Many children have intense reactions to certain sounds or food textures. They can’t stand certain clothes for even a minute, or they get annoyed when someone touches them, making an ordeal out of simple events like bath time, getting dressed, eating dinner, or a birthday party. However, these behaviours do not necessarily mean that a child is simply spoiled, rude or hyperactive – they may, in fact, have issues processing sensory information, meaning their brains struggle to assimilate and understand the information they receive.
On occasions, children’s behaviour is actually a response to the way they process information about their surroundings and their own bodies. If this processing is not working as it should, it can cause them to act out.
8 senses, not 5
Sensory processing refers to how the nervous system handles information from eight senses.
Yes, you read that correctly: eight.
While there are five basic senses (touch, taste, smell, sight, sound) there are three others that play a major role in movement and awareness of our surroundings and bodies – vestibular (sense of head movement in space), proprioception (sensing the body’s movement, action and position), and interoception (signals from within the body, such as hunger, thirst or tiredness).
Our senses give us a constant flow of sensory stimulation from both outside and inside our bodies. It is only by correctly processing this mass of information that we can carry out day to day activities and pursue what we deem to be important.
A ‘traffic jam’ in the brain
To understand what happens when these processes do not work properly, we can use the analogy of a traffic jam, as a child’s brain can sometimes experience chaos akin to a bottleneck of stationary, honking vehicles.
To function in the world, a child’s brain has to process and filter information to decide what needs attention. Sensory modulation is the name given to processes that regulate and organise the degree, intensity and responses to this permanent stream of data.
Children with a condition called sensory modulation disorder (SMD) may therefore display behaviours that do not match the intensity and nature of the sensory stimulus received. These behaviours can be classified into:
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Hyperresponsiveness: Responses that are more intense or longer lasting than usual. For example, children who have difficulty brushing their teeth because they find the toothbrush an unpleasant stimulus, perhaps saying that they “feel it too much”.
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Hyporesponsiveness: Responses that are less intense or slower than expected, or even nonexistent. This might include children who get a lot of food on their face and hands during mealtimes without even realising it.
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Sensation seeking: Intense desire for a particular type of sensory stimulation, and active behaviour to satisfy that desire. In children, this is usually bodily sensations, and may include constantly nibbling the skin on their lips or fingers, or their clothes or other objects.
So does it mean that a child has SMD because the labels on their clothes bother them? Or because they won’t take off their flip-flops until getting into the paddling pool so that their feet don’t touch the grass? The answer is no. SMD is only diagnosed when the difficulties caused by it affect daily functioning in multiple areas.
The concept of sensory modulation is rooted in research carried out by occupational therapist and Doctor of Educational Psychology Anne Jean Ayres in the 1970s, and it continues to develop thanks to ongoing research.
How does SMD affect a child’s day to day life?
The results of a systematic research review suggest that children and adolescents with these types of sensory difficulties have problems in such key areas of life as their daily routines (dressing, grooming, eating, drinking), play, academic learning and social participation.
Findings from another more recent review support this, suggesting that sensory processing is linked to social engagement, cognition, temperament and participation.
It is important that both families and therapeutic and educational staff accompanying children affected by SMD learn how they can support them by taking into account the sensory challenges they face. In this way, those affected will be able to enjoy their daily lives more fully.
To do this, we have to assess how each individual child processes different sensations, and then use this insight to adapt their environment and activities.
What about caregivers?
It is not surprising that families with a child suffering from SMD usually have above average levels of stress, as it can make their own daily lives something of a challenge. How caregivers perceive their own quality of life under these circumstances is yet to be explored in depth by researchers.
Not all children with intense need for movement are hyperactive, nor does a child’s short fuse mean they are spoiled – a checklist can be a good starting point in helping to better understand whether a child might have sensory issues.
If you think your child might have sensory issues, or if you are in any doubt, the best course of action is to seek the help of an occupational therapist. These are specialists who can rigorously evaluate the situation and figure out the best ways to improve your child’s life.
