Occupational Therapists often bring up the term ‘sensory processing’ when they assess a child’s ability to engage in a range of daily activities. Sensory processing is important in many areas of a child’s life, including fine motor skills, being calm and organised, playing sport and socialising.

But what is sensory processing and why is it important?

Sensory processing is the ability of a child to correctly take in, interpret and respond to sensory information that they receive from their environment. This includes what we hear, see, feel, smell, taste and touch. It also includes the lesser-known senses of vestibular (balance and motion) and proprioception (body position awareness).

Sensory processing forms the foundation of development, guiding how we understand, interpret and respond to the world around us.

Inefficient sensory processing can interfere with a child’s motor, emotional, social and academic development.

Common Sensory Processing difficulties include;

• Being easily overwhelmed by busy environments, including the sights, sounds, textures, smells or other sensory inputs. This contributes to ‘sensory overload/meltdowns’, an emotional response to sensory inputs.

• Seeking or avoiding certain movement inputs such as swinging, spinning, falling, jumping. This contributes to balance, motor planning and motor skills.

• Having difficulty safely organising your body in space, known as poor body awareness. These children often appear clumsy, have poor posture, appear accident prone, seek rough play, avoid motor play or take risks.

• Being under sensitive to sensory input (hyposensitivity), such as having a high pain threshold, low registration of touch, not noticing when your face is messy. This can impact on things such as self-care, safety and fine motor skills.

What can we do?

An occupational therapist can assess whether a child processes sensory information differently to their peers through a variety of formal and informal assessment including, parent and teacher discussions, observing the child and performing sensory motor assessments.

Occupational therapists are experienced and trained in sensory integration therapies, task modification and environmental adaptation to best support sensory motor development.

If you believe your child may have sensory processing difficulties that are interfering with daily life, please contact one of our Occupational Therapist.

Written by Laura Taylor, Occupational Therapist.