Supporting Children’s Diverse Learning
All of these children are demonstrating
signs of problems with sensory integration:
 Thomas covers his ears when the children are singing
 Temple rolls all over the floor while others are sitting
circle time
 Brianna refuses to touch
play dough, sand or paint
 Miguel climbs on top of
tables and jumps off
 Cassandra often falls down
and skins her knees.
 William refuses to play on playground equipment
Autism vs SPD
 Children with Autism will have always have some
sensory processing disorder issues
 Children diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder
do not necessarily have Autism Spectrum Disorder
 In fact, sometimes children who display SPD are
misdiagnosed with Autism Spectrum disorder
This is Sensory
Integration!
See background
view of the room
around you
Hear children
laughing outside
Smell of a candle
burning
Feel the air blowing
from an
air conditioner
Hear sounds of the
television in another
room
Feel the blanket
wrapped around
your legs
Taste of the coffee
you are drinking
 Everyone has difficulty processing some sensory
stimuli and everyone has sensory preferences
 It becomes a sensory processing disorder when a
child is on extreme ends of the continuum
demonstrating disruptive, unpredictable fluctuations
which significantly impact their developmental skills
or everyday functioning
Sensory Processing Disorder
 Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) is a condition that
exists when sensory signals don't get organized into
appropriate responses….a neurological "traffic jam"
that prevents certain parts of the brain from receiving
the information needed to interpret sensory
information correctly (Ayers, 1999).
 A person with SPD finds it difficult to process and act
upon information received through the senses, which
creates challenges in performing countless everyday
tasks.
Tactile: the sense of touch; input from the skin receptors
about touch, pressure, temperature, pain and movement of
the hairs on the skin.
Auditory: input relating to sounds; one's ability to correctly
perceive, discriminate, process and respond to sounds
Taste: input relating to the mouth; one's ability to correctly
perceive, discriminate, process and respond to input within
the mouth
Smell: input relating to smell; one's ability to correctly
perceive, discriminate, process and respond to different
odors.
Visual: input relating to sight; one's ability to correctly
perceive, discriminate, process and respond to what one
sees.
 Vestibular: the sense of movement; input from
the inner ear about equilibrium, gravitational
changes, movement experiences and position in
space.
 Proprioception: the sense of "position"; input
from the muscles and joints about body position,
weight, pressure, stretch, movement and changes
in position.
Responses to Sensory Input
 Children typically learn through interaction with
their environment
 Because SPD affects the child’s overall
development, participation in typical experiences
will be lacking, inconsistent, or ineffective
 A child who is overwhelmed by sensory
information from his environment will unable to
learn effectively
 A child who is under-stimulated by the
environment will also lack the input necessary to
learn
Types of Responses to Inputs
Under-Stimulated
Under-Responder
Typical Response
Over-Stimulated
Impact on Learning
 Coordination problems
 Poor attention span or difficulty focusing on tasks
 Academic-related problems such as poor handwriting
and difficulty cutting with scissors
 Problems with self care skills such as tying shoes,
zipping
 Low self-esteem
 Over-sensitivity to touch, sight, or sounds
 Unusually high or low activity level
Sensory Avoiders
 Most common type of sensory
problem
 Over-responsive to sensations
 Brain unable to reduce stimuli
 Children may be passive and try to get away from
objects or activities that are frightening to them
 May choose to do a less frightening activity
 Other children may be aggressive or forceful in their
response to sensations – kick and scream not to do
what is frightening to them
Sensory Seekers
 Craves excessive stimulation
 Never satisfied with the amount of
stimulation received
Sensory Under-Responders
 Does not seem to notice inputs from the sensory
system
 Gives less of a response to
stimuli than other children
 May react very slowly or
need extra strong input
before responding
Any combination of the above sensory integration disorder types could occur in any
combination of senses
Websites
http://www.spdfoundation.net
http://www.sensory-processing-disorder.com