Sensory Sensitivity: What it is and How to Help

Learn what sensory sensitivity is, common signs and triggers, and how to support sensitive children at home and school. Practical OT tips to manage sensory processing challenges and sensory overload.

Bright lights. Loud noises. Itchy clothing. Large crowds.

For me or you, these things are minor frustrations throughout our day, but for a person with sensory sensitivity, these things can be overwhelming. 

For sensory sensitive children (and adults), even typical levels of sensory input can be too much for their sensory system to manage effectively. Without the appropriate support, these sensory sensitivities can lead to avoidance behaviors, meltdowns, or refusal to participate in daily activities. 

As a mom of a sensory sensitive son and a pediatric occupational therapist, I know firsthand how challenging it can be to support a child with sensory sensitivities. The picky eating, constant overreactions, or seeming defiance can be difficult to manage day after day. In addition to supporting my own son through his sensory challenges, I have helped countless families learn to support their sensory sensitive child with effective strategies and small changes in their daily lives. 

In this blog post, I will define what sensory sensitivity is, how it affects children in their daily lives, and what you can do to help support your child with sensory sensitivities. 

What is Sensory Sensitivity?

Sensory sensitivity is a type of sensory processing difficulty that occurs when a person is over-responsive to sensory stimuli. This means that their sensory system responds more strongly to typical sensory input than others. This heightened sensitivity can affect one or more sensory systems in a variety of ways. Sensory sensitivities are common in autistic children and children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but they can also appear in children without a formal diagnosis. Sometimes, these sensory differences are part of sensory processing disorder (SPD). 

Because sensory sensitive individuals have a low neurological threshold for sensory input, they often process information more deeply and notice environmental factors that others might ignore, like subtle background noise, flickering lights, or strong smells.

While anyone can have sensory differences, sensitive people and highly sensitive children often experience an overload of sensory input more quickly, leading to discomfort, withdrawal, or meltdowns.

Signs Your Child May be Sensory Sensitive

Unlike sensory seekers, children who are sensitive to sensory input need much less sensory stimuli than their peers in order to reach a state of regulation. Examples of sensory sensitivities for each sensory system include:

Tactile Sensitive (Touch)

• Avoids certain clothing textures
• Startles at light touch
• Refuses physical contact with others

Auditory Sensitive (Hearing)

• Covers their ears at loud noises
• Difficulty focusing with background noises
• Becomes distressed or upset in large crowds or loud environments

Visual Sensitive (Sight)

• Squints or covers their eyes in bright settings
• Trouble paying attention in the classroom
• Loses his or her place when reading or copying text

Oral Sensitive (Taste)

• Picky eater
• Prefers bland foods
• Gags or spits out unfamiliar foods

Olfactory Sensitive (Smell)

• Avoids public restrooms
• Becomes distressed or sick at the scent of soaps, lotions, etc.

Vestibular Sensitive (Movement)

• Avoids walking on uneven surfaces
• Becomes fearful on playground equipment
• Gets carsick easily

How Sensory Sensitivity Affects Daily Life

Children who are hypersensitive to sensory input may have additional challenges in their daily lives, particularly at school or in public settings. School can be an especially overstimulating environment for a sensory sensitive child because of the constant input they are receiving throughout the day, such as:

• Bright, fluorescent lights
• Loud and crowded gymnasiums, classrooms, and cafeterias
• Brightly colored posters and artwork

And much more. Because of this, many sensory sensitive children have already exceeded their threshold (or their “limit”) of sensory input for the day before lunchtime. When this happens, children begin to show signs of distress and overstimulation such as refusing to complete schoolwork, overreacting to minor setbacks, lashing out toward others, or becoming anxious or overwhelmed when routines are changed. 

At home, highly sensitive children may avoid certain daily activities like brushing teeth, getting dressed, taking a shower or bath, or trying new foods. In public settings, they may avoid places where loud music, constant chatter, or bright lights are present.

In sensory sensitive children, it is important to remember that these challenges are not simply behavioral problems; rather, they’re neurological responses to intense sensory experiences or overwhelming environments.

How to Help Your Sensory Sensitive Child

Supporting your sensory sensitive child means creating a supportive environment and teaching effective strategies that help them process sensory information more comfortably. Here are some practical, OT-approved, evidence-based strategies:

Identify and Understand Their Triggers

Observation is the first step in supporting your child with sensory processing sensitivity. Throughout the day, take note of what seems to lead to frustration or overwhelm in your child and identify any patterns that you see. This can be challenging because many times, sensory sensitive children have already met their threshold for sensory input before they begin to show outward signs of distress or overstimulation. 

Depending on your child’s age and level of communication, you can also ask them about their triggers. Asking simple, yes/no questions is the easiest way to better understand what sensory stimuli is affecting your sensory sensitive child. For example, you can ask “Are the lights too bright?” or “Is it too loud?” if you suspect they may have visual or auditory sensitivities. 

Understanding what sensory input may be triggering is an essential first step in creating a plan to better support your child’s sensory needs in their daily lives.

Create a Sensory-Friendly Environment

Once you have identified your child’s unique sensory sensitivities, you can begin to create an environment that better accommodates and supports their needs. Living with sensory processing sensitivities can lead to avoidance behaviors or even refusals to participate in daily activities, so it is important to create sensory-friendly alternatives that allow them to engage with the world around them without becoming overwhelmed. This could include:

• Using noise-canceling headphones in loud spaces
• Dimming bright lights or offering sunglasses indoors if needed
• Choosing soft, tag-free clothing to reduce physical contact discomfort
• Providing a quiet space or calm down corner for breaks

Get my step-by-step guide on how to create a calm down corner at home here!

In the world of occupational therapy, we often refer to these sensory activities as a sensory diet. A sensory diet, typically developed by an occupational therapist, is a specialized sensory plan that addresses your child’s unique sensory preferences by providing daily activities to help them reach a state of regulation or balance. If you feel your child may benefit from a sensory diet, talk to your pediatrician about occupational therapy services in your area or send me a message for more information!

Leave Margin in Your Schedule

For a hypersensitive child, leaving space in their day for them to “reset” is the key to maintaining a state of regulation. How many times have you experienced the “after school meltdown” that occurs just minutes after your child walks in the door? This is likely due to the fact that they have been constantly bombarded with intense sensory input throughout their school day and they have exceeded their sensory threshold. When this happens, your child’s nervous system is already in an elevated state, so when they are met with even a minor frustration or challenge, they immediately lose control. 

Leaving margin throughout the day allows your child’s nervous system to process the sensory input it has received and return to a state of calm before being presented with more sensory information. When sensory sensitive children are given time away from specific sensory input (such as bright lights or loud noises), they are allowing their body to regulate, which in turn leads to better focus and emotional control.

Be Prepared

Before entering an environment that you know is triggering for your child, prepare them for what’s to come by talking through the situation beforehand. For example, if your sensory sensitive child is triggered by going to the grocery store, talk to them about what to expect when they are there as well as what strategies they can use to help them cope. 

A good way to do this is by creating an on-the-go sensory toolkit to keep in your car for challenging environments. Including things such as noise-cancelling headphones, fidget toys, sunglasses, and preferred clothing can help to avoid overwhelm and meltdowns when your sensory sensitive child is in an overstimulating environment. Once your toolkit is created, share each item with your child and explain the purpose of the sensory item so that they are able to use it when needed. 

For many children, understanding the expectations before participating in a new situation can alleviate anxiety and increase confidence.

Teach Self-Regulation Skills

As your sensory sensitive child grows, it is important to teach them to identify their own unique sensory preferences as well as common triggers that lead to overstimulation. Doing this will help them to become more independent in supporting and advocating for their own sensory needs. Self-regulation is an important skill that requires many high-level cognitive processes that aren’t fully developed until adulthood, but it is important to begin building the foundation throughout childhood. 

For many children with sensory processing challenges, it can be difficult for them to express what their nervous system needs in order to reach a state of regulation. Teaching them to respectively advocate for their unique sensory needs can help them to build confidence and independence. Begin to show your child the signs of sensory overload and teach them statements such as:

• “This is too loud”
• “I need a break”
• “Can we turn off the bright lights?”

This will allow them to address their own unique sensory needs in a functional way before reaching a state of distress or overstimulation.

When to Seek Professional Support

While all children and adults have unique sensory preferences, there may be times when it is best to seek professional support for your sensory sensitive child. You may want to reach out to your child’s pediatrician about professional support if:

• Your child’s sensory needs are negatively impacting daily life
• Your child struggles or refuses to participate in school
• Your child shows signs of anxiety or distress during everyday activities

Occupational therapists can help to address your concerns, assess your child’s sensory profile, and provide effective treatment strategies tailored to your child’s unique needs.