| Sense | Hyper (over) sensitive | Hypo (under) sensitive | Sensory Seeking |
|---|---|---|---|
| Touch | Touch can be painful and may be avoided Difficulties wearing certain clothing Difficulties washing or brushing hair Dislikes covering hands or feet | High pain threshold Enjoys weighted items on top of them Will grip items or people too hard without realising Chews items or clothing | Likes to touch everything in their environment Will rub hands against walls Likes to walk in muddy areas May stand close to other people or objects Enjoys spinning |
| Proprioception | Loose balance Lack of coordination May not want to move around when playing Difficulties with fine motor skills | Stands overly close to others Finds it hard to navigate rooms Bumps into people or items Break toys easily | Like hugs and rough play May bump into things purposely Stomp feet when walking |
| Vestibular | May experience motion sickness May feel scared they are falling Dislike activities where feet are off the ground such as swings and slides | Unaware that they may be falling Can stay on a swing for a long period of time without feeling dizzy | May be fidgety and move around a lot May like to use rocking chairs or swivel chairs to maintain movement Enjoy roller-coasters Enjoys spinning |
| Sight | Visual information may be distorted or fragmented It is easier to focus on details rather than whole objects Increased sensitivity to light Visual environments can be overwhelming | Objects appear dark or blurred Peripheral vision can be blurred while certain objects are magnified poor depth perception (increased clumsiness) Interest in bright lights | May like to look at bright lights laptop screens and/or flickering lights |
| Sound | Noises can be magnified and distorted. It can be harder to cut out background noise Difficulties with loud/unexpected sounds e.g. police sirens | May only hear sounds in one ear May not acknowledge certain sounds May enjoy crowded or noisy places May speak loudly May ignore human voices but respond to other sounds | May enjoy loud noises and seek these out, such as turning up the volume on a speaker or placing their ear close to the speaker |
| Smell | Sensitive to the smell of items such as food Dislike distinctive scents such as perfumes of shampoos | Reduced sense of smell and may not recognise strong smells Reduced awareness of own body odour | May enjoy smelling strongly scented items or objects such as pens |
| Taste | May find it difficult to eat certain tastes/textures as the taste is overpowering Restricted diet | Enjoys spicy or strong tastes May eat non-edible items such as grass or metal | May chew or taste toys, objects or clothes |
Sensory Street 