As a parent, you know when something isn’t quite right with your child. Maybe they can’t tolerate the feel of clothing tags. Maybe loud noises send them into complete meltdowns. Maybe they’re constantly crashing into things, seeking input their body desperately needs. When you mention these concerns to your pediatrician, you’ve probably heard “they’ll grow out of it” or “some kids are just more sensitive.”
But your gut tells you something deeper is going on.
The latest data estimates that Sensory Processing Disorder affects 5-16% of kids, 1 in 6 children struggling with sensory integration issues. That’s more children than those diagnosed with ADHD or Autism, yet many pediatricians still dismiss these challenges as normal childhood behavior.
Here’s what most parents don’t realize: these struggles often begin before birth, building through a “Perfect Storm” of prenatal stress, birth trauma, and early childhood stressors that create lasting nervous system dysfunction. Fortunately, transformation is possible through specialized Neurologically-Focused Chiropractic Care.
We’ll talk in depth about sensory issues—their signs, causes, and impacts, plus drug-free approaches focused on the root factors that perpetuate sensory dysfunction.
What Are Sensory Issues?
Sensory processing refers to how the nervous system receives sensory input from the external world and within our bodies, organizes and interprets that data, and generates appropriate responses. Sensory processing difficulties were first identified in the 1970s by occupational therapist A. Jean Ayres, PhD, who pioneered the concept of sensory integration.
Sensory issues occur when the brain’s processing and integration of sensory stimuli are dysfunctional. Children may demonstrate hypersensitivity (overresponsiveness) or hyposensitivity (underresponsiveness) to various stimuli. This is called sensory modulation, the nervous system’s ability to regulate its response to sensory information.
Is SPD a “Real” Diagnosis?
While SPD isn’t recognized as a stand-alone condition in the DSM-5, the neurological dysfunction causing these signs is very real. The American Academy of Pediatrics doesn’t recommend using SPD as an official medical diagnosis. However, sensory signs are included in diagnostic criteria for Autism Spectrum Disorder, and many children with ADHD, anxiety, and other developmental challenges also experience significant sensory processing difficulties.
The debate isn’t whether children struggle—it’s whether we label the sign (SPD) or address the cause (nervous system dysfunction). Parents don’t need a formal diagnosis to know their child is suffering. What matters is identifying the neurological root cause and addressing it.
Understanding the Senses
Most people think of five senses, but sensory processing actually involves at least seven—and arguably eight. The traditional five senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch) are what most recognize, but three additional senses are equally critical:
Proprioception: Body Awareness
Proprioception is your child’s sense of where their body is in space. This “sixth sense” comes from receptors in joints, muscles, and ligaments. Children with poor proprioceptive processing may appear clumsy, use too much or too little force, struggle with motor skills, or crave deep pressure through tight hugs or crashing into furniture.
Here’s the critical connection: proprioception relies on continuous feedback from the spine, joints, and muscles to the brain. When subluxation disrupts this feedback loop, particularly in the upper cervical spine, the brain doesn’t receive accurate information about the body’s position, leading to coordination challenges and sensory-seeking behaviors.
Vestibular: Balance and Movement
The vestibular system, located in the inner ear, tells the brain about movement, balance, and head position in space. Children with vestibular processing issues may be fearful of playground equipment, have poor balance, get motion sick easily, or seek intense spinning and jumping.
The vestibular system connects directly to the brainstem and upper cervical spine. Birth trauma affecting this area can disrupt vestibular processing, creating lifelong balance and coordination challenges if not addressed.
Interoception: The Often-Overlooked 8th Sense
Interoception is your child’s ability to sense internal body signals—hunger, thirst, the need to use the bathroom, pain, temperature, and emotional states. Children with poor interoception may not recognize when they’re hungry, have difficulty with toilet training, not notice pain from injuries, or struggle to identify emotions.
Here’s what most practitioners miss: interoception depends heavily on vagus nerve function. When vagus nerve function is compromised—often due to upper cervical subluxation—interoception suffers, creating a cascade of self-regulation challenges.
All eight senses work together through the nervous system. When nervous system dysfunction exists, multiple senses can be affected simultaneously, creating the complex pattern of sensory issues parents witness daily.
Signs and Examples of Sensory Issues
Children with sensory processing challenges display distinct behaviors signaling difficulty with sensory modulation. Some children are sensory avoidant (over-responsive), constantly overwhelmed. Others are sensory seeking (under-responsive), craving more intense input. Many show both patterns depending on the sense and situation.
Sensory Avoidance: When Stimulation Overwhelms (Hypersensitivity)
Children with sensory avoidance are constantly in a state of sensory overload. Their nervous system interprets normal input as threatening, triggering fight-or-flight responses:
- Auditory: Adverse reactions to loud sounds, discomfort in noisy environments, and frequently covering ears
- Visual: Bothered by flickering or bright lights, trouble keeping eyes open outdoors
- Tactile: Aversion to certain textures, dislikes hugs or light touch, picky about clothing fabrics and tags
- Oral: Limited diet due to food textures/temperatures, frequent gagging, excessive mouthing of non-food items
Sensory Seeking: Craving More Input (Hyposensitivity)
Children with hyposensitivity crave sensory input rather than avoid it. Their nervous system has a high sensory threshold, requiring more intense stimulation to register:
- Constant movement and crashing
- Lack of spatial awareness
- Reduced response to injury
- Touching/tasting inedible things
- Little reaction to loud noises
When to Worry: Beyond Normal Childhood Behavior
All children have sensory preferences. When does this cross the line from normal childhood behavior to sensory processing issues that need to be addressed? The threshold is this: when it disrupts daily functioning and interferes with your child’s ability to participate in everyday activities.
Red Flags That Suggest Deeper Nervous System Dysfunction
If you’re seeing several of these patterns, sensory processing issues are likely affecting your child’s quality of life:
- Your family avoids public outings because reactions are too intense or unpredictable
- Morning routines take hours due to clothing, brushing teeth, or washing struggles
- Your child can’t participate in age-appropriate activities like birthday parties or playdates
- Meltdowns last 30+ minutes, and nothing you try can stop them once they start
- Self-injurious behaviors occur during sensory overwhelm
- Social connections are declining because other kids don’t understand the behaviors
- Sleep is consistently disrupted by sensory sensitivities
- Eating is severely limited to 10-15 foods due to texture or temperature aversions
- Toilet training is delayed or regressing beyond typical developmental windows
Trust your parental intuition. If you’ve been told “they’ll grow out of it” multiple times but the patterns are intensifying rather than improving, that’s your sign to look deeper. These patterns often worsen over time if the underlying nervous system stress isn’t addressed.
Causes and Contributing Factors: The “Perfect Storm”
Conventional medicine recognizes that sensory processing issues have biological roots, including genetic components. However, genetics and brain differences alone don’t explain why sensory processing issues are increasing so rapidly, why some children improve dramatically with intervention, or why siblings with similar genetics can have completely different sensory profiles.
Emerging science reveals that neurological dysfunction stems largely from external stressors interfering with healthy developmental trajectories. It’s not one thing—it’s the convergence of multiple factors during critical developmental windows that creates a “Perfect Storm” of nervous system dysfunction.
Phase 1: Prenatal Stress and Sensitive Wiring
The first phase involves maternal prenatal distress from inflammation, toxicity, or emotional stress, signaling the fetus’ brain and nerves to wire more sensitively. Studies show that maternal stress can negatively affect offspring development. Maternal cortisol crosses the placenta, programming the developing nervous system to be hypervigilant.
The fetal nervous system essentially gets the message: “The world is dangerous—stay on high alert.” This lays the foundation for later sensory hypersensitivity.
Phase 2: Birth Trauma and Physical Injury
Harsh birth interventions like C-sections, vacuum/forceps extraction, or oxygen deprivation then damage delicate nerve pathways. With nearly 1 in 3 births now involving C-section and additional interventions common in vaginal deliveries, birth trauma affecting the upper cervical spine and brainstem has become epidemic.
The forces involved in birth, particularly with assisted delivery, can compress the brainstem, damage the vagus nerve pathway, create subluxation in the craniocervical junction, and disrupt the vestibular system. This physical trauma creates the neurological interference that makes sensory processing difficult.
Phase 3: Early Childhood Stressors That Compound the Problem
Wherever nervous system interference, called subluxation, exists, irritated nerves chronically misfire, sending stress signals instead of smooth sensory communication. Early stressors that worsen the “Perfect Storm” include:
- Chronic colic, reflux, and digestive issues (signs of vagus nerve dysfunction)
- Repeated antibiotic use disrupting the gut-brain axis
- Lack of developmental movement (limited tummy time, excessive container use)
- Environmental toxins during sensitive developmental periods
- Traumatic events or ongoing family stress
The “Perfect Storm” doesn’t just create signs—it creates subluxation, which perpetuates nervous system dysregulation long after the initial stressors. This explains why “waiting it out” doesn’t work and why addressing the root neurological dysfunction is essential.
Impacts of Sensory Issues on Daily Life
If left unaddressed, Sensory Processing Disorder traits can leave extensive collateral damage across all facets of life.
- Learning & Development: Sensory overload severely impairs concentration, comprehension, and memory formation. When the nervous system is stuck in sympathetic dominance, the brain can’t function optimally. Your child’s brain is using all its resources just to manage sensory input, leaving little capacity for learning.
- Social & Emotional Health: Many sensory-struggling kids withdraw socially to avoid further distress, breeding loneliness and eroding self-confidence. The vagus nerve controls social engagement—facial expressions, vocal tone, the ability to connect with others. When vagus function is compromised, children struggle with the social-emotional regulation needed for friendships.
- Family Dynamics: Parents of children with sensory issues often deal with stress levels comparable to parents of children with autism. The constant vigilance, planning around sensitivities, and managing meltdowns takes an enormous toll on the entire family system.
- Anxious & Rigid Behavior: Battling unrelenting sensory overload leaves kids in fight-or-flight mode, amplifying anxiety exponentially. What looks like “behavior problems” is actually a nervous system that’s lost its ability to self-regulate and adapt to change.
- Gut and Immune Dysfunction: Experiencing too much sympathetic overload suppresses smooth digestive motility, making individuals more susceptible to inflammation and infection. Studies have found that children with pediatric GI problems often have sensory processing issues. Parasympathetic suppression directly impacts digestion, immune function, and healing.
Neurologically-Focused Solutions for Sensory Issues
At PX Docs, we focus on root cause, natural, drug-free care solutions. We do not treat or cure Sensory Processing Disorder or any specific condition. Our approach addresses the neurological dysfunction that may be contributing to sensory processing challenges, allowing your child’s body to heal from the inside out.
The Neurological Root Cause
Here’s what’s really happening: your child’s nervous system is stuck in sympathetic dominance—imagine a Ferrari engine (Sympathetic Nervous System) paired with Ford Fiesta brakes from 1978 (Parasympathetic Nervous System). The gas pedal is stuck to the floor while the brakes barely work.
This is what we call dysautonomia—dysfunction of the Autonomic Nervous System. When sympathetic dominance exists, your child’s brain interprets normal sensory input as threatening, creating heightened startle responses, an inability to filter background stimulation, a constant fight-or-flight state, and poor sensory discrimination.
The “Perfect Storm” creates subluxation: stuck stress in the nervous system, particularly in the upper cervical spine where critical sensory processing pathways are located. Specialized Neurologically-Focused Chiropractic Care aims to remove this interference and restore proper neural communication.
INSiGHT Neurological Scanning: Objective Assessment
Unlike subjective behavioral questionnaires, we use state-of-the-art INSiGHT scanning technology to objectively measure your child’s neurological function:
- NeuroThermal Scans measure temperature patterns along the spine, revealing areas of chronic subluxation and autonomic nervous system imbalance
- Heart Rate Variability (HRV) assessments establish dysautonomia metrics—measuring the balance between sympathetic (gas pedal) and parasympathetic (brake pedal) nervous systems
- EMG Surface Scans detect muscle tension patterns indicating neurological stress
These aren’t guessing games based on signs—we’re measuring actual nervous system function. The scans allow us to create a customized care plan specific to your child’s neurological needs, not just their sensory behaviors. Follow-up scans show objective improvements in nervous system regulation.
Supporting Your Child While Addressing Root Causes
While you’re working to address the underlying nervous system dysfunction, there are practical ways to support your child’s daily functioning. These accommodations don’t replace root cause care—they provide relief while nervous system healing progresses.
- For Sensory Avoidance: Noise-canceling headphones, sunglasses for bright lights, tagless clothing in soft fabrics, predictable routines, visual schedules, and advance notice before transitions.
- For Sensory Seeking: Scheduled movement breaks, fidget tools, heavy work activities, weighted blankets, chewy jewelry, compression clothing, safe spaces for running and jumping.
- For All Children: Keep sensory sensitivities in mind during daily planning, communicate needs to teachers and caregivers, build in recovery time after challenging situations, celebrate progress, and remember that behaviors are communication about nervous system state.
These strategies help manage the symptoms while you address the underlying neurological dysfunction through specialized care.
Drug-Free Solutions for Natural Care and Relief
Behind baffling sensory behaviors, your child is battling intense neurological overwhelm. What you’ve witnessed isn’t behavioral—it’s neurological. The meltdowns, the avoidance, the constant seeking—these are your child’s nervous system trying desperately to regulate itself but lacking the ability to do so effectively.
Here’s the good news: when you address the nervous system first—removing the interference, restoring regulation, allowing the body’s innate healing capacity to function—sensory processing can improve naturally. Your child’s brain has remarkable neuroplasticity, the ability to rewire and heal when given the right support.
At PX Docs, we don’t cure Sensory Processing Disorder. We address the underlying nervous system dysfunction that may be contributing to these challenges. Our approach is foundational—designed to support your child’s natural healing capacity by removing interference and restoring optimal nervous system function.
If you’ve seen one or several of these sensory patterns in your child—the clothing battles, the meltdowns in public places, the inability to participate in normal childhood activities—we encourage you to visit our PX Docs directory. PX Docs are pediatric chiropractors with extensive training in identifying and addressing the root causes of sensory processing challenges through neurologically-focused care.
