INCLUSIVE FAMILY
The MISUNDERSTOOD
Child Sensory Processing Disorder 101
A typical morning in my home begins with my 4-year-old
daughter complaining: “My clothes hurt me! They are too
loose! I need new clothes!” After much time, many tears, lots of
tight hugs and a good dose of frustration, she’s finally content
to wear the same dress she wore the day before and many days
before that. The process of getting dressed, which seems simple
to most, is the biggest challenge my child faces on a daily basis.

T BY SARAH LYONS
his situation is one example of what living with
a child with sensory processing disorder is like.

“Imagine being in an environment where the
noise around you is amplified to the highest level, the
temperature is the coldest or hottest you have ever felt,
you are wearing the most uncomfortable clothing that
has ever touched your skin and you are nauseated by
a repulsive smell. All at the same time. What would be
your response? Most would quickly escape the situation,”
says Dana Lyons, an occupational therapist. “These
are examples of what a child with sensory processing
disorder feels, but they cannot escape the symptoms.

As a result, these children may respond with anger,
frustration, or ultimately avoid situations which may
cause a breakdown.”
Sensory processing is a term that refers to the way
the nervous system receives messages from the senses
and turns them into appropriate motor and behavioral
responses. “Everyone processes sensory input, but some
people process it differently than others,” says occupational
therapist Carrie Grosdidier. “When the processing of this
information interferes with our ability to function on a day
to day basis is when we have a problem.”
Sensory processing disorder (SPD) can be hard to
28 WashingtonFAMILY MARCH 2021
diagnose because it affects each person differently. “Any
of the five senses can be affected by being hypersensitive
(overstimulated) or by being hyposensitive (under
simulated),” says Lyons.

A child who is hypersensitive,
or sensory avoiding, may:
• Feel overwhelmed by loud, crowded environments
• Dislike being touched or hugged
• React strongly to certain smells
• Find buttons, tags or certain fabrics unbearable
A child who is hyposensitive,
or sensory seeking, may:
• Constantly need to touch people or textures
• Have a high tolerance for pain
• Fidget and seem unable to sit still
• Be clumsy or fall often
Children can have one or many of these characteristics as
well as some from each category and in varying degrees
of severity.

“Unfortunately, these responses are viewed by others
as children behaving badly when in fact they are not,”