February 2, 2024

It’s More than Just “Being a Boy:” Signs your Child May Need Sensory Input for Self-Regulation

It is often, when I first meet with parents to discuss sensory processing and the sensory needs of their children, the parents will often respond with “Oh, he’s just being a boy.”

It is often, when I first meet with parents to discuss sensory processing and the sensory needs of their children, the parents will often respond with “Oh, he’s just being a boy.” It is a common belief that young boys who are very active and aggressive are just “being boys”; however, boys (or girls) who seem to have a lot of energy may be acting this way in order to fulfill their sensory needs. These sensory needs allow them to function to their best abilities. Specifically, children who move all over the place, touch everything in sight or bump into objects may be seeking movement (vestibular and proprioceptive input) to regulate their own body. Those who participate in these activities require more sensory input than a typical child in order to self-regulate.

Below are some signs in which your child may benefit from occupational therapy to help with regulation and sensory processing:

  1. Constant Movement – This is a sign of low muscle tone and vestibular seeking behaviors. Muscle tone refers to the amount of stretch your muscles have at rest. Children who have low muscle tone have muscles that are not as tight as people with normal muscle tone. As a result, these children may often be constantly moving around and may have a difficult time sitting still as it is easier to run and move than to sit (which requires continuous contraction of many muscle groups).
  2. Using Extra Force or Displaying Aggressive Behaviors – Some children may apply too much force when playing with other children and may accidentally exhibit some aggressive behaviors, such as pushing or touching others too hard during a game of tag or pushing the child in front of them while standing in line. They may also use excessive and unnecessary force while performing certain tasks, such as slamming a door instead of simply closing it. This is a sign that your child may require more sensory input to feel when they are touching things.
  3. Bumping and Crashing – Children who bump into doors or crash into furniture on purpose may also be seeking sensory input to their body in order to self-regulate. They may like the feeling that the force gives to their muscles and joints, which is why they may do these things on purpose. Children who bump and crash frequently have a higher pain tolerance. Although they may not feel hurt when doing these things, they can still get injuries, such as cuts and bruises, which can create a safety concern.
  4. Touching People and Objects – Children who touch everything in sight, including people and other materials in their environment, are often seeking tactile (or touch) input to their bodies. These children should be given appropriate means to receive touch input to calm their system.
  5. Difficulty Listening– If your child does not follow directions or hear you when you call their name, it may mean that your child has difficulty with auditory processing. This means that your child may have a difficult time filtering out irrelevant information in their environment and may seem to tune you out. Occupational therapy can help a child develop the ability to listen to the “right” things and tune out background noise that may otherwise hinder their function.
  6. Speaking Loudly or Making Noises – Using an unnecessarily loud voice or making noises constantly is a sign that your child may have a difficult time processing auditory, proprioceptive and vestibular information. When children want to increase their sensory input, they may use their voice or mouth to make noises as these noises provide extra input to their jaw, mouth and vocal cords.

These issues can mean more than “just being a kid” when these issues are hindering your child’s ability to participate fully in school, playing with other peers, performing household chores or forming relationships with family members. The goal of occupational therapy will be to strategically provide safe and structured sensory input during times of need in order to help your child play and work to the best of their abilities.

Download our Guide for Families

We know that choosing a local ABA facility can be a hard decision. We’ve created an informational guide to help you understand more about the questions you should be asking while meeting with different providers.

Although we talk about our services here, our highest goal is for you to feel comfortable and knowledgeable about picking a provider that is the best fit for your needs. You are making a decision that will impact the entire trajectory of your child’s life!
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The cover of the NSPT Guide for Families, which helps families to figure out the questions to ask when picking an ABA provider.

Testimonials

Success looks different for every child... But we bet we have a story that matches your child's needs. Like James, who started with us as non-speaking and lacking the ability to initiate and maintain social interactions. Today, he can speak complete sentences, clearly state his needs, and navigate social interactions with his friends!

Our infant daughter was in physical therapy with Anna Zahn for about five months.  Anna was consistent, patient, and wonderful with our daughter.  Anna was also clear in her communications with us as parents which helped us understand our daughter's progress and needs, as well as how we could help our daughter at home.  While we are proud that our daughter graduated PT, we will miss Anna's warmth and kindness.

Emily

I love this place! Chista is an amazing person, so sweet and kind and very professional in her work. All staff are very kind with children. I feel happy to find this place for my daughter. Thank you!!!

Maria Di Rita

I cannot say enough nice things about the staff! My son worked with Khadija as his ABA therapist and is finishing up this week with his OT, Sabrina. They were really instrumental in helping us navigate a new diagnosis. Both were so easy to approach with questions. From Leeann at the front desk to the RBTs (Alex, Rabbia, Molly, and many others), we always felt so welcomed. It seems like the staff genuinely enjoy their jobs, consistently offering feedback and suggestions on how to help my son.

Jennifer Peyer

We have been working with the amazing team at NSPT for many years. They have been essential in understanding and supporting our child. I recommend their services to anyone looking for their specific type of support.Posted to

Monica Terése Carranza

They are so sweet and kinds persons with professionalism and really worried about the kids and how help they to get new skills and moving forward with knowledge.

Alejandra M.

NSPT is fantastic! All of the staff are wonderful, accomodating, and make you feel welcome and comfortable. Alan is fantastic - he has helped our family tremendously and has such patience and purpose in everything he does.

Alex Ehrhardt

North Shore Pediatric Therapy has been amazing.  They have done a great job adjusting to the specific needs of my autistic child.

Matt Nakanishi

My 12 yr old son has a lovely support team in Robert (Social Work) and Lindsay (OT)! He gains so much from his sessions & I gain so much from the communication and brainstorming! Thanks!

Jennie Meyer

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