All About...Sensory Deficits

Children with sensory deficits have problems processing information from the senses. The senses include touch, movement, smell, taste, vision, and hearing. In most cases, these children have one or more senses that either react too much or too little to stimulation. The brain does not properly process sensory stimulation from the outside world, which may cause children with sensory issues to get overwhelmed by things like light and noise and might act out or throw tantrums as a result.  The symptoms of sensory deficits exist on a spectrum. In some children, for example, the sound of a leaf blower outside the window may cause them to vomit or dive under the table. They may scream when touched. They may recoil from the textures of certain foods. This disorder can cause problems with a child's development and behavior.  

Often, children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and other developmental disabilities often have sensory deficits referred to as Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD). However, this disorder can also be associated with other conditions that may include premature birth, brain injury, and learning disorders. The exact cause of sensory deficits is unknown. 

Characteristics of a child with a sensory processing deficit include:   

• Either be in constant motion or fatigue easily or go back and forth between the two.

• Withdraw when touched.

• Refuse to eat certain foods because of how the foods feel when chewed.

• Be oversensitive to odors.

• Be hypersensitive to certain fabrics and only wear clothes that are soft or that they find pleasing.

• Dislike getting their hands dirty.

• Be uncomfortable with some movements, such as swinging, sliding, or going down ramps or other inclines. Your young child may have trouble learning to climb, go down stairs, or ride an escalator.

• Have difficulty calming down after exercise or after becoming upset.

• Jump, swing, and spin excessively.

• Appear clumsy, trip easily, or have poor balance.

• Have odd posture.

• Have difficulty handling small objects such as buttons or snaps.

• Be overly sensitive to sound. Vacuum cleaners, lawn mowers, hair dryers, leaf blowers, or sirens may be upsetting.

• Lack creativity and variety in play. For instance, your child may play with the same toys in the same manner over and over or prefer only to watch TV or videos.

• Blink, squint, or rub their eyes frequently 

• Have illegible handwriting 

What Can Parents Do To Help?

Sensory integration therapy, usually conducted by an occupational or physical therapist, is often recommended for children who have sensory processing deficits. It focuses on activities that challenge the child with sensory input. The therapist then helps the child respond appropriately to this sensory stimulus.

Therapy might include applying deep touch pressure to a child's skin with the goal of allowing the child to become more used to and process being touched. Also, play such as tug-of-war or with heavy objects, such as a medicine ball, can help increase a child's awareness of their own body in space and how it relates to other people.

In addition, a “sensory diet” is a treatment strategy used to manage sensory processing deficits in a child’s home and school setting. In essence, it is a list of sensory activities that helps to keep a child feeling ‘calm’ and regulated, which then allows them to attend, learn and behave to the best of their ability. Specifically, it is an individually tailored routine of sensory and physical (‘motor’ or muscle) based activities. It is used to help manage a child’s sensory-motor needs and reduce the impact any such dysfunction may be having upon the child’s attention and activity levels, behavior and/or learning and skill development. 

SENSORY DIET ACTIVITIES:

Physical activities are the easiest to start with as most children tolerate movement better than any other type of sensory input. Physical activities which use the large core muscles result in a greater amount of sensory stimulation and might include:

• Wheelbarrow walking

• Animal walks (bear walks, crab walking, frog jumps, etc.)

• Trampolining

• Cycling or using a scooter

• Swings (forward and back, side to side, rotary)

• Rough and tumble play

• Deep pressure squishing or sandwiching with pillows or balls

• Wearing a heavy backpack for movement (e.g. to carry heavy drink bottle when scooting)

• Playing with weighted items (wheat bag on lap while sitting or heavy blanket for sleep)

Tactile: Play with playdoh or slime, kinetic sand, shaving cream, bird seed, rice or any other tactile products.  You can just play, draw or hide objects to retrieve in these tactile products.  

Visual: Using torches to look at books, using dot-to-dots or mazes to narrow visual attention.

Oral: Chew toys or specifically chewy foods.

Auditory: ‘white noise’ or favored music, noise reduction headphones/earbuds.

Visual cues can often be very useful to help your child to follow longer instructions as it provides them with something to refer back to if they are having difficulty remembering what they need to do. It also highlights the order in which they need to complete the instruction