Children with Disabilities

Sensory Integration Dysfunction

Sensory Integration Dysfunction (SID) occurs when the brain cannot dissect information gathered by the five senses. Sensory processing deficits are packaged in so many different ways that no two children will ever suffer the same symptoms. SID was first observed in autistic children or those who exhibited characteristics of autism, but children with cerebral palsy, attention deficit disorder, and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder also have shown traits of SID.

SID, which ranges from mild to moderate to severe, can be treated through therapy and a sensory diet. An occupational therapist with a background in sensory integration is responsible for orchestrating these services. The therapist should be SIPT-certified in praxis testing and Wilbarger-trained.

A child with SID is categorized as either hyposensitive or hypersensitive to surrounding stimuli. In short, a child who is hyposensitive to touch will repeated run into objects looking for excessive stimulation, while the hypersensitive child will make a conscious effort to avoid contact with anyone and anything.

Children with SID may have difficulty processing information from multiple sensory functions. Children with cerebral palsy frequently experience vision and hearing processing deficits. A vision deficit does not mean a child has problems with their eyesight. Instead, they have difficulty correlating the correct name with the item they are seeing. Another common scenario happens when someone asks the child to retrieve an object--they look right at the object, fail to recognize it, and say they can't find it. In essence, they are seeing the object, but their brain fails to process that they are seeing it. A hearing deficit works similarly; the child will hear someone's voice, but the brain cannot translate it into meaning, or it may be several minutes until it finally registers. You can ease the situation by breaking down a set of instructions into individual tasks. So for each step, allow them to perform that task before jumping to the next. Listening and music therapy can also benefit someone with vision and hearing SID.

The following list includes behaviors that children with SID often display:

• Spinning, swinging, and leaping appear to relax them after several minutes of activity.
• Their clothing causes irritation, and they want tags cut from shirts.
• Their socks have to be positioned precisely or must be made out of a certain material.
• They are overly picky eaters who become so accustomed to eating one food that they refuse to eat anything else.
• They are very sensitive to scents, or the child may be too insensitive, so they sniff people, food, and other objects.
• They are overly sensitive to noise and will plug their ears or increase the volume if they are insensitive.
• They have an unusually high pain tolerance.
• They become tired quickly.
• They are hyperactive or lazy.
• They avoid unfamiliar encounters.
• They have abnormal muscle tone, coordination, and motor skills.
• They walk around on their tiptoes to avoid touching the bottom of their feet to the ground in order to evade sensory input.

If you have a child with SID who needs special treatment and services, you could be eligible for government assistance to help pay for them. Schedule an appointment with a social security disability attorney to learn about available funds.