Over the years, there has been much anecdotal experience of users who purport that a weighted blanket helped to relieve physical pain, improve sleep, and reduce anxiety.

Weighted blankets have been recommended by professionals for years to help children with calming, relaxation, and sleeping for years, but recently they have entered the mainstream, which has lead to a proliferation of different types of blankets.

Dressing is a transition that is especially difficult for children with sensory-based motor disorder or sensory-defensive children. SBMD children have trouble with dressing due to motor planning challenges that limit their ability to sequence (put steps in the correct order).

Bedtime can be a stressful time for parents and young children. Sensory children have some unique challenges that interfere with the bedtime routine.. Below are some things to try that may help your sensory child during this process:

Emotional outbursts and aggressive behavior in sensory children can be sensory or behavioral, but which is it? Sometimes a child’s emotional outburst or aggression is purely sensory related such as the case when a child reacts to loud noise, crowds, scratchy clothes, hair washing, or touch from another child.

Dr. A. Jean Ayres, an occupational therapist and developmental psychologist, first described what was known as "sensory integration dysfunction" in 1972. Dr. Ayres likened sensory integration dysfunction to a neurological "traffic jam" that prevents certain parts of the brain from receiving the information needed

Sensory difficulties can result in anxiety, frustration and anger which all contribute to meltdowns, defiance, and stubborn behavior. When a child is in a constant state of stress, learning is difficult.

There are many differences between medical and educational pediatric occupational therapy. It is important to note that educational pediatric occupational therapy is not a substitute for medical therapy.

How do you know when to seek a screening for your child? Your child needs to be screened when adverse behavior occurs with more frequency, intensity, and duration than typical children, negatively impacting your child and your family’s daily life.

Sensory children often face transition issues that interfere with daily functioning at home, performing at school, or interacting with adults and peers. These children have trouble with transitions with greater frequency, more intensity, and longer durations than typical children.

Sensory-based motor disorder is the second type of Sensory Processing Disorder. Children with sensory-based motor problems have trouble balancing, moving and performing unfamiliar tasks or activities, or a combination of these.

Modulation disorder is one of the three types of sensory processing disorder (see more on sensory modulation disorder on the "Types of SPD" page). Sensory over-responsivity (SOR) is one of three sub-types of modulation disorder (the other two are sensory under-responsivity and sensory seeking/craving).

Children with CAPD hear sounds typically but have difficulty processing and interpreting what they hear. In other words, this isn’t a disorder of the auditory organs within the ear, but rather a brain disorder.

Eyesight is not the only visual skill a child needs to succeed in school. Some of the many other necessary skills include eye teaming and focusing, eye movements and tracking, visual perception, and visual integration skills.

Each year, thousands of children are unnecessarily medicated for ADHD, as symptoms are commonly confused with other disorders. Three types of disorders are frequently misdiagnosed as ADD/ADHD: sensory processing disorder, visual disorders, and auditory processing disorder.