Sensory Processing Challenges: Effective Clinical Work with Kids and Teens

Many children and teens suffer from sensory challenges, meaning that they have unusual reactions to certain sensory experiences that most of us find commonplace. These challenges can range from moderate to severe - from an aversion to bright lights or the feel of anything remotely abrasive, to stopping short in panic every time a loud noise or siren is heard, or having an oral tactile sensitivity that prevents normal feeling in the mouth and hinders feeding. Accompanying these sensory issues - the full-blown version of which is called sensory processing disorder (SPD) - can be a range of behavioral problems like OCD and anxiety, and more severely, Asperger's and autism.