Anxiety and the Five SensesĮvery one of your senses can be affected by anxiety in different ways.

In this article, we'll look at a small sample of some of the sensory problems caused by anxiety, and discuss what you can do to control these experiences. While you may be aware that anxiety can cause your heart rate to increase and your body to sweat, you may not be aware that anxiety can have a much broader impact on all of your senses. Simple tactile sensory experiences such as sensory bins and tactile games can help a child get used to the sensation and help with their tactile sensory needs.Anxiety can affect your body in fairly unusual ways.

This can make getting ready for school each morning extremely challenging. However, if your child struggles with tactile sensory issues, they might refuse simple things such as socks, shoes or tags in clothes. I know many children can be very picky about what clothes they wear. They might need other tools and strategies such as visual schedules and charts to help them with every day tasks that most of us take for granted. Always Disorganizedĭo you have a child that never seems to know where anything is? Sounds like most kids, right? However, if a child is struggling with visual sensory processing, simple tasks such as keeping up with their school supplies can be down right daunting. There can be many reasons your child is refusing every meal you put in front of them that goes beyond trying to be in control. One that is rooted in defiance and “naughtiness” not one that stems from a child’s oral and/or gustatory needs. Unfortunately, picky eating is often looked at as a “bad behavior”. A simple solution could be fun vestibular activities like swinging, obstacle courses, or even a good old fashioned game of twister 3. They seek out the fastest rides, they seem to never sit still, or they are constantly running? This could be a sign that they have vestibular sensory needs that are not being met. Constant Movementĭo you have a child that seems to constantly be on the move. A simple solution could be chewable jewelry or a water bottle with a bite valve. If your child is chewing and biting on things constantly, this can be a very strong sign that your child has oral sensory needs that are not being met. Oh the chewing! My son chewed on everything from the bed post to his sleeves on his shirt. At what point did I realize that it wasn’t just bad parenting or a defiant child? Today, I have gathered some of my initial signs that led me to realize my son needed much more sensory support than I was giving him.

People always ask me when I first knew my son struggled with sensory issues. These clues are meant as a way to help you better understand your child and hopefully set you on the path to getting them the support they need. While there are are many signs of sensory processing disorder, which require an official evaluation and diagnosis, sometimes just being able to relate to an issue can help you understand more about what your child is struggling with. When a child struggles with sensory issues, it can make every day activities difficult and make parenting even harder than it already is.

In fact, it can affect every aspect of your life, from family outings to night time routines. When your child struggles with sensory issues it can be downright debilitating.

Sensory issues