Sensory Processing Awareness

I remember when I started noticing things going on with my child. When other people noticed too, I was the queen of excuses. I loved saying he was shy when he would crawl into a quiet space on the playground to hide. I wanted to believe others when they said it was just a phase, but something in my heart knew that we needed help.

The therapist helped me work through my feelings and taught me how I could best help my child. A big part of helping my child was education. Reading about Sensory Processing Disorder and becoming an expert has helped me advocate for my child and get his needs met.
This month is Sensory Processing Awareness month. Here are some basics about the disorder:

All kids with Autism have Sensory Processing Disorder, but not all kids with SPD have Autism; some might have anxiety, ADD/ADHD, or behavior disorders. SPD can cause developmental delays. Children with SPD when overstimulated will respond with flight (run away), fright (freeze), or fight (hit, bite, kick, yell). They are not bad or misbehaving children. They are trying to deal with everything going on around them. Children with SPD do not grow out of it. It is not a phase, but with therapy and intervention, children can learn coping strategies and get help on how their body responds to taking in sensory information.

Some signs of Sensory Processing Disorder include: having trouble focusing, complaining about light or shielding eyes, chewing on everything or mouthing things, handwriting struggles or poor fine motor skills, sitting in W position, moving clumsily or coordination/gross motor difficulties, hearing everything too loud or wanting to play sound too loud, clothing hurts or wants clothes tight, eating difficulties ( gags on different textures or picky eater), hearing difficulties, and touching others too hard or avoiding touch.

A person with SPD will not show all of these signs. There is a large spectrum of this disorder. It can look different on different people. Some are sensory seekers, others are sensory avoiders, and some are both.

If you know in your heart something is wrong, I encourage you to talk to your doctor or occupational therapist. The sooner you get help, the faster your child can learn how to self regulate their system.