When your child doesn't respond to sensory input, activities, or events (they shut down, "overreact," become avoidant, or have a meltdown), it can be confusing for parents and caregivers. That confusion is compounded when you hear observations from well-meaning adults that perhaps your child has "sensory issues" or a "sensory processing disorder."
In fact, these reactions are completely normal responses to nervous system overwhelm, and sensory processing differences are considered part of a neurodivergent or autism diagnosis. The right assessments, evaluations, and deep listening by an ABA therapist can help determine the best way to support your child's sensory processing experience.
The term sensory processing refers to the neurological processes of receiving, organizing, and responding to input from multiple senses. If the nervous system becomes overwhelmed, it typically responds in hyperactive (bigger than normal) or hypoactive (smaller than normal) ways. This is not a side effect or the cause of something parents or caregivers are doing wrong. Sensory processing differences are considered part of autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
The DSM-5 (2013) formally included sensory hyper/hyporeactivity as Criterion B4 of the ASD diagnostic criteria. Current research suggests that 74% (nearly 3/4) of autistic children have documented sensory features, and across clinical studies, those numbers can be as high as 93%, depending on the measurement approach. In other words, if your child has an ASD or neurodivergent diagnosis and shows signs of nervous system hyper- or hyporeactivity, you are not alone.
ℹ️ Research Finding
Current research suggests that 74% (nearly 3/4) of autistic children have documented sensory features, and across clinical studies those numbers can be as high as 93%, depending on the measurement approach. Sensory processing differences are common, and your child's experiences are not unusual.
Unfortunately, in certain settings, atypical sensory reactions can look like and be identified as behavior problems. They are not. They have a neurological origin; the child's nervous system processes input differently, and our response as teachers, therapists, parents/caregivers can have a remarkable effect on an ASD child's ability to move more steadily and confidently through daily life.
Most of us grew up understanding there were five senses (sight, smell, taste, hearing, touch). That was because those senses were established long before we had a better understanding of the nervous system and what/how it processes input.
The more we've learned about the brain and how it processes information, the more we've realized the five senses are just the beginning.
The additional three senses are:
Understanding how these three additional senses guide us through daily life sheds essential light on why a child may be doing something or be highly averse to doing it. It is not a choice or a desire for attention; the behaviors are all communicating that their nervous systems are different, and our job is to find the best way to support them.
⭐ Key Insight
A child crashing into walls is not misbehaving. They are seeking proprioceptive input from their muscles and joints. A child who cannot identify hunger or bladder fullness has interoceptive differences that need specific support. Understanding which sensory system is involved changes everything about how you respond and support them.
One reason personalized assessment is so important is that children with sensory processing differences may respond in two very different ways to the same stimulus, depending on whether their bodies become hypersensitive (often seen as overreactive) or hyposensitive (they may seem numb or completely avoidant).
Children with hyperreactive responses want to avoid the things that trigger them because they're overwhelming. Examples of hyperactive responses:
Children with hyporeactive behaviors may seek extremes so they can feel something because not feeling things means they don't have a sense of their physical self. Examples of hyporesponsive behaviors include:
Depending on differences in nervous system processing, a child may be hyperresponsive in one way but hyporesponsive in another. For example, they might cover their ears in the school cafeteria but intentionally crash into the walls at home. This can be confusing for parents, teachers, and other caregivers, highlighting why generic "solutions" often fail. It requires careful identification of stimuli and responses to create a personalized strategy tailored to the child's specific sensory profile.
Supporting a child with appropriate interventions and support tools is imperative because both hyper- and hypo-responses can cause health and safety issues if left unaddressed.
When we talk about sensory processing differences, we're talking about sensory overload. That means the point at which the amount of incoming sensory information exceeds the nervous system's ability to process it. For children with ASD, common triggers or sources of sensory overload include things like cafeteria noise, birthday parties, grocery stores, crowds, unexpected touch, and fluorescent lighting.
When children become overwhelmed and are past their sensory systems' abilities to process environmental input, they tend to:
⚠️ Behavior Misconception
Meltdowns, shutdowns, and behavioral escalations following sensory overload are neurological responses, not willful defiance or "bad behavior." Addressing only the behavior without addressing the sensory trigger is treating the symptom, not the cause. Effective support requires identifying and reducing sensory antecedents.
Again, these behaviors are not willful tantrums or attention seeking in any way. They are largely uncontrollable nervous system responses to overwhelm.
Our job as caregivers or ABA therapists is to begin identifying the situations or precursors to the responses. We call this "sensory antecedent." They seem like bad behaviors at first glance, but curiosity and further investigation reveal that sensory triggers produced the response. After identifying enough of these patterns, we learn how to prevent, minimize, or address them in real-time.
Board-certified behavior analysts (BCBAs) at ART are trained to identify sensory antecedents in behavior support planning. When a thorough sensory plan is in place and adopted as the norm, children and families experience transformations in their daily lives at home, at work, and in their social lives.
Looking up a list of activities or interventions on the internet can be helpful, but it's also very general. Your child's sensory processing differences are specific to them. What regulates one child may overstimulate another. Assessment before intervention is not optional. Creating an individualized plan is far more effective than any one-size-fits-all internet search overview can provide.
That's why the BCBAs at ART embrace the idea of personalized Sensory Diets. Just as diets should be customized to an individual's specific medical conditions, diagnosis, or goals, a Sensory Diet is an occupational therapy-schedule of sensory activities that meet an individual child's specific regulatory needs.
Creating a sensory diet that works requires a formal sensory assessment from a BCBA or an OT. This assessment identifies which systems are affected in hyper- or hypo-responsive ways, the situations that trigger those responses, and then sensory activities that support whole-system emotional regulation. This could look like:
Ayres Sensory Integration therapy, has been designated an evidence-based practice for children with autism ages 4-12 by the National Clearinghouse on Autism Evidence and Practice.
💡 Start Small
You don't need a formal sensory diet to begin supporting your child. Start with environmental changes: reduce visual clutter, switch to warmer lighting, offer noise-reducing headphones, or replace scratchy clothing with softer fabrics. A formal occupational therapy assessment will deepen and personalize these accommodations.
There are also things you can do at home to minimize triggers and support more stable nervous system regulation for your child and the rest of the household.
The more you learn to read your child's sensory cues, you'll be able to adjust the environment and have more support tools at the ready. This is an area where the BCBAs at ART can help you, providing hands-on teaching and coaching geared specifically for your child and your home environment.
Again, there is no one-size-fits-all or one-internet-list-fits-all answers for you. Sensory support works best and when it is individualized and that starts with an assessment. Sensory diet and behavior plans are a collaborative effort between OTs and BCBAs.
Typically, occupational therapists use standardized tools to map a child's profile across all eight sensory systems. Then, the BCBAs at ART build these sensory findings into behavior support plans. This creates one unified plan from which the child's whole care team can work from. We make this process as easy as possible for our families in North Texas, offering services in a variety of areas, including Tyler, McKinney, Prosper, Celina, and Frisco.
The BCBAs at ART work alongside occupational therapists to make sure sensory triggers are accounted for in your child's individualized support plan. If you're ready to get a clearer picture of how your child experiences the world, and what to do about it, we'd like to help.
🎯 Ready for Personalized Support?
Every child's sensory profile is unique. A comprehensive sensory assessment combined with behavior support planning can help your child develop the skills to regulate in challenging environments. Our Board Certified Behavior Analysts work alongside occupational therapists to build individualized plans that actually work for your family.
You can contact ART by phone (877) 77-ART-TX (877-772-7889) or via email, StartABA@arttx.org. You are also welcome to learn more about our services and contact us online to set up a consultation.
