Is Your Child A Sensory Seeker Or Avoider?

Sensory Avoider (hypersensitive)

A sensory avoiding child who struggles with processing environmental stimuli will become overwhelmed.  This results in the child being overly sensitive to their environment.  Sounds that normally would not bother another person make a child with sensory processing disorder cringe.  A sensory avoider processes sensory input at an intense level compared to others.  

A sensory avoider may also display some or all of the following symptoms:

Sensory Seeker (hyposensitive)

A child who is a sensory seeker feels under stimulated by his or her environment.  This under-sensitivity to sensory input leads a child to seek out more sensory stimulation.  Many sensory seekers appear clumsy or loud which may lead to the belief that the child has “behavior issues.”  Even though a child may need more sensory input, labeling a child as having behavior issues is often incorrect.  Instead, the behavior is the result of the child seeking sensory input.

A sensory seeker may also display some or all of the following symptoms:

What If A Child Displays Signs And Symptoms Of Both?

Not every child with sensory processing disorder fits neatly into the categories of a sensory seeker and sensory avoider.  It is possible for a child to display some or many symptoms of avoiding and seeking sensory input.  Although there’s no clear explanation as to why a child displays a combination of both types, it often changes depending on their arousal level and how well he or she can self-regulate.   

Self-regulation is the ability to manage emotions and behavior in difficult situations.  A child who does not self-regulate well will experience ‘meltdowns’ in response to loud noises or try running away in large crowds.  This is the result of sensory overload.  When one or more senses are overwhelmed, a child may have a sensory meltdown.

When a child displays a combination of sensory avoiding and seeking behavior, it can be difficult to identify triggers.  In order to help a child self-regulate, it’s important to know what his/her reactions are to sensory input when overwhelmed and the specific sensory triggers that cause distress.  

My three-year-old falls into the categories of showing a combination of both seeking and avoiding behavior.  While he’s afraid of loud noises in a public restroom, he also has a high pain tolerance and bumps into everything.  Not only does he have a combination of both types, but I’ve found his triggers are always changing.  This makes it even more difficult to lessen or avoid specific triggers.

Know Your Child's Sensory Triggers

For children with sensory processing disorder, there are two types of ways a child processes sensory input, seeking or avoiding.  A child who yells and crashes into things may feel under-stimulated by their environment causing them to seek out sensory stimuli.  A child who covers his/her ears and screams in response to a vacuum running is avoiding sensory input.  

While it would be nice to label a child as a sensory seeker or sensory avoider, often that’s not the case.  Many children display a combination of symptoms for both seeking and avoiding.  

To best help a child with sensory processing disorder, it’s important to know his/her sensory triggers.  It’s also important for parents to know the level of reaction a child has to each trigger.  Once you know how well or how bad his/her reaction is to sensory triggers, you can best know how to help lessen the distress. One of the things to consider is creating a sensory safe environment in your home.