Diagnosed at age 4 with ADHD, the first grader is struggling to conform in his first grade class. During "story time" - he plays with his hair or drums his fingers. Antsy to get up and move around, the boy rarely "sits still and pays attention."

Referred by his pediatrician to an "occupational therapist" - the child begins to carry with him at school a small, soft sponge. The therapist has taught him to stroke his arm with the sponge when he feels himself becoming hyperactive.

Elsewhere, at the Lawrence School (www.lawrenceschool.org) - a college prep private school for learning disabled kids, including those with ADHD, in Broadview Heights, Ohio - students rap and dance rote memorization multiplication tables. Such "kinesthetic" or "whole body" learning, the academy says, has allowed at least one student to stay "on task" during repetitious boring tasks - without taking ADHD medication.

On the flip side of the coin is a growing realization that some children are hyperstimulated when bombarded by sights, smells, touch and sound.

Science is just now beginning to recognize that some ADHD children just can't process a barrage of stimuli. A sensory integration disorder, they say, might manifest as being extra sensitive to the texture of some materials and certain foods.

When a child's brain can't integrate an onslaught of messages coming through the senses, the child may become anxious, throw tantrums and have problems in the classroom.

At present, the diagnosis is controversial. Because, at present, problems with sensory integration are difficult to diagnose, some worry an official recognition of a child's difficulty with sensory integration could stick strapped districts with enormous bills. Treatment can run as high as $10,000 a year.

Still, this year, the American Psychiatric Association (www.psych.org) was petitioned by researchers and therapists to add "sensory processing disorder" to its disorders guidebook, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual. Inclusion could free up government money for research, as well as better insurance coverage for struggling families.

As early as 1972, a California occupational therapist and psychologist, Dr. Jean Ayers, wrote a book that suggested sensory stimulation problems were the root cause of some behavioral and motor disorders such as ADHD. Children with attention deficit disorders, today's researchers say, frequently appear to have unusual sensitivities.

While there are many who remain skeptical that some children are over-sensitive to sensory stimulation, a recent study, measuring brain response using EEG, found that those identified as having sensory problems did not respond normally when their brains processed two sensations at once - such as sound and touch.

The American Psychiatric Association is not expected to make a decision on whether to include sensory processing to its disorders guidebook for at least three years.