Written by: Joelle Garner
1.1 Introduction
Every one in twenty people are greatly affected by Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD). This causes SPD to be more common than school children with autism and just as common as school children with Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Sensory processing is a part of an individual's development and shows one’s ability to interpret sensory information through their environment. Having Sensory Processing Disorder can affect this process greatly.
1.2 What is sensory processing disorder ?
Sensory processing disorder (SPD) is a disorder that causes difficulty interpreting, responding, or
detecting sensory experiences. SPD is commonly shown in disorders such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and more. Because SPD occurs in so many disorders it’s important to distinguish the normal and abnormal qualities and functions of sensory processes.
1.3 What is sensory processing ?
Sensory processing allows the body to arrange information gathered from the environment and the body. Sensory processing influences the way we interact with our environment and social surroundings. This affects us from infancy to adulthood. Therefore having a disorder like SPD will cause difficulty to the individual to arrange sensory information. The cerebellum plays an important role in sensory processing.
2.1 The neuroscience behind SPD
Unfortunately doctors and neuroscientists are uncertain about the causes of this disorder. They believe that it is inherited. Opposed to this researchers at UC San Francisco found that children with SPD have altered pathways for brain connectivity compared to the average developing child. This has led scientists to predict that this is the cause of SPD, but it is not confirmed.
3.1 The symptoms of SPD
There are many effects caused by SPD and these can be critical to a child’s development or an adult's life. A few side effects may include having sensory issues, easily having a sensory overload, and being over or under responsive to sensory information. Sensory issues may be harmful because it causes difficulty to respond or process sensory information from the environment. These can demonstrate differently from each individual. Sensory issues can display in hypersensitive (over- responsiveness) or hypo sensitive (under-responsiveness). Sensory overload may also be harmful to an individual. This is because the central nervous system becomes overwhelmed with sensory input. This can affect a person because they will be unable to filter out unnecessary sensory input causing the nervous system to be more overwhelmed. This may make the individual experience anxiety or distress.
3.2 how it affects an individual’s day to day life
SPD may affect an individual's lifestyle in a variety of ways. For instance, If a child is over sensitive they may have a hard time in school or in their environment. A few examples of a child experiencing hypersensitivity is the lights being too bright, their clothes feeling too scratchy or itchy, certain food textures causing the child to not like the food and unable to eat it, they have poor balance and fall easily, and think that sounds may be too loud. This can harm a child’s lifestyle because they may be seen as sensitive or picky. These symptoms may affect an older child greatly. These symptoms can cause an older child to have low self confidence leading to social isolation and depression. A child may also be hypo sensitive. An example of this may be being unable to spin without feeling dizzy, being unable to sit still, unable to recognize personal space, sensory seeks with jumping, and spinning, and has trouble sleeping. Adults are also affected by SPD with their day to day life, but unfortunately because of their age it’s often overlooked. A few examples of SPD in adults may include being uncomfortable with physical touch such as hugs, sensitivity to smells and textures, poor handwriting, and being uncomfortable in crowds. Unfortunately many doctors overlook these symptoms as anxiety.
4.1 how to help an individual with SPD
There's many ways you can help an individual with SPD. For example, for a child you can make a sensory friendly environment, slowly introduce them to new stimuli, and practice patience and understanding with the child. There’s plenty of ways to help an adult with SPD as well such as listening to their needs and being patient with them. For both an adult and child you may want to console your doctor on concerns about SPD and try to get an occupational therapist to help support your needs.
5.1 works cited
Identification of Sensory Processing and Integration Symptom Clusters: A Preliminary Study
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5733937/#:~:text=Current%20estimates%20indicate%20that%205,(ADHD)%20%5B4%5D.
Brain's Wiring Connected to Sensory Processing Disorder
https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2016/01/401461/brains-wiring-connected-sensory-processing-disorder#:~:text=Researchers%20at%20UC%20San%20Francisco,with%20auditory%20and%20tactile%20processing.
Altered Cerebellar White Matter in Sensory Processing Dysfunction Is Associated With Impaired Multisensory Integration and Attention
Sensory Processing Disorders in Children and Adolescents: Taking Stock of Assessment and Novel Therapeutic Tools
Passarello et al.
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