Sensory Processing Disorder
We continue our series on the causes of attention deficit beyond a biochemical reason.  We have already discussed Auditory Processing Disorder and Retained Reflexes.  Today, we talk about Sensory Processing Disorder.

Sensory Processing is the brain's ability to integrate, process, and respond to certain information received from the body's sensory systems.  The brain takes all of this information and helps the body make sense of its surroundings and to react to them appropriately. 

A child with good sensory integration filters the unimportant stimuli without having to think about it.  She can sit at her desk without thinking about her posture.  She can pay attention to the teacher and filter out the noise of the air conditioner and the noise of the children in the hallway.  She can ignore the itch of her wool sweater.

A child with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) has trouble processing and interpreting sensory messages.  Some children will feel bombarded with all of the sensory information.  This child might be bothered by the label in his tee-shirt or the seam in his socks.   He might be bothered by the approach of his classmate or the stickiness of the play dough.  He will pay a lot of attention to avoid these ordinary sensations.  He might fidget and squirm.  Meanwhile, he is unable to pay much attention to the teacher's words. 

For others, the stimuli are dulled.  These children need extra stimulation to "get going."  They need to move around much more than their peers.  These are the kids who love to spin and swing.  They will pay alot of attention to satisfy their need for movement, and not much to instructions or to where they left their shoes.

Most children with SPD will often show elements of both extemes: being overloaded at times and seeking stimulation at others.  It's easy to see how the symptoms - distractiblity, the need for intense activity, problems with social interactions - could seem like ADHD.

The problem is that many professionals have never even heard of SPD.  As a special education teacher, I had never heard of SPD until my son was diagnosed with it.  If the cause of the attention problems is due to SPD, drug therapy will not help, but a good sensory diet may be a major component in treating the problem.  An overloaded child needs less stimulation; whereas, an under-responsive child needs more stimulation. 

Reflex integration, auditory and visual processing, and sensory processing are just pieces of a puzzle that need to be put together for a child to be successful in everyday situations.  Instead of medicating for ADD or ADHD symptoms, really finding the cause of the problem would be the more permanent solution to any challenge that is affecting a child's education.