If your child covers their ears at birthday parties, melts down over sock seams, or seems to crash into everything on purpose, you may have wondered whether something more is going on. Sensory processing difficulties are one of the most common things occupational therapists see in children, and they can show up in ways that are easy to misread as behaviour problems. This article explains what sensory processing difficulties are, what they look like at home and at school, and how occupational therapy may help.
TLDR
- Sensory processing difficulties affect how a child’s brain receives and responds to information from their eight senses, including the vestibular (balance), proprioceptive (body position) and interoceptive (internal signals) senses alongside the five familiar ones.
- Children can be hypersensitive (over-responsive to input) or hyposensitive (under-responsive and sensory seeking); many children show both patterns at different times.
- “Sensory processing disorder” is not a formal diagnosis in Australia. OTs and paediatricians use the terms “sensory processing difficulties” or “sensory processing differences” instead.
- Sensory processing difficulties commonly co-occur with ADHD and autism but can also appear independently.
- These difficulties often show up most clearly at home during meals, dressing and bedtime, and at school during transitions, noisy activities and group settings.
- Occupational therapists assess sensory processing and can provide sensory integration therapy and personalised sensory diets tailored to your child.
- If sensory responses are frequently disrupting your child’s daily life, speaking with an OT is a practical first step.
What Is Sensory Processing Disorder?
Most parents know children have five senses. What fewer parents know is that the nervous system actually processes eight types of sensory information. Alongside sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch, we also rely on:
- the vestibular sense: balance, spatial orientation and the feeling of movement (swinging, spinning, rocking)
- proprioception: body awareness, the internal sense of where our limbs are and how much force to use
- interoception: internal body signals, the signals that tell us when we are hungry, tired, anxious, or need the bathroom
For most children, the brain takes in all of this information and responds to it without much effort. For children with sensory processing difficulties, this process is inconsistent or dysregulated. Their nervous system may react to ordinary sensory input as though it is intense or threatening. Or it may not register the input at all, leaving the child craving more stimulation throughout the day.
It is important to know that “sensory processing disorder” is not a formal diagnosis recognised in Australia. OTs, paediatricians and speech pathologists commonly use the terms “sensory processing difficulties” or “sensory processing differences” instead. This does not make the challenges less real. It simply reflects how these difficulties are understood and categorised within the Australian health system.
Sensory difficulties in Australia: key facts
Many children who experience sensory processing difficulties also have ADHD, autism, or other developmental differences. Sensory processing assessment is, in fact, a recommended component of diagnostic evaluations for both autism and ADHD under current Australian clinical guidelines. However, sensory difficulties can also appear in children without any additional diagnosis. Sensory processing is a spectrum, and most children have some degree of sensitivity. The concern arises when sensory responses are frequent, intense, or getting in the way of a child’s ability to participate in everyday activities.
Signs of Sensory Processing Difficulties
Sensory processing difficulties look different in every child. There are two main presentations: hypersensitivity (over-responsive to sensory input) and hyposensitivity (under-responsive, often described as sensory seeking). It is also common for children to show both patterns at once, being over-sensitive to sound but under-sensitive to touch, for example.
Understanding your child’s individual sensory threshold is one of the most useful things you can do as a parent. The sensory cup analogy is a helpful way to visualise why your child reaches a tipping point at certain times of day, and what you can do to manage their sensory load before the cup overflows.
Over-sensitive or hypersensitive reactions
A child who is over-responsive to sensory input may:
- cover their ears in environments others find ordinary, such as shopping centres, school assemblies or birthday parties
- become distressed by clothing tags, seams, or certain fabric textures against the skin
- gag at or refuse foods based on texture, smell, or appearance
- avoid crowded spaces, busy playgrounds, or noisy classrooms
- react strongly to unexpected or light touch, even from people they know and trust
- struggle with hair washing, tooth brushing, nail cutting or getting dressed
- find bright lights or busy visual environments exhausting or overwhelming
These reactions are not defiance or attention seeking. They reflect a nervous system that is genuinely experiencing ordinary input as intense or uncomfortable.
Under-sensitive or sensory-seeking behaviours
A child who is under-responsive to sensory input may:
- be in near-constant motion, running, jumping, spinning, crashing into furniture or other people
- seek out deep pressure through tight hugs, squeezing into small spaces, or wrapping tightly in blankets
- mouth objects well past the toddler years
- have a high pain threshold and not notice bumps, cuts or scrapes that would upset most children
- crave strongly flavoured, spicy, or crunchy foods
- make loud sounds or speak at a volume that seems out of place in quiet settings
- have difficulty with personal space, often standing too close or touching peers without awareness
Many children show a mix of both profiles. An OT assessment will map out your child’s unique sensory pattern rather than fitting them into a single category.
How Sensory Difficulties Affect Everyday Life
Sensory processing difficulties do not stay in one room. They follow children through mealtimes, bedtime routines, the school day, social activities and family outings. Understanding how they show up across different settings helps parents respond with more confidence and less frustration.
These difficulties are not about behaviour. They are about a nervous system that processes the world differently. Our article on why your child melts down at home unpacks what is actually happening in your child’s brain during those moments, and why the trigger is often not what it appears to be.
At home, during meals and bedtime
The home is often where sensory difficulties are most visible. Food refusal is one of the most common concerns, particularly when textures, smells, or the appearance of certain foods triggers a strong reaction. Mealtimes can become a source of significant stress for the whole family, and it can be hard to know where the line is between preference and a genuine sensory response.
Getting dressed is another daily flashpoint. Seams in socks, waistbands that feel too tight, or fabrics that scratch can make mornings genuinely distressing for a hypersensitive child. Bedtime is also commonly affected: a child who is still activated from the day’s sensory experiences may find it difficult to wind down. Some children need heavy bedding, a consistent tactile environment, or a period of quiet proprioceptive input before they can settle.
At school and during social activities
The school environment presents a significant sensory load: fluorescent lighting, busy corridors, noisy classrooms, the sounds of other children eating at lunch, the unpredictability of transitions. For a hypersensitive child, navigating a full school day can be genuinely exhausting. They may withdraw from the playground, avoid art or craft activities, or experience meltdowns during transitions that look like behaviour problems on the surface.
For a hyposensitive child, the challenge is different. Without enough sensory input, it can be very hard to stay seated, focused or regulated during desk-based learning. These children may seek input in ways that attract negative attention in the classroom, fidgeting, making noise, or bumping into peers.
How Occupational Therapy Supports Sensory Processing
In Australia, occupational therapists are the primary professionals who assess and support sensory processing difficulties in children. An OT cannot diagnose a sensory disorder, but they can assess how sensory processing is affecting your child’s ability to participate in daily life and design a targeted plan to support this. All intervention is grounded in the best available evidence and tailored to the individual child.
What an OT sensory assessment involves
An OT sensory assessment typically includes a standardised questionnaire, most commonly the Sensory Profile, completed by the child’s caregiver and, where possible, their teacher. The OT also conducts a structured clinical observation of the child and gathers detailed information through a parent interview. The focus is on understanding how sensory processing is affecting your child’s participation in everyday activities at home, school, and in the community, not just whether difficulties exist.
Assessment may be funded through the NDIS, Medicare (in some circumstances), or privately. You can find out more about our occupational therapy assessments and what they involve.
Sensory integration therapy and sensory diets
Two of the most commonly used OT approaches for sensory processing difficulties are:
Sensory integration therapy: a structured, play-based therapeutic approach that aims to provide the nervous system with controlled, meaningful sensory experiences. The goal is to support the nervous system to process and respond to sensory input more adaptively over time.
Sensory diets: an individualised plan of sensory activities built into the child’s daily routine. A sensory diet may include specific movement breaks, deep pressure activities, or calming proprioceptive input at key times such as before school, during transitions, or before homework. The aim is to keep the nervous system regulated throughout the day rather than allowing it to become overloaded or under-stimulated.
Both approaches are personalised. An OT will work closely with you and your child to identify what is helpful, review progress regularly, and adjust the plan as your child’s needs change.
Everyday Strategies to Support Your Child
While OT provides the structured therapeutic support your child needs, there are practical things you can put in place at home right now. These strategies are not a replacement for professional support but can make a meaningful difference to daily routines:
- Create a quiet decompression space: a calm corner with soft lighting, a weighted blanket, and familiar textures gives your child somewhere to recover after high-sensory experiences.
- Give advance warning before transitions: a simple cue such as “five more minutes until we leave” can significantly reduce the distress of unexpected change.
- Adapt clothing where possible: seamless socks, soft fabrics, and removing tags from clothing can take significant stress out of the morning routine.
- Build in sensory movement breaks: short bursts of proprioceptive activity (jumping on a trampoline, carrying a heavy bag, wall push-ups) before tasks that require sustained focus can help a child stay regulated.
- Offer crunchy or chewy snacks: oral sensory input can have a calming, organising effect for many children, particularly at transition times.
- Give a heads up before touching: a brief verbal warning before adjusting your child’s collar, brushing their hair, or applying sunscreen can prevent a hypersensitive startle response.
If you would like strategies that are tailored specifically to your child’s sensory profile, occupational therapy for school-aged children at Learn for Life can help you build a personalised approach.
Ready to Get Support for Your Child?
If you have noticed that your child seems more sensitive than other children their age, or seems to need a lot more sensory input to feel comfortable, you do not have to figure this out alone. Navigating sensory processing difficulties as a parent can feel overwhelming, especially when the behaviours are hard to explain to schools, extended family, or even a GP.
The team at Learn for Life works with children and families across Adelaide to understand sensory processing difficulties and build practical, evidence-informed strategies that carry over into real life at home, at school, and in the community. Whether you are at the very beginning of this journey or have been living with these challenges for years, we are here to help you find a path forward.
Reach out to us to start a conversation about whether occupational therapy is the right next step for your child.
This article is intended for general information purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Please consult a qualified health professional for advice tailored to your individual needs.