Sensory processing is a complex process in which your child’s senses gather information from the environment and send it back to their brain for interpretation and response.
Have you noticed your child having outsized reactions to changes in their environment? Does your child seem to have an aversion to light, noise, or certain fabrics or textures? Are you constantly being crashed into by your child who doesn’t seem to have a sense of where they end and other people begin? If so, your child might have sensory processing disorder or SPD. In this episode Dr. Nanika Coor breaks down SPD—what it is, how it can affect kids, how it’s treated, and what parents can do at home to help their SPD kiddo.
Project Parenthood is hosted by Dr. Nanika Coor. A transcript is available at Simplecast.
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One of the ways a child begins to understand the world around them is through their various senses. The senses you probably already know about are hearing, smell, touch, sight, and taste. But there are also two lesser-known senses called proprioception and the vestibular sense. Proprioception helps a child know where their body is in space, while the vestibular sense helps your child maintain balance. Sensory processing is a complex process in which your child’s senses gather information from the environment and send it back to their brain for interpretation and response. And this process is crucial, especially in the first 10 years of a child's life.
Welcome back to Project Parenthood! I'm your host, Dr. Nanika Coor—clinical psychologist and respectful parenting therapist. Each week, I’ll help you repair and deepen your parent-child connection, increase self-compassion and cooperation from your kids, and cultivate joy, peace, and resilience in your relationship with them.
Have you noticed your child having outsized reactions to changes in their environment? Does your child seem to have an aversion to light, noise, or certain fabrics or textures? Are you constantly being crashed into by your child who doesn’t seem to have a sense of where they end and other people begin? If so, your child might have sensory processing disorder or SPD. In today’s episode, I’m breaking down SPD—what it is, how it can affect kids, how it’s treated, and what parents can do at home to help their SPD kiddo.
SPD, while not an official diagnosis in the DSM-5—which is like the Bible of clinical psychology—is thought to affect people of all ages, genders, and races, but it’s most often diagnosed in childhood. Also, folks diagnosed with ADHD, Autism, and Fragile X syndrome are more likely to develop SPD.
A child with sensory processing disorder (SPD) has a brain and body that has difficulties processing sensory information. SPD is a neurological condition that includes different subtypes and affects how a child responds to and processes sensory information, which can impact their daily routines and activities. Children with SPD may overreact or underreact to stimuli compared to kids without SPD. For example, a loud indoor playspace may be overwhelming for a child with auditory sensitivities, while a child with an underdeveloped vestibular system may be constantly spinning around in that same playspace seeking to feel soothed.
Three subtypes have been identified within the condition: hyposensitivity, hypersensitivity, and sensory-seeking. Children with hyposensitivity are undersensitive to stimuli and may miss things like social cues, or a teacher calling their name. They might not realize they have peanut butter and jelly on their face or how much they’re invading someone’s personal space. A child with hypersensitivity can’t filter out unimportant sensory information and might become easily overwhelmed or over-stimulated. Children who seek sensory input actively crave more stimuli and may engage in constant movement.
Every child with SPD has a unique set of sensitivities. Over- and under-sensitivities and sensory-seeking behaviors can vary in intensity, and kids can experience different responses within each sense. Understanding your child's placement on the sensory processing spectrum can help you support them—or advocate for them—in different environments.
Because of your child’s under or over-reactions and/or sensory-seeking behaviors, they may stand out from the crowd of their typically developing same-aged peers. Perhaps they’ve been perceived as uncooperative, aggressive, clumsy, disruptive, or out of control and difficult to manage. Maybe a teacher or counselor has recommended that they be screened for anxiety, depression, or learning differences. Your child might struggle with school work, acceptable classroom behavior, making friends, and a poor self-concept. Maybe you’ve been getting the sense that your child’s other caregivers like teachers and doctors and clinicians perceive your parenting to be the cause of your child’s challenges since SPD is an invisible condition and because your child looks typical, but behaves in very atypical ways.
A child with SPD may have strong aversions to textures, smells, or sounds and become argumentative, anxious, or aggressive in the presence of—or even in the anticipation of—an aversive stimuli and may engage in escape behavior like running away. Your child may have strong reactions—or underreactions—to pain, temperature, and touch. Your child could have difficulty transitioning between activities, display meltdowns or tantrums, or become very distracted when the environment has a lot of competing sounds.
Sensory-seeking kids might do a lot of crashing into walls and other people. They may constantly seek movement, engage in repetitive behaviors, and they might even habitually chew on inedible things like bottle caps, clothing, or rocks. They may constantly complain about being bored due to understimulation.
Sensory processing disorder is evaluated through assessments by occupational therapists (OTs) who specialize in sensory integration. They use tests, observations, and interviews with caregivers to determine sensory defensiveness and/or sensory cravings in a child. Treatment, which takes place in a sensory gym equipped with specialized equipment, focuses on enabling a child's nervous system to process sensory information efficiently.
You can help your child with sensory processing problems by educating yourself about SPD and creating a sensory-friendly environment at home. Work closely with your child’s OT to develop a sensory diet or lifestyle plan that includes therapeutic activities and accommodations. Communicate with teachers and other caregivers to establish routines, provide sensory breaks, and offer activities that address your child’s specific sensory needs. These could be things like reducing visual and auditory clutter, and providing quiet spaces when needed. Families who have the space inside or outside their homes can even provide activities like swinging, bouncing, or using weighted objects to provide regulating input.
Caring for a child with sensory processing challenges can be demanding and sometimes exhausting, so it's important for you to prioritize parental self-care. That means getting a break from parenting when you can. One idea is to trade playdate time with a fellow parent so they can get parenting breaks too! In whatever way that fits in your life, seek support from other parents or support groups focusing on parenting SPD children. Practice stress-reducing activities like exercise, meditation, or a self-compassion practice.
Although it can be overwhelming to raise a child who is often overwhelmed themselves, through skilled evaluation, treatment, and sensitive observation and support from you, your child can grow to successfully manage and cope with a life impacted by SPD.
Do you or your child struggle with sensory processing challenges? Tell me about it on Instagram @bkparents. And be sure to join me live on Instagram on Monday, June 13 at 1 pm for a Brooklyn Parent Therapy “Ask Me Anything!” I love answering your questions in real-time!
If you have a question for me about parent-child relationships, respectful parenting tips and/or parental mental health, shoot me an email at parenthood@quickanddirtytips.com, leave a message at 646-926-3243 or leave a message on Instagram @bkparents. And you can learn about my private practice working with parents living in New York State at www.brooklynparenttherapy.com.
Catch you next week!
https://childmind.org/article/treating-sensory-processing-issues/
Goodman-Scott, E., & Lambert, S. F. (2015). Professional counseling for children with sensory processing disorder. The Professional Counselor, 5(2).