A condition where sensory stimuli aren’t interpreted properly by the brain and nervous system. Children with this condition tend to be either overly sensitive or under-responsive to stimuli. This can make most common everyday experiences like flushing a toilet or wearing certain types of cloths overwhelming and unbearable.
Concerned your child may have Sensory Processing Disorder? Here are 10 symptoms to look out for:
- Hyper-Acute Hearing
- Some children with SPD have the ability to hear even the faintest sounds. For these children, auditory stimuli can seem overwhelming or distracting. You may notice your child seems to be bothered by sounds that others simply don’t even notice.
- Hypersensitive Hearing
- Some children have difficulty tolerating certain everyday sounds. This could include everything from the clanking of silverware at the dinner table to traffic, or even the air conditioner coming on in your home. Children with SPD who are hypersensitive to these sounds will react with fear and may even have a meltdown.
- Exhibit Touch Aversion
- It is not uncommon for a child with SPD to reject any form of physical contact whether it’s a hug or a handshake. These children tend to be fearful or surprised by touch and are likely to avoid contact with people even if the know them. They may also have an aversion to various forms of tactile input. For example, they may not be able to tolerate walking barefoot on sand or grass, certain clothing textures, the wind blowing on their bare skin, etc.
- Poor Motor Coordination
- Children with SPD often have poor motor coordination, making them clumsy, awkward and more likely to lose their balance. These children often struggle learing fine motor tasks such as coloring or holding a pencil.
- No Sense of Boundaries:
- Your child may lack a sense of personal space when interacting with others. Not only are these children more likely to be in someone else’s space, but they tend to touch everything around them. It is not uncommon to see a child with SPD touching strangers.
- High Tolerance for Pain
- Children with SPD may not notice or be indifferent when they hurt themselves. Often these children have a delayed response when they do get hurt.
- Overly Aggressive
- You may notice that your child tends to be overly aggressive when playing with others. Oftentimes these children aren’t aware of their own strength and that they may be hurting someone else. As a result, these children have a hard time making friends.
- Easily Distracted
- Due to heightened sensory perception, these children are often easily distracted. Most will struggle to focus in classroom situations where they’ll be fidgety and unable to sit for long periods of time. These children tend to prefer activities which involve movement such as jumping or running.
- Impaired Language Development
- Some children with SPD may struggle to understand instructions and questions. They may confuse similar sounding words and tend to struggle enunciating clearly. Many also have difficulty reading aloud.
- Difficulty Learning New Things
- Children with SPD tend to struggle learning new activities, often take longer than other children to master the same activity. This can lead to mild developmental delays.
If you are seeing any of these symptoms at home, please reach out to the Life Skills Academy Therapy Department (through TEXT) at 863-774-7714 and let us know. If your child is currently on caseload, the therapist will reach back out to with some suggestions of things to do at home. If your child is not currently on caseload, someone will reach out to you regarding the possibility of a formal evaluation and also with some suggestions.
