What
is Sensory Integration Disorder? Children
with Sensory Integration Disorder have problems interpreting
things they hear, see, smell, or touch. Sensory Integration
Disorder occurs in the brains of children. The nervous system
works by interpretting signals sent from the body through
the nerves to the brain. These signals tell the brain to see,
hear, smell, or feel. Children with Sensory Integration Disorder
do not process these signals correctly. For example, they
might process sounds very intensely and therefore startle
easily. They may have problems with over sensitivity or under
sensitivity to things they taste, feel, smell, see, or hear.
Sensory issues are common in children with autism or ADHD.
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Symptoms
of Sensory Integration Disorder
Hypersensitivity
Hyposensitivity
Taste
Extremely
picky eater (may limit food choices to only two or
three foods) May
gag on textured foods or may still be eating pureed
baby food after he is two years old Has
difficulty chewing or swallowing May
be extremely picky about what temperature his food
or drinks are Refuses
to brush teeth or allow parent to brush his teeth Prefers
bland foods
May
try to eat inedible objects Prefers
foods with very strong tastes Excessive
drooling Chews
or sucks on things constantly (such as thumb sucking,
chewing on pen caps or shirt collars) Doesn’t
distinguish tastes, may act like all foods taste the
same
Smell
Reacts
to smells that other people may not even notice May
not like the smell of perfume or cleaning supplies May
not like certain people because of the way they smell
May not
notice unpleasant odors Has difficulty
distinguishing smells. May not be able to tell what
something is based on how it smells.
Hearing
May
get distracted by background noises (such as lawnmower
outside, washer and dryers running, etc) Doesn’t
like to hear loud talking, music, or people singing Startles
or covers ears with loud noises or cries when he hears
unexpected sounds May
get anxious with certain sounds such as hair dryer,
vacuum, engine starting
May
not respond when name is called Enjoys
making lots of noise, such as banging things together Likes
to listen to loud music or television Tunes
out sounds (for example, may be oblivious to dog barking
or crying baby) Can
not distinguish where sounds are coming from. (For
example, may not be able to find the telephone when
ringing)
Vision
Sensitivity
to lights Easily
distracted by toys and moving objects Rubs
his eyes frequently Avoids
eye contact
May
be vision impaired or have poor vision Has
difficulty with learning letters and numbers or may
get letters confused Has
difficulty distinguishing differences in size and
proportion May
have problems doing puzzles, cutting, or sorting Bumps
into objects or misses steps when walking down stairs
or on curbs
Touch
and Movement
Startles
or cries when touched or tapped unexpectedly Does
not like to be cuddled and held closely Does
not like to have diaper changed or clothes changed Complains
about brushing hair Picky
about what clothes he wears (may complain about tags
or textures) May
not like water or messy play May
wipe hands or wash hands excessively (doesn’t
like dirty or sticky hands) May
refuse to walk on certain surfaces without shoes Excessively
anxious about having fingernails cut or hair cuts Does
not like swinging movement (avoids swings, slides,
and other moving playground equipment) Fearful
of elevators and heights Does
not like going up or down stairs Clumsy
and loses balance easily
May
not notice being bumped into Does
not respond to falling down or getting hurt, rarely
cries when injured May
not notice food left on face Likes
messy play Likes
to spin or rock (may spin around in circles and not
get dizzy) Likes
to jump on furniture or beds
Next
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