Sensory Systems Clinic    therapy for children since 1982  

Short Symptom List:

An occupational therapy evaluation of sensory processing might be appropriate if the infant, child, adolescent or adult is having difficulty in some of these areas.

Infants:

____  Arches back when held or pulls away
____  Overly sensitive to sound
____  Overly sensitive to light
____  Frightened or cries when moved quickly
____  Becomes upset in a baby swing
____  Car rides are not calming
____  Feeding problems
____  Fussy
____  Lack of intense eye contact at 4-10 months, and lack of rich interest in socializing
____  Uneven or assymetrical crawling pattern
____  Floppy 
____  History of adoption if infant/child is post institutionalized, neglected, or abused
____  Alcohol use of biological mother during pregnancy

Toddlers:
____  More active than a typically active toddler
____  Difficulty with sleep patterns
____  Aggressive
____  Does not adjust posture to you when picked up and/or feels heavier than expected
____  Sits with legs out to sides in a "W" position
____  Fights having clothing or diaper changed (more than a typical toddler)
____  Dislikes lying on back or tilting head back to have hair rinsed
____  Does not enjoy bathing
____  Has difficulty playing with toys
____  Avoids or has decreased eye contact
____  Does not reference where you are pointing
____  Does not imitate waving bye, bye, so-big, or clapping
____  Lacks simple early pretend skills such as talking on a play cell phone
____  Has difficulty chewing, gagging, or pocketing of food
____  Does not enjoy cuddling
____  Easily startled 
____  Delayed speech
____  Difficulty shifting focus from one activity to another
____  Delayed development of motor skills

Pre-School:
____  Biting, hitting, or expulsion from pre-school or child care
____  Overly sensitive or overly reactive to touch, noise, smell, etc.
____  Difficulty or avoidance of leaning to do fasteners, cut with scissors, do art/craft projects
____  Does not have a mature pencil grip
____  Intense or has difficulty modulating behavior
____  Problem feeder (less than 20 foods)
____  Mouths objects
____  Constant touching of objects or people
____  Has problems with sitting and listening to a children's book being read
____  In constant motion
____  Clumsy or uncoordinated
____  Has problems making friends
____  Problems with transitions
____  Speech is hard to understand
____  Difficulty understanding verbal directions if not part of typical routine/unfamiliar environment
____  Delayed in toilet training
____  Difficulty with tolerating self care such as haircuts, nail cutting, teeth brushing, bathing, etc.

School Age:

____  Overly sensitive to stimulation or does not like noise, sound, smells, etc.
____  Distracted in the classroom or restless, out of seat
____  Overwhelmed in the playground
____  Slow to complete tasks in school and/or home
____  Difficulty with or avoids handwriting
____  Clumsy and/or slouches in chair
____  Slow to learn new activities
____  In constant motion
____  Sedentary
____  Avoids gross motor activity most children find pleasurable (climbing, swinging, etc.)
____  Craves rough housing, wrestling or tackling games
____  Able to hold behavior together in school, but has outbursts when he/she comes home
____  Has problems with making or keeping friends
____  Gets stuck on tasks and has difficulty moving to a new task
____  Cannot seem to organize supplies and materials
____  Does not seem to know how to get started on tasks
____  Confuses similar sounding words, misinterprets questions or requests
____  Stumbles over words, speech lacks fluency, rhythm is hesitant or pitch of voice is unusal
____  Easily frustrated
____  Noise making behavior
____  Problems with school performance such as reading, math

Adolescent/Adult:
____  Difficulty with adaptability to change
____  Difficulty remianing focused in a meeting or class (should be able to do a full day with breaks)
____  Sensitive to touch of clothing, own hair, grooming, or others touch
____  Sensitive/irritable to noise
____  Fearful of driving over bridges or around curves in a road, panic attacks
____  Difficulty following a conversation or extra clarification needed for verbal directions
____  Difficulty expressing self clearly
____  Uses too much force
____  Difficulty remaining focused on work
____  Difficulty learning new motor tasks, sequencing
____  Needs physical activity to maintain focus throughout the day
____  Difficulty reading
____  Bumping into objects or others, bruises which cannot be recalled how they occurred
____  Speech lacks fluency, stumbles over words
____  Difficulty with losing objects
____  Organizing is difficult, or obsessively organized to make up for organization problems