What Is
Sensory Integration Dysfunction?

Just imagine that you lived in a world where you could not completely trust the information from your senses. Your world would be so confusing.

You would react differently than other people in the same situation. They would think that your behaviors are rather strange. You may demonstrate stimming. You would become anxious and depressed. You may even become aggressive and violent.

Many, if not all, individuals with autism live in this world of sensory integration dysfunction. Other people can have this disorder, too.

You can think of your nervous system as a box. You have inputs to your box called senses. And you have outputs from your box called behaviors.

Most of us have been taught that there are five senses. However, there are actually seven sensory systems.

• Vision
• Hearing (auditory)
• Taste (gustatory)
• Smell (olfactory)
• Touch (tactile)
• Proprioception
• Vestibular

Normally, you use your senses to obtain information about a situation, organize and interpret the situation in you brain, and then react meaningfully to the situation through behaviors. This feedback loop occurs constantly and quickly.

In sensory integration dysfunction, your nervous system does not interpret the senses correctly. Therefore, you perceive the world differently than it actually exists for neurotypical individuals. Then, your nervous system tells your body how to react to this incorrect information. Thus, your behaviors are inappropriate to the given situation.

Because of the problems with processing sensory information, sensory integration dysfunction is also called sensory processing disorder (SPD).

Any of the senses may be affected by sensory integration dysfunction in any combination. Some senses may be hypersensitive while others are hyposensitive. And, to make matters even more confusing, the degree and type of sensitivity for a particular sense may change throughout the day.

So, what are the symptoms of sensory integration dysfunction? Well, the signs can be almost any unusual behavior depending whether the individual has hypersensitivity or hyposensitivity to the particular sensation.

The hypersensitive individual is oversensitive to the sensory input and appears to overreact. You constantly feel bombarded by sensory information. You may respond with the fight or flight response. You may withdraw, avoid, or minimize sensations. Or you may even become aggressive or violent. Your sympathetic nervous system is on overdrive. You will experience muscular tension and anxiety from this chronic stress.

On the other hand, the hyposensitive individual does not notice the sensory input and needs more stimulation to register the sensation. You do not recognize sensory information. You may respond by seeking sensations with over activity and impulsivity. You may be diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

An individual with a hypersensitive visual system may avoid eye contact, be distracted with clutter, or be agitated with patterns or too many colors. You would prefer soft natural lighting, organized work space, decreased clutter, and the use of peripheral vision.

An individual with a hyposensitive visual system may like objects that spin and move. You may look directly at lights or flick objects close to your eyes. You need a visually stimulation environment.

A person with auditory hypersensitivity is easily bothered by and distracted by noise. You may even experience the noise as intense pain. Malls, sports events, and concerts may be overwhelming for you. Also, you may hear sounds acutely that other people easily ignore.

A person with auditory hyposensitivity may not hear their name when called or my not respond to various sounds. You may even make lots of noises just for fun, such as humming or tapping. You may like the TV or radio very loud.

My children have benefitted tremendously from The Listening Program. This therapeutic listening program is used to improve auditory processing and to integrate various sensory systems.

Sound Health and Music for Babies can also provide beneficial brain connections and reduce the negative effects of toxic noise from the environment.

Someone with gustatory hypersensitivity will gag easily. You will prefer not to mix foods and may have difficulty with certain textures. Others think that you are a picky eater.

Someone with gustatory hyposensitivity tends to constantly put objects, fingers or food in the mouth. You may even overstuff your mouth or overeat.

Individuals with gustatory sensory issues may get more dental cavities due to lack of teeth brushing and due to eating sugary foods. Natural xylitol products can easily help prevent and repair these cavities.

Those with olfactory hypersensitivity can become quite ill with nausea, vomiting, and headaches. Certain smells may cause distractibility and agitation.

Those with olfactory hyposensitivity desire strong aromas. You may even sniff people and other objects inappropriately.

Individuals with tactile hypersensitivity need large personal space. You may be sensitive to clothing fabric, seams and tags. Dirty hands and face may be intolerable. However, you may not like hand and face washing either. You may get unusually angry if someone bumps or pushes you, and you may notice every ache and pain. In general, you avoid touch.

Individuals with tactile hyposensitivity are comforted in small spaces. You may not be aware of dirty hands and face. You may not even notice if you are hurt or injured. In general, you seek tactile input.

Proprioception is information from the joints, muscles, tendons and ligaments which tell you where your body is located in space.

If your sensory integration dysfunction involves proprioception, you may knock things over or run into things. And you may be clumsy and uncoordinated.

Heavy work such as raking leaves, carrying groceries, vacuuming, and many other household chores and yard work are wonderful for providing proprioceptive input.

The following items are especially effective for providing additional proprioception and promoting calmness and security.

• weighted blankets
• weighted lap pad
• weighted neck wraps
• weighted vests

The vestibular system involves information about balance and changes in position of the head, neck, and eyes.

Someone with vestibular hypersensitivity will experience gravitational insecurity. You will have difficulty on stairs or escalators. You may develop motion sickness easily.

Someone who has vestibular hyposensitivity will seek movement and be in constant motion. You may prefer linear movement, such as rocking or swinging. Or you may prefer spinning instead.

We have found that the Woggler is extremely effective for the modulation of the vestibular as well as proprioceptive systems.

Postural control is related to proprioception and vestibular input. With sensory integration dysfunction, your body may be too rigid or you may have low muscle tone. Either will interfere with your ability to perform activities of daily living.

Sensory integration dysfunction can also affect your arousal level.

Your level of arousal may be high resulting in either hyper vigilance or lethargy since you are in shutdown mode.

Alternatively, your level of arousal may be low resulting in either lethargy or hyperactivity since you are trying to keep yourself alert.



Sensory integration dysfunction is usually treated by occupational therapists during occupational therapy. They will work with your child to determine their sensory needs and appropriate sensory diet. A sensory diet consists of particular activities that train the brain and develop new neurological pathways. These activities modulate the nervous system. Some activities are calming for hypersensitivity and other activities are alerting for hyposensitivity.

You will find valuable information about sensory integration dysfunction and sensory diets from these books. These books can help you design your own sensory diet.

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