Hypo- and hyper-sensitive children

Sensory integration research has provided some insight into behaviors that might otherwise be incorrectly classified or misdiagnosed. In reviewing the available literature, I came across a summary of behaviors that give a snapshot of what a hypersensitive or hyposensitive child might look like.

Hypersensitive children are overstimulated and seek less stimulation. They might:

• Avoid touching or being touched by objects or people, and react negatively to stimuli such as getting dirty or clothing tags
• Become overexcited when there is too much to look at, cover their eyes, appear inattentive, or overreact to bright light
• Cover their ears to close out sounds/voices, or complain about an otherwise acceptable level of sound
• Object to odors that others do not notice
• Strongly object to certain textures or temperatures of food
• Avoid moving or being unexpectedly moved, show insecurity about heights, avoid running, and be susceptible to motion sickness
• Remain rigid, stiff, and uncoordinated
  

Hyposensitive children are understimulated and seek more stimulation. They might:

• Be unaware of pain or temperature, chew inedible objects, rub against walls, or bump into people
• Touch everything to learn about it because vision isn't sufficiently coordinated, miss important visual cues
• Ignore voices, show difficulty following verbal directions, lack ability to control their own voice level, hum to themselves frequently
• Ignore unpleasant odors, sniff food/people/objects
• Lick or taste inedible objects, prefer very spicy or hot foods
• Crave fast/spinning movements, constantly fidget, be a daredevil
• Slump or slouch, be clumsy & inaccurate, stamp feet, twiddle fingers

Source: Viola, S., & Noddings, A. (2006). Making Sense of Every Child. Montessori Life, 18(4), 40-47.