Sensory modulation

Thrill-seeker: If your child is more of a thrill-seeker type, it may be that they are coordinated and agile. There may be no issues with motor coordination, but rather problems in refraining from movement or stimuli.

In that case, your child may have some issues with attention, hyperactivity, or boredom.

Gifted children: if your child is gifted they may be more inclined toward sensory-seeking behaviour because their systems are naturally a bit more sensitive.

It may be that their systems are ‘like a live wire,’ taking in the information from the environment like a turbulent storm. Instead of being overwhelmed by the storm, they want more of these exciting experiences. Some gifted kids may only feel at home when doing extreme sports or jumping at the trampoline park.

Struggles with motor coordination and sensory awareness: if your child struggles with this, there may be a neurological difference that is causing some difficulty in terms of taking in the information from physical sensations.

For example, your child may not even notice that they are getting hurt. They may jump again and again off of high places, even after bumping their head and scratching their knees.

Poor sensorimotor perception: if your child is struggling with poor sensorimotor your child may have issues in the areas of balance, motion, and body-space, and can be clumsy and uncoordinated. They may be easily injured and may have frequent falls. They often cannot judge their body space, bumping into walls while walking down the hall or hitting their heads on the top of the tunnel slide.

Children who have challenges with balance, coordination, and locomotion generally have sensory deficits in the vestibular or proprioceptive systems, or both.

Vestibular processing: if your child is struggling with vestibular processing the vestibular system is responsible for motor control, speed of movement, and the body’s position in space.

Being over or under responsive to sensory stimuli can affect our level of alertness, basically how calm we are and how ready we are for learning (calm-alert). When alertness levels are high, children may demonstrate impulsive behaviour (shouting out in class) or require movement (rocking/fidgeting in chair) to regulate their system. A heightened level of alertness impacts on a child’s ability to concentrate and can affect behaviour and social skills. Some children with modulation difficulties can develop poor self-esteem and confidence, emotional problems and/or disruptive behaviours.

When children are over responsive to sensory stimuli it can lead to sensory overload. Children may not always be able to tell us clearly how they are feeling during activities so it is important to be vigilant and to observe their behaviours carefully for signs of sensory overload. It is important to observe them both during and after different activities. This is because reactions to sensory stimuli can be delayed and signs of sensory overload can sometimes not be immediately apparent, that is they can occur after an activity has finished.