The Gift of Sensory Processing Disorder

“Sensory processing (sometimes called "sensory integration" or SI) is a term that refers to the way the nervous system receives messages from the senses and turns them into appropriate motor and behavioral responses. Whether you are biting into a hamburger, riding a bicycle, or reading a book, your successful completion of the activity requires processing sensation or "sensory integration."

Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD, formerly known as "sensory integration dysfunction") is a condition that exists when sensory signals don't get organized into appropriate responses. Pioneering occupational therapist and neuroscientist A. Jean Ayres, PhD, likened SPD to a neurological "traffic jam" that prevents certain parts of the brain from receiving the information needed to interpret sensory information correctly. A person with SPD finds it difficult to process and act upon information received through the senses, which creates challenges in performing countless everyday tasks. Motor clumsiness, behavioral problems, anxiety, depression, school failure, and other impacts may result if the disorder is not treated effectively.”  Definition from the Sensory Processing Disorder Foundation.

I am a 42 year old mother of the 3 with SPD. But I wasn’t diagnosed until I had a son of my own and learned all about sensory issues with his diagnosis. A huge light bulb went off over my head and I suddenly knew why I hated school, and struggled so much to learn in a classroom setting. Now I understood why nobody else seemed to hear the scritch scratch of every pencil. . Why the tag on the back of my shirt drove me bonkers.  How come nobody else could smell the maple syrup on little Johnny two rows over? Nobody else burst into tears when their step-father chewed with his mouth open.

With the knowledge of my oldest son’s diagnosis of SPD, I could now forgive myself for being “such a spazz” when I was a kid. Or as my husband calls it my being the Princess and the Pea, since I can never get comfortable in a hotel bed. My son started showing symptoms as early as an infant. He would cry when he would hear the leaf blower through a closed window 3 houses down and I would totally get it and hold him and comfort him.  I hate leaf blowers too. He would get fussy in crowds and when he was a baby I could find a quiet room or space. But as he grew older I taught him how to remove himself from situations where he is being saturated with noises, sights and smells. He can slip into the backyard of the house, the bathroom or if you are out in public a public restroom or just any quiet corner. Take some deep breaths and just debrief.

My son knows he has Sensory Processing Disorder but I don’t call it that to his face.  I told him he has a gift. That if we lived in cave man times he would be the best hunter in the tribe, because he would be able to hear and smell the prey before anyone else.  I told him that even though some things are too bright or too loud for him he has an advantage and he can even hear music more intensely than others. His emotions get very tied up in music; there are already a couple of songs we need to change on the radio station because they conjure up intense feelings. The first time he heard the song “We Are the World” by Michael Jackson and friends he started to cry. Not because it’s a horrible song but because the message of the song touched him.

Even though this can be a hindrance in the classroom, requiring him to take breaks, wear ear plugs at music class and assemblies and fire drills, and have an understanding teacher, he will grow out of a lot of these symptoms. As he matures, his shell will toughen and he will learn coping skills that work for him. My son also has ADHD, and SPD can have overlapping symptoms. But the main difference being that ADHD has problems of impulsivity that SPD does not.

I will continue to tell my 8 year old that he has a gift but I will not minimize the intensity that he feels. And now I need to go cut a tag out of my shirt.