Let’s Talk Sense: Dealing with Sensory Processing Disorder

What does it mean to have Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD)?

You may have heard the terms, “sensory processing disorder, sensory integrated dysfunction, or sensory related issues.” Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) is a condition that causes the brain to have difficulty with receiving and sending messages with other senses.  You may have heard the term, “sensory overload.” This phrase is often used to describe what a child or adult is experiencing when there is too much information for one or more of their senses to process. Children and adults who experience issues with sensory processing disorder may struggle with academic performance, making friends, diet and eating, participating in the community, challenging behavior, and more. 

Many believe it is not a “stand alone” condition, just a symptom of other conditions, such as autism.   Although this topic is highly debated in the medical field, there are many children and adults who have sensory related issues, but have no other known conditions or disabilities. 
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How are the five senses affected?

Our senses help us to identify, relate to, and understand what’s happening around us. Now, most of us know about our five senses, such as sight, touch, smell, taste, and hearing.  However, in the world of sensory processing disorders, more than one of our senses may be affected.

Sight is one of the most powerful senses as it provides the most information at one time. With our sight, we can identify colors, shapes, objects, people, and movement.

​Possible Issues: It could be difficult for children or adults to process information they see. This is different from having blurred or unclear vision. It’s about how information is processed and interpreted by the brain. If there is too much visual stimulation surrounding the person, this may cause issues with being able to distinguish objects and things around them. Think of a busy city street (lots of cars, big buildings, large crowds, store fronts, flashing lights, street vendors, tables, etc.), this could be visually overwhelming for someone with visual sensory issues. It could possibly cause sensory overload. This causes confusion, inability to focus and concentrate.

Touch is another powerful sense.  It’s one of the most comprehensive processes because we identify many sensations at varying degrees: pain, pleasant, ticklish, temperature, and pressure.

Possible Issues: Tactile sensitivity is very common for people with Sensory Processing Disorder. Some people experience unusual sensitivity to touch, hugs, or closeness. They may experience sensations that feel weird, abnormal, or even painful. This results in many individuals left to feel or seem unattached. Other issues could include challenges with wearing certain clothing, shoes, or grooming (brushing/cutting hair, brushing teeth, nail clipping, bathing, etc.).

Smell is the sense that helps us to identify and distinguish between odors – both pleasant and unpleasant. It can also help us to distinguish between what is safe and unsafe (the detection of smoke, gas, toxins, etc.)

Possible Issues: Some may be overly sensitive to certain smells (strong perfume, flowery scents, pet stores, garbage cans, etc.).  There may be issues during meal times as well because of some odors. This could serve as a strong distraction to the affected person - causing them to gag or wish to leave the area.

Taste helps us to identify food and drink. It helps us to distinguish between what is safe and harmful to eat or drink. Textures of food are learned as well: liquid, soft, hard, mushy, crunchy, creamy, chewy, slimy, sticky, etc.

Possible Issues: Many individuals who have a hard time eating certain food textures end up having issues with nutrition. Some individuals need more oral information and like to chew or eat things that are not edible, such as paper, clothing, or toys. This could lead to a condition called, “Pica.” It’s the desire to eat things that are not food or have no nutritional value.  It’s very common in children between the ages of 1 and 6, and it’s treatable.

Hearing helps us to identify different tones and sounds. We learn about and understand language best with hearing.

Possible Issues: some may be highly sensitive to certain sounds (sirens, alarms, screams, yelling, etc.) causing them to feel pain or terrified. Some may be easily distracted by sounds (fish tank bubbles, light buzzing of fluorescent lights, etc.) that others without sensory processing disorders can easily tune out. 
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What help is available for Sensory Processing Disorder

There are many therapeutic practices and strategies that have been very successful with helping individuals struggling with Sensory Processing Disorder. Please note it’s important to first discuss all options available with a doctor or your child’s pediatrician to learn about new methods. 

Occupational Therapy is a health and rehabilitation profession that helps individuals lead independent and meaningful lives. They provide therapeutic treatment for teaching, developing or improving skills on self-help, physical, developmental, social and emotional needs. 

If you’re a parent of a child in the public school system, Occupational Therapy can be provided by the school under IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) with an IEP (Individual Education Plan). Now, IDEA won’t recognize Sensory Processing Disorder alone as a disorder that meets eligibility requirements for an IEP, but there are other categories with similar issues that meet those requirements. Ask your child's teacher to review and discuss these details togther carefully after reviewing assessment and evaluation results.  

What can be done at home?

There are ways you can help a child or loved one dealing with Sensory Processing Disorders.  Begin documenting any and all sensory related issues and behaviors you see in your child or loved one. This will help you, your IEP team, and your therapists develop a plan of action. 

Start researching various therapies and strategies used by other parents or specialists. For example, for issues with chewing clothing or non-edible items, I bought and eventually made chewy tubes for my son Richie who has autism. This helped him to stop eating paper or clothing (thread on his t-shirts would unravel and he would swallow spools of it) and his need for oral information and chewing was safely satisfied. 

For issues with sensitivity for sound, I started using sound-banks to help Richie develop a tolerance to sounds that upset him (Baby crying, alarms, sirens, etc.).  

For Richie’s issue with sensitivity to touch, I used a technique I learned from his Occupational Therapist, called, “Joint Compression's.” I would gently push against the joints on his hands, arms, feet and legs, and this would calm him incredibly. We showed Richie pictures of our family members hugging.  We also started asking Richie for hugs, instead of just spontaneously doing it. This helped him to prepare himself for the sensation and slowly he developed a tolerance for this important personal connection. I only learned after trying these methods that he loves to hug.

When crowds and noisy parades were too much visual stimuli for Richie at a theme park, we gave him his headphones with MP3 player, and put his sun-glasses on.  This helped to reduce the sensory overload significantly, and he calmed down and enjoyed the rest of the day. 

Other tips can be used in planning gatherings, having a Sensory Friendly Halloween and Thanksgiving. 

Facebook and Yahoo have literally hundreds of online groups that could offer support and advice that could be incredibly helpful to you and your family. 

Please note that not every technique will work on every child or person. There are individual needs to be met, but there are just as many strategies and techniques to be explored. Try to stay positive and know that your patience, love, and perseverance will find its way to improving the quality of life in your loved one and your family. 

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