Senses
Some children’s brains process information from the senses differently.
Some children’s brains process information from the senses differently.
Children can be over-sensitive, under-sensitive to sensory input, or both.
A child who is over-sensitive may show signs such as:
A child who is under-sensitive may:
Some children actively look for more sensory input. Others move away from it. Both can happen in the same child.
Interoception is the sense that tells us what is happening inside our bodies.
A child with differences in interoception may show signs such as:
Some children with sensory differences may not respond to pain in the usual way. It can be hard to know if they have been hurt or feel unwell.
Proprioception tells us where our body is in space.
A child with differences in proprioception may:
Example — Clive:
Clive is sensory seeking, he has an area at home and school with a trampoline and swing. He likes tactile objects, spinning objects and going upside down. He does not feel pain in the same way, which their parents make sure the doctor and health professionals know about.
Note: Our examples are made up to show common experiences and are not real children.
For some children with neurodevelopmental differences, sensory processing is different from typical peers. Some differences that children may experience are:
9 out of 10 families in our survey told us sensory differences were important issues for their children with neurodevelopmental needs (322 out of 360 or 89%).
Growing Different Parent Survey 2024 – notes and limitations
394 families of neurodivergent children took part in our online survey. Most children were autistic (about 8 in 10). People chose to take part, so the figures show their experiences, not all children. We did not compare them with any other group, so they can’t show how common something is or what causes it. Some questions had more responses than others.
Please credit ‘Growing Different Parent Survey 2024‘ and read more in our survey insights page
A link is not an endorsement. We are not responsible for the content of external links.
References
Royal College of Occupational Therapists. (2021). Informed view on sensory processing. rcot.co.uk
Connecting I Coping I Daily living I Diagnosis I Environment I Health I Learning I Senses I Speech I Strengths
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Information created: July 2026 I Next review: July 2029
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