What Is Sensory Dysfunction?
The late A. Jean Ayres, PhD, an occupational therapist, was the first to describe Sensory Integration Dysfunction (SID) as a dysfunction resulting from inefficient neurological processing. SID is also called "Dysfunction in Sensory Integration" or DSI, to avoid confusion with "SIDS," sudden infant death syndrome. You can also find SID described as Sensory Integrative Dysfunction.
In essence, Sensory Integration Dysfunction is the neurological inability to integrate properly the seven (yes, there are seven!) senses. These include sight, hearing, taste, smell, touch, proprioception and balance/coordination (vestibular sense). For an in depth description, see the The Gray Center for Social Learning and Understanding's explanation of these senses.
According to the American Occupational Therapy Association, "Normal sensory integration is central to learning to express words and thought, which in turn affects how a child learns social skills. These cognitive and communication activities involve a complex range of subtle behaviors such as listening and reacting, interpreting body language and non-verbal cues, and responding to and anticipating the emotions of others. Sensory integration processing also affects children’s ability to mentally and physically organize themselves for making orderly transitions from one activity to another."
When a child, for a variety of reasons, cannot properly integrate her senses, she (or he) lives in a world that is either powerfully overstimulating or provides only weak and diluted input. Sensory Integration Dysfunction can result in both hyper- and hypo-sensitive responses, depending on the child and even the specific symptom.
The Sensory Integration Network, spearheaded in part by occupational therapist Lucy Jane Miller, explains that Sensory Integration Dysfunction presents itself in a number of sensory-seeking, sensory-avoiding and dyspraxic (clumsy and awkward) behaviors, as described below:
1. Sensory Seeking children have nervous systems that do not always process that sensory input is "coming in" to the brain. They are under-responsive to sensation. As a result, they seek out more intense or longer duration sensory experiences. Some behaviors that can be observed are: Hyper-activity as they seek more and more movement input; Unawareness of touch or pain, or touching others too often or too hard (may seem aggressive); Engaging in unsafe behaviors, such as climbing too high; Enjoying sounds that are too loud, such as TV or radio volume.
2. Sensory Avoiding children have nervous systems that feel sensation too easily or too much. They are overly responsive to sensation. As a result, they may have "fight or flight" responses to sensation, a condition called "sensory defensiveness." Some behaviors that can be observed are: Responding to being touched with aggression or withdrawal; Afraid of, or becomes sick with movement and heights; Very cautious and unwilling to take risks or try new things; Uncomfortable in loud or busy environments such as sports events, malls ; Very picky eater and/or overly sensitive to food smells.
3. Dyspraxic children are clumsy and awkward. They have particular problems with new motor skills and activities. Some behaviors that can be observed are: Very poor fine motor skills such as handwriting; Very poor gross motor skills such as kicking, catching, throwing balls; Difficulty imitating movements such as "Simon Says"; Trouble with balance, sequences of movements and bilateral coordination."
A number of therapeutic options exist in the treatment of Sensory Integration Dysfunction. For an overview of these modalities, please see our Interventions section. For more in-depth explanations of Sensory Integration Dysfunction, please note the following articles:
Ayres Clinic FAQ
Cindy Hatch-Rasmussen's "Sensory Integration"
ERIC.org's " Understanding Sensory Integration"
Incredible Horizon's Signs, Symptoms and Background Information on
Sensory Integration
Interview with Carol Stock Kranowitz
Linda Stephens' "SID in Young Children"
Sensory Integration Dysfunction: Definitions, Evaluations, Solutions
Sensory Integration International's SID FAQ
Sensory Integration Network's "What is Sensory Integration
SI Challenge's FAQ
SIERF's "What is DSI?" presentation
Sensory Avoiding Behaviors
Responding to being touched with aggression or withdrawal; Afraid of, or becomes sick with movement and heights; Very cautious and unwilling to take risks or try new things; Uncomfortable in loud or busy environments such as sports events, malls ; Very picky eater and/or overly sensitive to food smells.
Sensory Seeking Behaviors
Hyper-activity as they seek more and more movement input; Unawareness of touch or pain, or touching others too often or too hard (may seem aggressive); Engaging in unsafe behaviors, such as climbing too high; Enjoying sounds that are too loud, such as TV or radio volume.
Motor Control Challenges
Very poor fine motor skills such as handwriting; Very poor gross motor skills such as kicking, catching, throwing balls; Difficulty imitating movements such as "Simon Says"; Trouble with balance, sequences of movements and bilateral coordination."
What Does Sensory Integration Therapy (SIT) Do?
SIT focuses on improving abilities to take in sensory information and process the information productively. For children with autism, one or more senses can be over-sensitive or under-sensitive as compared with normally developing children of the same age. Sensory integration therapy is designed to help the child develop more appropriate sensory input processing and responses.
Resource Providers
Davidson County
The Brown Center for Autism
2702 Greystone Road
Nashville, TN 37204
Phone: 615-385-7994
Fax: 615-385-7996
Williamson County
Autism Foundation of Tennessee
500 Wilson Pike Circle, Suite 320
Brentwood, TN 37027
Phone: 615-376-0034
Wilson County
Dynamic Solutions for Kids
6730 Eastgate Blvd.
Lebanon, TN 37090
Phone: 615-443-4446
Fax: 615-443-4448
Lyttle Fox Therapy
14625 Lebanon Road
Suite G
Old Hickory, TN 37138
Phone: 615-758-4888
Fax: 615-758-6188
Web Links
Sensory Nation
Sensory Resources
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