Sensory Discrimination Disorder
Your child may have sensory discrimination disorder. This means that he or she may misinterpret stimulation from the environment. A child can struggle with sensory discrimination in one sense or across senses. A child can also struggle with sensory discrimination in one sense and another pattern in another sense. For individuals with sensory discrimination disorder, both Alerting and Calming Tactile, Proprioception, and both Alerting and Calming Vestibular activities can be very helpful. Follow the links below for more regulating activities to try with your child.
Visual
If your child appears...
- to struggle to distinguish between similar symbols
- to fear heights, trip on stairs
- to have difficulty determining left or right; confused about light and dark; to mix up letters when reading; to struggle to distinguish between visual foreground and background or between different colors, shapes, distances, or visual textures
Try Calming Visual; Alerting Visual; Proprioception activities; Support the Visual system with the Auditory cues
Auditory
If your child appears...
- to struggle to discern direction, volume, pitch, or quality of sound
- to struggle to distinguish what is being said in competing backgrounds
Try Calming Auditory; Alerting Auditory; Proprioception activities; Support the Auditory System with the Visual cues
Olfactory
If your child appears...
- to struggle to determine between pleasing or noxious odors
- to struggle to determine between helpful or harmful smells
Try Calming Olfactory; Alerting Olfactory; Proprioception activities; Support the Olfactory System with gustatory stimulation
Gustatory
If your child appears...
- to struggle to determine between different tastes
- to struggle to determine between helpful or harmful tastes
Try Calming Gustatory; Alerting Gustatory; Proprioception activities; Support the Gustatory System with olfactory stimulation
Tactile
If your child appears...
- to struggle to distinguish between hot or cold, smooth or rough textures, firm or light pressure, or sense pain
Try Calming Tactile; Alerting Tactile; Proprioception activities; Support the Tactile System with Visual cues
Proprioception
If your child appears...
- to have difficulty determining body position or relationship of body parts, especially when eyes are closed
- to be uncoordinated with movements
Vestibular
If your child appears...
- to have difficulty determining head position or determining speed
Interoception
If your child appears...
- to have difficulty determining when hungry, thirsty, or needing to go to the bathroom