A Quick Guide to Sensory Processing Disorder

You may have never heard about Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD). It’s not something that’s often talked about in wider society, but as someone who works in Pediatrics (young people’s health services) I hear the term used frequently. I even have the disorder myself. A lot of children and adults don’t know about the condition until they come to our services, so I decided to write a brief explanation of what the condition is, and what it means for adults and children with the condition.

What Is SPD?

SPD is a neurological disorder where the brain receives sensory information in a way that causes the individual to respond to it in an abnormal way. That’s a pretty complex definition, so allow me to break it down for you:

As humans we are constantly taking in sensory information through touch, smell, taste, sight, and sounds. When we process them, our brain allows us to respond to them in an appropriate way (for example if you get a text alert on your phone, you respond by checking your phone). However, in SPD the responses the individual gives are different than the responses the wider population gives. This is because during the processing of the information, it gets processed wrong, and causes the person to respond in an inappropriate way.

It’s thought that about 1 in 20 people suffer from SPD. People with neurodevelopmental conditions such as ASD and ADHD are more likely to have SPD, but not everyone with ASD/ADHD will have SPD, and not everyone with SPD will have ASD/ADHD.

What’s the cause of SPD?

In all truth and honesty… we don’t really know. The exact cause hasn’t been identified yet. The best educated guess we have at the moment is that SPD is often inherited, meaning it tends to run in families. However, trauma in birth and environmental factors could also play a part in the presence of SPD.

Symptoms of SPD:

The follow is a list of some of the symptoms of SPD. Please do take note that it is not a complete list, but is more of a rough guide:

• Extreme response to having nails cut
• Extreme response to having hair brushed/cut
• Very picky eater (e.g. won’t eat lumpy food, only eats plain food, won’t eat food with a strong smell)
• Jumps easily at loud noises
• Recoils when touched
• Gets distracted by background noises/can’t ‘tune out’ background noises
• Fearful of crowds or gets angry whilst in a busy environment
• Has poor balance
• Struggles with speech
• Clumsy or uncoordinated movements
• Bumps into things, or gets bruises, but can’t remember where they came from
• Gets angry/irritated in loud environments
• Dislikes baths/showers/water
• Dislikes certain textures of clothing (e.g. hates wearing shoes, will only wear a certain type of material)
• Fidgety and unable to sit still
• Doesn’t like ‘messy’ play (e.g. sand, mud)
• Constantly on the move
• Doesn’t always understand verbal instruction
• Has difficulty reading, especially out loud
• Uses an inappropriate amount of force when handling objects (e.g. slamming things on tables without meaning to)
• Must read things several times to understand the content

Treatment for SPD:

Whilst there is no cure for SPD, there is very effective treatment for it. It’s important to notice the signs and get treatment as soon as possible, as children who don’t get treatment run the real risk of growing up to be adults that struggle in marriage/relationships, work, and social environments.

If you think you or your child has SPD, the best thing to do is to go to your GP who can refer you to an Occupational Therapist. They can also refer you to therapy (usually CBT), Dieticians, and any other medical professionals that can help strengthen your skills, and reduce the symptoms of SPD.

The most important thing to remember is that people with SPD are not broken or a failure, even if they may feel it. SPD is a very real disorder, and not just something that naughty children are diagnosed with. Treatment has been proved to work, and lots of people with SPD thrive in life, especially if they find something they really love.