How does sensory processing affect kids’ learning? As moms, we often notice little quirks in our kids that may not seem like a big deal. Maybe your child hates wearing socks with seams, covers their ears when the vacuum cleaner is on, or loves to crash into furniture.
While seemingly harmless, these actions can indicate processing challenges with sensory input. These challenges can manifest in surprising ways and pose substantial difficulties to your kid’s learning and school life.
However, don’t worry, mama, you’re not alone. According to studies published in JAMA Pediatrics, about 1 in 6 kids in the US experience sensory processing difficulties. In this post, you’ll learn more about how to treat sensory processing issues, common sensory challenges, and simple strategies you can implement to help your child feel more regulated.
A neurotypical brain effortlessly filters and organizes this sensory input, allowing for a focused and appropriate response to different stimuli. However, for a child experiencing sensory processing issues, this everyday process can become an overwhelming challenge.
Instead of easily adapting, their nervous system either overreacts (sensory sensitivity) or under-reacts (low sensory sensitivity) to sensory stimuli, making everyday life quite difficult.
Many moms realize that there’s something a bit “off” about their child, but struggle to put a finger on exactly what that is. It could even seem like the child is misbehaving to get attention.
For kids experiencing processing issues, school can become a hotbed of sensory overload. There’s so much going on, and these overwhelming situations may become a recipe for meltdowns, tantrums, or shutdowns.
While there may not always be obvious signs, here are a few things to look out for:
It’s normal for young children to fidget, but children who feel understimulated often engage in more extreme movement and may fidget excessively. This is because they are seeking sensory input. Specifically, vestibular input and proprioceptive input which can help them feel more grounded.
You might notice that they have high activity levels. This can look like constantly rocking in their chair, spinning in circles, jumping on furniture, and crashing into objects or people. They may also disrupt lessons during school to get some much-needed movement.
In an elementary school context, kids who enjoy seeking movement often might distract other children, interfere with a child’s ability to pay attention to their teacher, and result in reprimands for disruptive behavior, thus impacting their learning experience.
You know those noisy hand dryers in public bathrooms that you desperately avoid using? Some of us have a sensitivity to that level of sound. Now imagine that, but with any sudden, loud, or jarring noises in the school environment. This is how many kids struggling with auditory processing difficulties feel.
A loud classroom, background noises everywhere, noisy children in the hallway, a siren outside, or announcements over the PA system can be incredibly distracting or painful. Many children react to loud noises or an uncomfortable sound environment by covering their ears or getting distressed and withdrawing from activities.
Similarly, fluorescent lights, sunshine beaming through the windows, or even bright overhead projectors can trigger discomfort and cause difficulties in visual processing.
Your kid may struggle to concentrate if they’re distracted by light and frequently complain about headaches. This hypersensitivity to stimuli can negatively impact their school performance and make being at school challenging.
Many kids with sensory processing challenges refuse to wear certain clothing because the feel of it makes them physically uncomfortable. They often find clothing tags, seams, or particular fabrics unbearably itchy or irritating, have meltdowns because their clothes feel wrong, or avoid wearing restrictive clothing or even socks.
It is essential to provide accommodations at home and at school to manage sensory processing and help kids self-regulate so that they feel calmer and better able to learn.
If you suspect that your child may be having sensory processing issues, you may be asking yourself – how can you support a highly sensitive child in navigating all the sensory overload? Thankfully there are some very easy ways to create a more sensory friendly environment, even during a busy school day.
You can have a conversation with the teacher and discuss some simple solutions, accommodations, and strategies that they can try in the classroom. Maybe they can incorporate something simple, such as chewing gum throughout the day. This may work as an effective fidget to get a little stimulation or to calm down.
Or, try having your child switch their regular chair for a ball to sit on. Things like noise cancelling headphones or fidgets may also prove effective. If your child is displaying inappropriate behaviors, more movement may be beneficial to them. Having your child get some exercise can satisfy a need for movement. This can ultimately help them self-regulate and re-focus.
Working collaboratively with teachers creates a supportive team, ensuring your child gets the extra care they may need. Learning skills early on will help support them all throughout their life. Also, doing so may be helpful for identifying if your child has ADHD, is on the autism spectrum, or has any other processing disorders.
Have you ever tried an online checklist to find your best morning routine? This checklist thoroughly examines a kid’s reactions to sounds, touch, lights, food textures, movement, and a whole lot more.
While sensory processing challenges often hinder a child’s ability to fully engage with learning, it’s not a learning disability on its own. However, you do want to think about the level of impact these sensory difficulties have, because when left untreated, sensory issues often interfere with academic performance.
This comes down to the vestibular and proprioceptive systems. The vestibular system lets us balance and understand our body’s movement. Proprioceptive receptors, however, give our brain information from the joints and muscles – think coordination and knowing where your limbs are without having to look at them.
If those systems aren’t quite working correctly, then you may see a lot of clumsiness (hyposensitive) and possible difficulty learning to ride a bike, go up and down stairs, or catch a ball. Or, a child may seem constantly in motion (hyposensitive), jumping on furniture or bumping into people as they seek input.
While sensory processing challenges may not directly damage a child’s brain or their cognitive development, this is tricky because all that sensory overload going on can mean trouble. A child may be unable to follow instructions if sounds or bright lights are distracting them, struggle to concentrate, have difficulty processing and remembering information, or avoid school entirely to avoid sensory overload, resulting in substantial difficulties in succeeding academically.
Every child handles sensory overload a bit differently.
Some kids retreat into themselves. Others run away or avoid eye contact because they are overwhelmed. A lot of highly sensitive kids will act out too.
How does sensory processing affect kids’ learning? You might not even have realized all the ways your child’s sensitivities impact their behavior or thought it had anything to do with school. This is normal, you don’t have to be a sensory processing expert or an Occupational Therapist to notice that your child struggles.
It’s crucial that we look at behavior as communication. Kids can’t always tell us why they react the way they do, but by recognizing their responses to certain types of stimulation, using helpful strategies, and talking with their teacher about effective classroom tools and accommodations, you’re giving your child the essential support they need to navigate their school day in a healthy, balanced way.
How Does Sensory Processing Affect Kids’ Learning: A Mom’s Guide
Jill Gilbert
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