Overview
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), considered one of the most common childhood diagnoses, causes difficulties with attention, focus, organization and hyperactivity. Sensory integration disorder, now called sensory processing disorder (SPD) creates challenge with sensory issues including under- and over-reaction to sensory stimuli. The symptoms and effects of the two conditions may overlap.
Similarities
Children with ADHD and SPD display some of the following issues and behaviors: hyperactivity, lack of focus, fidgeting and impulsivity. A hyperactive child with either ADHD or SPD might run and skip through the halls on the way from one class to another. A child struggling to focus on a reading assignment might have ADHD or SPD. Excessive fidgeting by repeatedly touching a toy reflects both SPD and ADHD. Additionally, a child blurting out answers or words might have either attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or sensory processing disorder.
Effects
The overlapping effects of SPD and ADHD cause learning difficulties, create challenges with peer relationships, and reduce a child’s ability to comply and complete activities. An article in “New Horizons,” “Sensory Integration, Attention and Learning,” by Dana Nicholls and Peggy Syvertson, says that a person diagnosed with ADD or ADHD may have an immature nervous system that causes sensory integration dysfunction. Nicholls and Syvertson go on to explain that sensory processing difficulties make paying attention difficult and frustrating.
Treatment
Treatment for ADHD generally includes medication, behavior modification and psychotherapy. For sensory processing disorder, treatment most commonly includes occupational therapy, integrating multiple sensory experiences. In an article in “ADDitude,” Priscilla Scherer, R.N., describes the need to differentiate between the two diagnoses and to treat both. The two conditions need to be differentiated, because ADHD medication and behavior modification will not fix SPD, even if the conditions coexist.
Considerations
A national study by the University of Colorado reports that among children showing symptoms of either ADHD or SPD, 40 percent displayed signs of both conditions. Those diagnosing sensory and attention deficit issues need to consider the possibility that children may have both conditions.
Misconceptions
Because sensory processing disorder and attention deficit disorder overlap, parents, teachers and medical professionals may mistake one condition for the other. In her article in “Additude,” Scherer, an R.N. and mother of a child with both SPD and ADHD, describes her frustration at hearing that her daughter had ADHD when she was convinced that it was SPD. Eventually it turned out that her daughter had both conditions and underwent treatment for both.
About this Author
Susan Ward, M.A., writes about family, parenting, and children’s mental health issues for multiple publications. She has been published in various special interest publications, both in print and online, in the United States, Canada, Australia, and the U.K. since 1989. She’s also authored two books and numerous booklets.
