6 facts about SPD you may not know

6 facts about sensory processing disorder you may not know… 

1. Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) causes the brain to misinterpret sensory inputs and either over or under respond to them

2. There are many different manifestations, but the two main ones show up as sensory avoidance and sensory seeking (many people have a mix of these depending on the sense, the circumstance, their mental state, etc)

3. SPD is not currently recognized as a standalone condition in the DSM, though the field of occupational therapy considers it a legitimate diagnosis and has a subset within the field focused specifically on sensory integration 

4. Sensory integration challenges are considered a core element of autism, but they don't only occur in autistic individuals. This is why SPD is considered a standalone diagnosis by those who evaluate for it

5. Sensory integration challenges are an extremely common co-occurrence with other neurodivergent conditions like ADHD and generalized anxiety disorder. 

6. Treatment of sensory seeking SPD in children usually includes occupational therapy and sensory diets. Treatment of sensory avoiding SPD is a bit more difficult and is mostly oriented around environmental modification and accommodations.