Did you know that you may have sensory processing disorder and not even know it? It’s true. Sensory processing disorder (SPD) affects many facets of an individual’s life and can cause stress and difficulty in performing everyday functions. Could you have this disorder?
What is sensory processing disorder?
“Sensory processing disorder or SPD is a neurological disorder that causes difficulties with taking in, processing, and responding to sensory information about the environment and from within the body (visual, auditory, tactile, olfaction, gustatory, vestibular, and proprioception).” In plain terms this means that sensory stimulation can really aggravate someone with SPD (for example: a light touch from someone may severely distress an individual with sensory processing disorder).
Other forms of sensory input that can cause stress to someone with sensory processing disorder are sensations of certain types of clothing on the skin, certain food textures, light, and sound. The symptoms of SPD sometimes include:
– Lack of coordination
– Difficulty conversing
– “Inability to know where one’s limbs are in space”
Learn more about the symptoms of sensory processing disorder at http://spdsupport.org/resources/symptoms.shtml.
Sensory processing disorder affects both adults and children.
“One study shows that at least 1 in 20 children’s daily lives is affected by SPD.” The disorder can affect adults and children differently. Read about sensory processing disorder’s symptoms in children here; read about how SPD affects adults by clicking here.
People with sensory processing disorder will often overreact to sensory input. But SPD can swing the other way and cause those affected to under-react to such stimuli. Individuals who are “under-reactive” sometimes seem oblivious to touch, sound, and even physical pain and extreme temperatures.
Test yourself for SPD.
Do you want to know if you may have sensory processing disorder? If yes, visit http://spdsupport.org/resources/adult-spd-symptoms.shtml to take an online SPD test. While this test isn’t designed to give you a diagnosis, it will help you understand how many sensory processing disorder-related symptoms you have. Once you know this information, you can seek additional help from a neurologist or occupational therapist.
If you feel you may have sensory processing disorder, stay tuned to Disability Living this week. We will be covering common treatments for SPD extensively. DL will also explore the different ways sensory processing disorder affects children and adults.
Do you have sensory processing disorder?
If you have been diagnosed with sensory processing disorder, please feel free to leave a comment on this post explaining what symptoms led you to seek help. Also, consider sharing with us about the process you went through in gaining a diagnosis of SPD.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensory_processing_disorder
http://www.sinetwork.org/about-sensory-processing-disorder.html
http://www.webmd.com/parenting/sensory-processing-disorder
Image made available by Sean MacEntee on Flickr through Creative Commons License.
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