Sensory Issues and Learning Disabilities
Sensory issues and learning disabilities seem to go hand in hand— not always, but often.
It depends on what senses are affected. If your kid’s sense of vision is over- or under-sensitive, then there’s a good chance your kid is having difficulty reading and copying. She can’t see the page, can’t read the board, and/or finds bright lights bothersome.
If the sense of hearing is off, then your kid can’t listen. He or she might not even be able to read, because letters connect to sounds that he or she can’t really hear.
If your kid’s proprioceptive (muscle) sense is over- or under-sensitive, then your kid is probably bouncy and inattentive and may have difficulties with handwriting.
Recent research has related sensory issues to nonverbal learning disorders of various types.
Getting past an LD diagnosis
Sensory difficulties might be part of the issue. They might be all of the issue. The mental energy spent coping with sensory overload and underload means less mental energy for learning.
School psychiatrists are quick to diagnose a learning disability or ADHD. But they tend not to go one step further and figure out what is the cause the learning difficulty. Without an answer to that question, schools often to little more than simply naming the symptoms.
For example, you tell the school your kid can’t read, they tell you he has dyslexia. Dyslexia simply means can’t read. Attention deficit just means your child has a deficit in attending. You already knew that.
These aren’t real answers because they don't answer the queston Why.
Need for movement
All kids need movement to strengthen the networks between their brain and the body. SPD kids seems to need a lot more. But the typical classroom is not set up for kids outside the movement norm.
Recent research says schools need to let kids move when they want to move. Fidgeting helps keep their brains awake and helps them keep learning. Movement is like caffeine for these kids: it stimulates their working memory, which is the memory they need to process incoming information.
Some schools are experimenting with options for movement in the classroom. For example, some middle schools have replaced chairs with yoga balls. The kids can bounce lightly while they sit and work. This has improved concentration and reduced ADHD-type behavior.
Organizational difficulties
Sensory difficulties often come bundled with organizational difficulties, such as forgetting homework and missing due dates. These problems lead to artificially low grades.
If the senses are always clamoring for attention – need more bouncing, need to adjust gravity, need to shade out bright lights – then SPD brains are preoccupied. It becomes easy to miss an instruction or forget to pack a book in the bag before running outside.
One strategy for reducing the impact of sensory issues in the classroom is the mouth tools. Gum, a water bottle to sip, or a crunchy snack help calm the senses and clear the brain to concentrate on schoolwork.
Catching up
Resolving sensory issues and addressing the causes of learning disabilities are long processes. Even after successful training and treatment, your kid won’t become a genius overnight. There may have been years of missed learning. Your kid has to play catch-up for a while.