Some of the problems we see in our children are the harbingers of sensory integration disorder. And today there are too many children with sensory integration disorders to be underestimated. According to a recent study in Malaysia, 21.5% of typically developing children have sensory integration disorders.
Sensory Integration Disorder is a condition that affects how our brain processes sensory stimuli. Sensory information includes what you see, hear, smell, taste or touch. It is can affect all of your senses or just one.
What are the Symptoms of Sensory Integration Disorder?
Behavioral problems of sensory integration disorders in children are changing. Sensory integration disorders caused by Sensory Integration Disorder include:
Regulation: Our children, who are not compatible with the stimuli they receive from the environment, may experience constant crying and sudden emotional transitions.
Unwillingness to Play: Our children, who do not have the necessary intrinsic motivation, may experience retardation compared to their peers in starting and continuing the game.
Insensitivity to the Environment: Our children with sensory threshold problems may seem unaware of the stimuli.
Outbursts of Anger: Our children, who are not in harmony with their environment, may experience outbursts of anger even with small changes.
Toilet Holding and Leaking Problems: Children with deep emotion seeking or sensitivity are frequently faced with toilet problems.
Food Selectivity and Overeating: Our children who seek mouth sensitivity and deep senses show intense eating problems.
Intensive Search for Movement: They are in search of movement due to the problems they experience in their vestibular and proprioceptive sensory systems.
Obsessive Behaviors: They tend to self-stimulating behaviors due to lack of stimulus.
Poor Eye Contact: Our children, who have problems in their visual system and environmental awareness, do not want to make eye contact.
Clumsiness: Our children with poor body awareness fall, stumble, and act as if they are not sufficiently aware of their environment.
Hand-Eye Coordination Problems: The hand-eye coordination of our children who have bilateral, that is, cross-over problems, is weak.
Difficulty Adapting to School: Our children, who are developmentally behind their peers, may have difficulty getting used to school.
Late Speech: Late speech is seen due to lack of stimulus.
Socialization Issues: They may have difficulty with S-social adaptation due to regulatory issues.
Standing Walking: Toe walking is observed due to the search for deep senses and sensory sensitivity.
Persistent Desire to Touch Objects: May want to touch objects senselessly due to intense sensation seeking.
Intense Sensitivity to Objects: They do not want to touch objects due to sensory sensitivity.
When Should I Get Support from Occupational Therapy?
If you are observing one of these symptoms in your child, you should get support from Occupational Therapy. Sensory Integration Problems do not go away with time. You should work with a competent Occupational Therapist in this regard. There is no age restriction. Sensory integration problems can be eliminated with early intervention. Click for online session so that I can answer your questions immediately.
OT Hülya YAMAN
I am Occupational Therapist (Sensory Integration Specialist) Hülya YAMAN. I graduated from Biruni University Occupational Therapy in 2019. I am currently doing my Master's Degree in Occupational Therapy at BIruni University. After graduating in 2019, I worked with children with neurodevelopmental disorders in Bulgaria and Lithuania and gained experience in international treatment methods.
