Managing Sensory Integration Dysfunction (SID)

Sensory Integration Dysfunction (SID, also called sensory processing disorder) is a neurological disorder causing difficulties with processing information usually from the five classic senses, vision, auditory, touch, olfaction, and taste. One’s sense of movement and or one’s positional sense (proprioception) may also be affected.

For those with SID, sensory information is sensed normally, but perceived abnormally. This is not the same as blindness or deafness, because, unlike those disorders, sensory information is sensed by people with SID, but the information tends to be analyzed by the brain in an unusual way that may cause distress or confusion. Since the problem is one of perception or information processing, the disorder is classified as a type of developmental disability.

SID can be a disorder on its own, but it can also be a characteristic of or in combination with other neurological conditions, including autism spectrum disorders, attention deficit disorder, dyslexia, Developmental Dyspraxia, Tourette's Syndrome, multiple sclerosis, and speech delays, among many others.

Treatments are varied and must be designed to the specific deficit exhibited by the child. The disorder does not need be diagnosed by a psychiatrist as most Occupational Therapists are trained in both diagnosis and treatment.

I have also included a link to an article about Sensory Integration Disorder, below.