Sensory Processing Symptom list for Infants and toddlers

Infants and children with sensory processing difficulties vary in the extent to which they are affected and the sensory systems that are involved.  These difficulties can impact on behaviour during functional, everyday activities.  Generally infants and children who are under reactive to sensory stimulation will tend to seek out extra sensory input and infants/children who are oversensitive will tend to avoid or be defensive of sensory input.  This defensiveness may result in irritability, crying, or withdrawal during these sensory experiences.
 

Typical Behaviours

The following behaviours may indicate difficulties with sensory processing:

Movement (The Vestibular System)

  • Seeking Behaviour: Rocking body, wagging head, waving or flicking fingers near eyes. Enjoys rough and tumble play more than expected. Rolls or moves arms and legs more than usual.
  • Defensive/Avoidance Behaviour: Persistently sitting on the floor, resisting movement, holding onto people, irritable when position is changed. May be physically rough with people and objects and bangs and appears destructive with toys and objects.

Body Awareness (Proprioception)

  • Seeking Behaviour: Rolls and engages in movement more than expected, claps hands, jumps to an unusual degree, really enjoys rough and tumble play.
  • Under registration (does not recognise sensory input): tends to be physically rough with people and objects.

Touch (The Tactile System)

  • Seeking Behaviour: Frequently sucks and mouths objects, hands and clothes. May scratch or pinch and seeks out different tactile experiences and persists with them for extended periods of time.
  • Defensive/Avoidance Behaviour: Irritated by certain clothes or fabrics and avoids certain food, such as mixtures of smooth and lumpy textures. Dislikes being towel dried and having face washed, as well as resisting cuddling and touch, avoiding getting hands messy.

 

As a parent, the most important thing you can do is try to understand how the sensory systems influence your infant/child’s behaviour and set up your environment so the child can get the appropriate intensity of sensory information to organise his/ her nervous system and behaviour.