Understanding Children With Sensory Processs Disorder
Makes Sense –
Understanding Children with Sensory Processing Disorder
Over the years I have encountered many children and adults who seemed a little out of sync., who seemed to have problems organising themselves, following instructions co-ordinating their thoughts, speech or behaviour, or just getting their act together . Yet these individuals were intelligent and often skilled, with no obvious emotional or mental health problems. I was puzzled by this and could not make sense of it.
Awareness of sensory integration has increased phenomenally in the last decade or so. Occupational Therapists and Speech and Language Therapists are amongst those who have led the search for ways to enable children with sensory integration problems to learn in line with their actual level of intelligence, rather than remain trapped within the limits of a nervous system which is out of sync.. Sensory Integration/Sensory Processing Disorder can present itself in many different and overlapping ways, resulting in developmental delay in one or more of the following –
Motor skills and co-ordination – dyspraxia.
Expressive language skills.
Receptive language skills.
Auditory and/or visual processing skills.
Emotional self regulation and expression.
Sensory Processing Disorder or sensory processing issues can be present alongside other developmental delays such as ADHD, ODD, Dyslexia or Autistic Spectrum Disorder. This can make it very difficult for parents and educators to figure out what lies at the root of a child’s learning or behavioural difficulties. The child with S.P.D. (Sensory Processing Disorder) can seem to be intelligent, aware and well behaved one moment - then confused, distressed and bad tempered five minutes later. Children with SPD can be very skilled in one area and have real problems in others making it hard to gauge their overall intelligence and to plan to meet their learning support needs.
SPD is a neuro-developmental disorder. This means that the child’s central nervous system is immature and is developing at a slower pace than that of an average child of the same age. The child may be of average or above average intelligence, but part of their nervous system is not sufficiently developed; messages from their environment (and within their own system) take longer to be processed by the brain or may be processed incorrectly. The child with SPD may take longer to respond to instruction, have difficulty understanding rules and sequences, or may have difficulty mastering tasks involving motor skills and coordination. If they are exposed to stimulation which challenges their nervous system they may experience sensory overload and become very disoriented, confused distressed and disruptive.
Children with SPD involving a communication difficulty require speech therapy in order to develop speech and/or communication skills. In addition children with SPD may require occupational therapy to develop motor skills, co-ordination and a range of other skills which rely on sensory integration.
Growing up with SPD can be an extremely frustrating and distressing experience for a child. We sometimes forget that emotional self-awareness and self expression require considerable skill. Developmentally typical children can take many months or years to deal calmly with their emotions, and temper tantrums are a normal part of the learning process. Children with SPD experience higher levels of emotional arousal and have greater difficulty in expressing themselves. This can result in ongoing challenging behaviour. Serious challenging behaviour can sometimes make ongoing access to, and participation in, essential therapies difficult, or even impossible.
When our nervous system is stimulated intensely we normally assess the situation to determine if the stimulation arises as result of a threat or from something desirable. The body responds by releasing hormones which cause us to experience intense physical sensations. This is accompanied by thoughts about the situation such as ‘I really want that’ or ‘She is going to hurt me’ or ‘I must get away/get that/ defend myself’ etc. We are biologically programmed to react physically to intense stimulation, and it is generally only by doing so that our bodies release calming hormones and reabsorb stress hormones. This entire experience may only take a few minutes or even less and we may be only partially conscious of the internal aspects of it. Making sense of the event and responding either physically or verbally in an appropriate way relies on neurological maturity as well as access to good role models and skilled teaching. The child with SPD does not have a mature nervous system. They are more likely to experience moderate stimulation as being intense or to fail to register low level stimulation. This can result in them seeking stimulation in order to regulate their nervous system. It can also mean that when they feel threatened, disappointed, frustrated, sad, angry, or very happy and excited, the accompanying physical sensations are too difficult for them to process. While they are still processing the sensations they may have difficulty processing their thoughts at the same time, and the overwhelming sensory integration demand can result in a sustained outburst of very challenging behaviour. These prolonged outbursts are sometimes referred to as meltdowns.
My role as a challenging behaviour therapist is to introduce tasks to the child in a carefully structured and specifically designed way in order to help stabilise their actions without causing undue emotional arousal. As the child learns to complete these simple ordinary living and play activities s/he gradually learns to follow a sequence, mark time, use the body in skilful ways and use communication skills. In time we can introduce the child to ways of expressing emotions without inordinate distress or volatility. Part of my job is to enable parents to support the child during challenging episodes. Interacting with an emotionally aroused child can stimulate similar emotional arousal in parents. This can create an emotional and behavioural vicious circle with the child distressing the parent and the parent distressing the child, to a point where each suffers a loss of control and behaves inappropriately towards the other. The child may scream or hit out - as may the adult. When a parent is tired, stressed and overwhelmed, it can be almost impossible to model good behaviour and to maintain leadership. It is my job to model skilful strategies in the presence of the parents, and to offer supportive observation and feedback in order to enable them to step back and make a fresh and constructive start. In time the child with SPD can develop skills and the practice involved may also have a positive neuro-developmental effect. This work is complementary to that of the speech therapist, occupational therapist and educational /clinical psychologist.
Educators sometimes encounter children whose behaviour and learning outcomes are not in tandem with their apparent intelligence. They may be dealing with children whose tolerance for frustration is extremely low, who are disruptive and demanding, yet demonstrate skills in certain areas. These children may appear to ignore you, or don’t respond to you if they are eating or watching a screen. Please don’t assume they are being stubborn, wilful or awkward -they may have SPD. The involvement of a multi-disciplinary team is usually required to make a diagnosis of SPD and to distinguish this condition from other developmental conditions or disabilities.
Siobhan O’Rourke offers a range of training and intervention services to families and organisations supporting children with challenging behaviour. She works hands on with children and parents in the family home.
For advice or information –
Tel - -862022521
siobhanteaching@eircom.net
Written by
Siobhan O'Rourke
www.positivechange.ie
Ireland's leading Early Years education Magazine
