Help me make sense of this - Combination of sensory seeking, avoiding, low threshold

[pranava]

DS just started OT and as a part of that I completed an Infant Toddler Sensory Profile.  His scores came out rather contradictory and confusing.  He is More Sensation Seeking, More Sensory Sensitive, More Sensation Avoiding, with a Lower Threshold than the norm for his age.  Specifically he responds more to auditory, tactile, and oral stimulation. 

Anyone know more about this test?  I don't understand the results because they seem to contradict each other.  Everything I find online says a kid with a Low threshold should be sesory avoidant and a kid with high sensory sensitivity should not be a sensation seeker.

[LynnS6]

From the reading I've done and the people I know in real life, it's very common to have a 'mixed' profile.

For ds, he's mostly hypersensitive and sensory avoidant. This is true for sound, touch and movement. However, for pain and taste, he's NOT sensory avoidant. He's 'normal' for taste, but he's underresponsive to pain. The kid had raging strep throat this fall and his comment to the doctor was "well, my throat kind of hurts sometimes." My dh has the same profile, except that he's also hypersensitive to food taste/texture. But my dh walked for several miles on a broken foot once.

So, I think that different sensory systems can be wired differently. For our kids with sensory issues, it isn't so much whether they're over/under-responsive but the fact that 'something' is off and the sensory pathways aren't functioning optimally. Sometimes they're overcharged, sometimes they're undercharged. It can also appear differently in different members of the family. Both my MIL and her sister have sensory issues. My MIL is underresponsive to lots of stuff -- she can't tell when milk is 'off' for example, and she doesn't seem to care about how her clothes feel. Her sister is hypersensitive to almost everything.

[beenmum]

I think the issue occurs when a test takes in typical sensory avoiders for young children. Lots of young children sensory seek. That isnt unsual. Lots of toddlers dont like getting their face washed, hands dirty etc.

The concern only appears when these sensory behaviours interfer with his daily life to the point that they affect his ability to function and complete daily tasks.

[Linda on the move]

I agree that it's *normal* for kids with sensory issues to be seek out and to avoid, depending on the situation the exact stimuli. My DD is mostly sensory avoiding, to the point of being extremely planted and fearful of the outside world, but one day we were at a rose garden in full bloom, and she ran from flower to flower, zig zagging and revisited flowers, smelling everything. Then she told me how they compared, led me to certain flowers, pointed out ones that smelled almost identical though they looked nothing alike, etc. It was like she was taking in all that information like a computer.

[KCMichigan]

Originally Posted by LynnS6 

From the reading I've done and the people I know in real life, it's very common to have a 'mixed' profile.

So, I think that different sensory systems can be wired differently. For our kids with sensory issues, it isn't so much whether they're over/under-responsive but the fact that 'something' is off and the sensory pathways aren't functioning optimally. Sometimes they're overcharged, sometimes they're undercharged. 

Well said.

DD2-- who had 2 yrs of OT for SPD. is both. She is under for pain/temperature/sensations  and over for sound, smells, movement. It really varies from kid to kid. She walked around with a broken finger for a week before we realized it was broke since the Dr said 'if it hurts enough, she will cry and not move it...." well it was broken through the growth plate but she was using it anyway and not crying at all! But a doorbell, garbage disposal, truck- etc sends her running and covering her ears.

[Emmeline II]

"Raising a Sensory Smart Child" talks about this in chapter 1.

[Guinevere]

Just nodding in agreement that a mixed sensory profile is really common. My 5 yo DD, who has Down Syndrome, is mostly sensory seeking and undersensitive to stimuli, particularly pain. She touches and tastes EVERYTHING, especially non-food items, loves to crash into things, climb, swing, spin, and chew.

However, she freaks out daily when I brush her hair, cries at spicy foods, chews and then spits out most fresh fruits or vegetables due to texture issues, and needs earmuffs yearly in order to get through 4th of July fireworks without a complete meltdown.

So yeah, very mixed profile.

HTH,

Guin