Psychology- Sensory Processing Disorder

It is (can be) overwhelming for all involved with Sensory Processing Disorders; in a family
or in a social setting like in schools, for example. Children can be oversensitive to touch, sight,
and sound in many of their everyday environments which affects them emotionally and
physically. They can react (responded) with anger due to a fear and need to protect themselves
from something they perceived as dangerous or painful. A lot of times, children yell, have a
meltdown, or throw a tantrum; this can be dealt with incorrectly due to parents not knowing
what was wrong. It is not widely recognized medically and can be hard to get help or
treatment.
SPD can also be considered as just being a behavioral problem because children are
often perceived as difficult, stubborn, and just needing more discipline if they don’t fit on the
spectrum of having neuro-developmental delays. The “inexplicable” behaviors are widely
misinterpreted, and the children can be viewed as immature or late bloomers. The child’s
behavior shifts radically such as in the fight or flight response. They experience a neurological
“panic” to a common everyday situation that you or I take for granted. This response puts
them in a more calming sensation or environment. The information that goes through their
senses can’t be jointly processed, it is hard to unscramble and make sense of; which is very
conflicting for them to understand.
When treatment is used, Occupational Therapists are commonly used. Treatment varies
and depends on the individual needs. Treatment helps them do activities otherwise known to
annoy them or that they can’t tolerate. The goal is to challenge the individual using a playful,
fun way to help learn to respond and function in an activity they are oversensitive to. There is a
very broad spectrum of severity and treatment is based on the emotional regulation, learning
behavior, and the participation in daily life activities. Our brains must learn to organize our
sensations if we are to move, learn, and behave in a productive manner which affects learning,
our social-emotional development, and motor skills.
The debate over SPD is due to many factors. One factor is that it can be connected or
related to neurodevelopmental delays as in autism, ADHD, and OCD. Many children with SPD
were later found to be on the spectrum of having a developmental delay disorder. It was
recognized first by Occupational Therapists in 1970 as its own diagnosis. They provided a range
of costly private treatments that may or may not be beneficial to children due to there not
being enough evidence that provided real measurable results (sufficient scientific evidence) and
weren’t covered by insurance companies due to it not being in the Diagnostic & Statistical
Manual that is recognized by clinicians.
Personally, I think SPD’s should have its own diagnosis. I have worked with students
who have SPD’s and saw results from many of the therapies we used in a classroom setting. I
also had the opportunity to get STAR training through the school district I worked for. This
program helps educate the symptoms and treatments, advocate for children and families, and
is working toward the acceptance of diagnosis in the diagnostic manual (DSM and ICD) so that
treatment can be covered by insurance. They are also trying to educate the medical field as
well to prevent misdiagnosis due to health care professionals not trained to recognize sensory
issues.