing
Struggles to put together jigsaw puzzles, copy shapes or cut/trace along a line
Fatigues easily with schoolwork and tends to write at a slant on a page
Difficulty judging spatial relationships in the environment
If you look at these symptoms and feel your child has a lot of symptoms and may have a sensory disorder, contact your pediatrician as soon as possible. Make a list of all the symptoms and ask for him or her to evaluate your child or refer you to a specialist.
For more technical and thorough explanations of sensory processing disorders, I highly recommend the following books.
7. Visual Input Dysfunction Difficulty processing visual sensory input without any diagnosed visual impairment. Some symptoms of visual input dysfunction include(1):
