Expert Witness Journal Issue 63 October 2025 - Flipbook - Page 86
Interoception – information on the condition of the
body and how it is ‘feeling’. Information is received
from nerve endings in the organs, muscles, and skin.
The brain uses this to help a person understand the
state of the body, e.g. hunger, thirst, feeling full,
thirst, nausea, pain, body temperature, need for
the bathroom, feeling tired. Interoception helps a
person experience emotion. Without being able to
‘feel’ and make sense of body sensations, it is harder
to identify emotions, e.g. fear, stress, excitement.
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The Development of Sensory Processing
Sensory systems develop before birth. Children use
them to learn about their body and the world around
them. Sensory processing provides a foundation for
higher level skills, e.g. cognition, motor skills. If it
does not develop or function e昀昀ectively, it a昀昀ects
learning and overall development. Di昀케culties can
a昀昀ect posture, balance, muscle tone, eye movements,
body awareness, coordination, and praxis (motor
planning). They can a昀昀ect speech, self-esteem,
con昀椀dence, learning and concentration, and daily
living skills.
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Sensory processing di昀케culties are associated with a
number of needs, such as:
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A person with sensory issues may feel sensory input
more or less intensely than others. It can a昀昀ect their
ability to cope in di昀昀erent environments, perform
daily tasks, and their feelings of safety. Di昀케culties
can cause problems with regulation, motor skills,
learning, play skills and interaction with others.
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Sensory issues can a昀昀ect one sensory system or more
than one. There are di昀昀erent patterns:
Heightened reaction to sound or touch.
Under responds to certain sensations, e.g.
doesn’t notice someone calling their name,
doesn’t notice someone tapping their shoulder,
high pain threshold.
Di昀케culty controlling behaviour and emotions,
e.g. tantrums, reacts emotionally, need
for control, impulsive, easily frustrated,
challenging behaviour, overly compliant.
Easily distracted. Poor attention and
concentration.
Poor motor skills, e.g. coordination, balance,
ball skills, 昀椀ne motor skills, handwriting.
Di昀케culties with sleep.
Limited diet, e.g. textures, tastes, smells,
doesn’t know when hungry, thirsty or full.
Distressed during self-care tasks, e.g. brushing
hair, washing hair, cutting nails, cleaning
teeth, dressing, feeding, haircut, shower/bath.
Seeks movement., e.g. 昀椀dgety, moves constantly,
di昀케culty sitting still, spinning, moves quickly,
takes risks.
Seeks intense pressure, e.g. squashes or
squeezes objects, leans into people, looks for
tight/small spaces, crashes into objects or
people, uses too much force.
EXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL
Autistic Spectrum Disorder.
Attention De昀椀cit Hyperactivity Disorder.
Speci昀椀c Learning Di昀케culties.
Developmental Disabilities.
Developmental Co-ordination Disorder or
dyspraxia.
Emotional and behavioural di昀케culties.
Issues with attachment and early childhood
trauma.
Patterns of Sensory Processing Di昀케culties
Signs of a Sensory Processing Di昀케culty
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Avoids or fears movement activities, e.g. swings,
slides, being upside down, spinning.
Problems with communication and social skills,
e.g. eye contact, turn taking, social interaction,
friendships, playing with other children,
reading social cues and social situations.
Di昀케culty expressing ideas, thoughts and
emotions.
Di昀케culty with transitions or change.
Problems following instructions.
Poor planning, sequencing, working memory
and organisational skills.
Low self-esteem and con昀椀dence.
Di昀케culty controlling emotions.
Problems learning.
Impulsiveness or risky behaviour.
Sensory modulation problems – occur when
the brain over responds to, or under responds, to
sensory information. For example, if someone over
responds to touch they may be very aware of how
their clothes feel. If someone is under responsive
to touch they may not notice contact from others.
A person can become distressed, feel unsafe, or
become anxious, fearful, angry and frustrated.
They may compensate for their problems, e.g.
remove their clothes, avoid washing themselves,
or withdraw from social contact. A person can be
over responsive in one sensory system and under
responsive in another, or over and under responsive
within the same sensory system. Their response can
depend on the situation and how they feel.
Sensory discrimination and perceptual problems
– occur when the brain has di昀케culty identifying
di昀昀erences in sensory input, e.g. feeling two
di昀昀erent points of touch that are close together
when fastening buttons. A person can be clumsy
or use too much or too little force. A person with
visual perceptual problems may struggle with lots
of information or 昀椀nding something speci昀椀c, e.g.
objects in cluttered environments, lose their place
when reading.
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OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2025
