What Causes Sensory Issues in Kids: A Parent's Guide
Being a pediatric occupational therapist, having sensory issues myself and being a mom of children with sensory challenges has taught me that sensory processing issues affect all aspects of a child’s development. These can cause a child to be uncomfortable in their own skin and lead to feeling overwhelmed. These challenges don’t just affect the child, yet they have a big impact on their families and everyone who interacts with them. A common question I get from parents is: “what causes sensory issues in kids?” Although there is not a simple, clear answer, there are several factors that are believed to contribute to this. When we understand the signs and possible causes of sensory issues in kids, we can make small changes that will have a big impact on meeting your child’s sensory needs.
What Are Sensory Issues in Kids?
Sensory issues happen when the brain struggles to organize and interpret information from the environment and body. Picture a traffic control system that’s not working properly. Some signals come through too loudly while others barely register.
When I talk with parents in my practice, I explain that sensory processing involves our brain taking in information through our senses and deciding how to respond. When this system doesn’t work smoothly, everyday experiences become either overwhelming or not stimulating enough for a child. This makes processing the information correctly to react appropriately quite challenging.
What Causes Sensory Issues in Kids?
Movement and tactile exploration aren’t just about kids having fun. These activities are crucial for sensory, motor and emotional development. They help kids build body awareness, motor skills, tolerance of sensory input, and regulate their emotions. When children engage in active play and hands-on exploration, they’re helping their nervous system to develop. This helps them process sensory information and more appropriately respond to their environment and those around them. Some examples including being able to stay focused, calm down, and adapt better to change.
Over the last few decades as a culture our lifestyles have changed greatly. Research suggest that these changes are having a negative impact of children’s development. When I was a child we spent hours outside, climbing trees, digging in dirt, and getting messy. These activities engaged all our senses.
These days, busier schedules and increased screen times has led to many children missing out on these essential sensory experiences. Throughout my career, there has been a noticeable increase in children experiencing sensory issues known as Sensory Processing Dysfunction (SPD). Which is a common symptom reported in children diagnosed with developmental delays like ADHD and autism. There is a strong correlation with these changes in children’s routines with the increase of children presenting with sensory issues.
Through researching ways to help my daughters and the children I work with, I’ve discovered that SPD often comes from what we call a “brain imbalance.” I regularly explain this concept to families because it helps them understand what happens in the brain that leads to sensory issues.
Here are some factors that contribute to sensory issues in kids:
Neurological factors
When one hemisphere of the brain becomes underdeveloped, the other hemisphere becomes stronger to compensate. This leads to an imbalance which limits the communication between both side of the brain and results in gaps in development. This explains some of the root causes of developmental delays and sensory challenges we observe in kids. Genetics, physical, social and environmental factors all play a role in this.
This brain imbalance is called Functional Disconnect Syndrome. I’ve witnessed significant improvements in children, when focusing on activities to support the natural balance of the brain.
For more information, check out my blog: Brain Balance: How It Shapes Your Child’s Behavior and see resources below.
Genetics
Family history plays a significant role in the development of sensory issues. I regularly observe patterns within families. When one parent struggled with sensory challenges, attention issues, or learning differences, their children often face similar challenges.
Pregnancy related factors
Pregnancy stress can affect a developing baby’s nervous system. High stress levels, pregnancy complications including C-section births, or birth trauma are a known risk factor for children developing sensory issues. Excessive stress in pregnancy can cause the fear paralysis reflex to remained retained, which is often a symptom in children with ADHD and autism.
Remember: Skidamarink Kids is a guilt free zone, so take a breath momma. I know this was a major factor during my pregnancies. Although I couldn’t fix this, I've learned that focusing on managing my own stress can still positively affect my children regardless of their age.
Limited movement during early development
I can’t emphasize this enough. Reduced emphasis on tummy time, crawling, and outdoor play really impacts brain development in a negative way. Movement and outdoor play provide the foundation for sensory and motor development.
Retained primitive reflexes
I assess this regularly in my practice. Primitive reflexes are an automatic respond to stimulation or movements. They first develop in utero and help babies move and develop the first few months of life. These reflexes should naturally disappear as they integrate, which helps the nervous system mature. This helps lay a good foundation for sensory processing and motor development. Children with retained reflexes have a harder time with tasks like sitting still, focusing, or coordinating their movements.
Want more information on Primitive Reflexes, check out my blog Primitive Reflex Integration in Children: Development Guide
Gut related issues
Limited interactions and connection time
There is a connection between our gut health and how our nervous system functions. This is why we tend to feel better when we make healthy choices related to what we eat. Children with sensory issues have a higher chance of having digestive related problems, eczema, and food sensitivities.
I’ve witnessed remarkable improvements in some children when their family addressed their underlying gut health, in addition to introducing a sensory diet activity to meet their sensory needs.
Seek to your child’s pediatrician if you have concerns about your child’s digestive health.
I’m noticing this more lately. When children don’t get enough face-to-face interaction, eye contact, and genuine connection time with caregivers, it affects their social and sensory development. Our brains are designed for connection, and this foundation is essential. The sweet moments with your little one early on will help make a big difference developmentally as well as make being a parent a lot more fun.
For more information on fun activities you can add to your child’s today, check out my blog “How to Connect with Your Child to Build Strong Parent Bonds”
Poor nutrition
Food has a big role to play in how children’s bodies and nervous systems develop, as well as function. Good nutrition is not only important to support brain development, but it also helps support your child’s ability to regulate their behavior. With our on-the-go lifestyles and culture shifts, the quality of our foods has changed. Foods that are over-processed, have food dyes, and poor nutritional content can negatively interfere with your child’s developing nervous system. This can greatly impact your child’s sensory processing and mood.
Remember: Small changes can make a big difference for your child. For more information on Nutrition, check out my blog “How Nutrition Affects Child Behavior and Development”.
Early screen time
This is a hot topic for a lot of parents. Excessive high-speed visual stimulation from screens is linked to adverse effects for kids’ development. I have seen this with my own kids as well as with countless other children. This input overstimulates the developing nervous systems. However, as a parent I know avoiding electronics 100% of the time is not possible in today’s world. So be realistic and focus on doing your best.
Try these tips: Avoid screen time the first 2 years of life while the right brain hemisphere develops as much as possible. At a minimum, limit screen time and find low stimulation alternatives.
For older toddlers and children, provide alternative activities first saving short periods of screen time for when you really need it like when you need to clean the dishes. Don’t forget that involving them in everyday activities with you may take up extra time yet are great ways to connect and teach your child important skills.
Check out my blogs The Power of Outdoor Play: Nature Time Essential Activities and Moving to Grow: Movement and Play Activities for Development for alternative activities.
Chemical exposure
Environmental factors
When my daughter was little, it really surprised me to learn about all the chemicals our babies are being exposed to. Chemicals and plastics that interfere with hormones and affect brain development are in a lot of everyday products we use. Some examples include cleaning products, food containers and even the shampoo we use on our kids. Luckily there are more natural alternatives these days.
Tips: Read labels and research brands that use natural, safe ingredients. Use class and stainless steal container over plastics when possible.
Our modern lifestyle really compounds these issues. When children miss out on those varied sensory experiences that used to be part of everyday childhood, their sensory systems just don’t develop properly. You know, things like spinning until they’re dizzy, jumping off playground equipment, or getting their hands completely messy digging in the dirt. Their brains need these experiences to build the right neural pathways.
Academic pressure too early
Learning is important and there is a big push to teach early learning skills. Although this sounds good, it can interfere with the brains natural pattern for development. By pushing fine motor skills and academics before children master whole-body movements and social interactions, we’re essentially skipping essential developmental steps that lead to brain imbalance.
When we work on skills that teach infants and toddlers self-regulation skills first, then they will be better behaved and prepared to learn. Check out my blog Play-Based Self-Regulation Activities: Age-by-Age Play Guide” for developmentally appropriate activities targeted to your child’s specific age group!
Stress
This is huge, and I think we underestimate how much our kids pick up on our own stress levels. The constant rush of busy schedules, bouncing from one activity to another without any breathing room, creates so much stress for children. When kids feel stressed, whether it’s from our expectations or just absorbing the stress we’re carrying, their bodies go into that fight, flight, or freeze response. That’s totally normal and healthy when it happens occasionally. But here’s the problem. When children stay in this stressed state too often or for too long, it interferes with their nervous system’s ability to mature and learn how to regulate itself.
Overstimulation
Then there’s the sensory overload piece. Constant background noise from traffic or electronics. Bright fluorescent lights in stores and schools. Crowded spaces with too much visual input. All this bombards their developing nervous systems and makes it incredibly hard for children to process sensory information properly. When their brains are already working overtime to compensate for existing imbalances, this extra sensory input just makes everything that much more difficult for them.
Signs of Sensory Issues in Kids
From my years working with families, here's what I commonly observe:
The Over Responders
These children might cover their ears at loud sounds, refuse to walk barefoot on grass, or have meltdowns in crowded places. One child I worked with couldn’t focus in her classroom because she heard every single sound. The air conditioning, kids shuffling papers, even footsteps in the hallway. Another child was very sensitive to any movement and felt very fearful touching different types of foods.
The Under Responders
These kids might seem like they’re in their own world, not responding when you call their name or appearing unaware of their surroundings. They might have a “flat” expression and seem disconnected from what’s happening around them.
The Sensory Seekers
These are the kids who never stop moving, crash into furniture, chew on everything, or need to touch every surface they pass. They’re not being naughty. They’re trying to get the sensory input their nervous system craves.
Other signs I watch for include:
- Poor coordination and frequent clumsiness
- Difficulty with daily tasks like getting dressed or brushing teeth
- Extreme reactions to getting messy or certain textures
- Trouble sitting still or paying attention
- Picky eating beyond typical childhood preferences
- Emotional meltdowns that seem disproportionate to the situation
- Challenges with social interactions and reading social cues
- Bothered by bright lights
- Poor tolerance of things like tags or seams in clothing
How you Can Help
It is important to know the factors to answer the question “what causes sensory issues in kids” These answers are not to create parent guilt. These are to help you start to look at what changes you can make in your child’s routine and your lifestyle to help minimize the risk factors.
The reality is you can’t avoid all of these, but you can make tweaks that can make a big difference for your kids. Sometimes simple changes in daily routines, like adding movement breaks, providing sensory fidgets or creating a calm-down space, make a huge difference.
You can find sensory activities that you can start adding to your child’s routine today in my blog “A Parent Guide to Sensory Activities for Child Development”. Also check out the related article section below this post for more support.
Do you want more practical tips and tools to help improve your child’s sensory processing and self-regulation skills?
The Tantrum Tamer App is not just a band-aid fix for behavior problems. Tantrum Tamer is designed to help you decrease power struggles and make spending time with your child more fun! Check is out and download today!
– Kendra
