Sensory Under-responsive
Your child may be sensory under-responsive. This means that he or she may have trouble detecting sensations or be slow to respond to sensations, and the amount of stimulus usually needed to activate a certain response may be perceived by your child as too little. Some people call this type of sensory processing "low registration" because many times kids have trouble registering that stimulation even happened. A child can be under-responsive in one sense and display a different pattern in another sense. A child can also be under-responsive one day and display a different pattern in the same sense another day. For under-responders, Alerting Tactile, Proprioception, and Alerting Vestibular activities can be very helpful. Follow the links below for more regulating activities to try with your child.
Visual
If your child appears...
- inattentive to detail; to misjudge distances; to require additional light or high contrast to complete tasks; to be slow to process visual information
- to frequently bump into objects or other people – perhaps without noticing
- to misplace objects or be unable to see them in competing backgrounds
Auditory
If your child appears...
- unresponsive or slow to respond to significant sounds, such as name being called
- to vocalize or make unnecessary noises – perhaps without noticing
- to be slow to take a conversational turns, to misinterpret verbal directions, or to require increased time or recruitment of other senses to process auditory information
Olfactory
If your child appears...
- to be unresponsive or slow to respond to smells; not to recognize if smells are harmful
- to use too much of scented products, such as perfume, aftershave, or lotion
Gustatory
If your child appears...
- to be unresponsive or slow to respond to taste; not to notice if a taste is harmful
- to show a strong preference for sour, bitter, strong, spicy, and bold flavors
Tactile
If your child appears...
- unresponsive or slow to respond to touch, pressure, pain, or temperature; not to mind getting messy
- to have difficulty identifying objects by touch or have poor oral awareness
- to prefer certain fabrics or textures or to be unaware of clothing
- to crash or bump into others, stand too close, or hug too hard – perhaps without noticing
Proprioception
If your child appears...
- unaware of his or her body in space; to struggle to maintain position or posture; clumsy or floppy
- to have difficulty coordinating body movements without using vision
- to be prone to tripping or falling; to crash or bump into others – perhaps without noticing; not to expend enough energy throughout the day
- to use excessive force or pressure when manipulating objects
Vestibular
If your child appears...
- unaware of or unphased by excess movement
- to have difficulty determining appropriate speed for activities and environments
Interoception
If your child appears...
- to struggle to recognize the body’s signals of hunger, thirst, the need to use the bathroom
- not to have a sense of heart rate or internal rhythm