- SPD FAQ
- SPD Signs
- SPD Types
- Impact of SPD on Children's Behavior
- Impact of SPD on Adult Behavior
- SPD & Psychopathology in Adults
- Sensory Defensiveness Symptoms
- SD Self Test
- SD & Psychological Repercussions in Adults
- Alerting / Calming Sensation
- Sensory Diet Preferences
- Organizing & Disorganizing Sensation
- Daily Sensory Diet Schedule
- SPD Self Test
- Related Websites
Having a problem breathing deeply to calm down?
Here are some quick, easy, fool-proof ways to quickly breathe fully and deeply.
SPD Self Test
Fill in the following check list. If you have checks in that category, you likely suffer that sensory issue. The more checkmarks, the more severe and handicapping is the condition.
Sensory Modulation
Sensory Avoiding
__Dislike being touched, especially unexpected light touch, and avoid crowds, lines or any situation involving close physical contact
__Startle to loud, sudden, piercing sounds; hard to shut out background noise
__Wince at bright lights like sunlight -- must wear sunglasses even on rainy day -- & fluorescent lights; bothered by TV, flickering lights, computer graphics
__Bothered by odors others don’t notice, like musty sheets, or chemical odors like chlorine bleach or perfumes
__Anxious or panicky going down an escalator, riding in an elevator, driving through a tunnel, riding on a roller coaster or spinning rides
__Low pain threshold – anxious when getting injections
__Dislike getting hit or splashed by water – taking a shower, at the ocean, caught in rain
Sensory Seeking
__Seem unaware of touch unless very intense
__Powerful need for deep pressure from hugs, contact sports (football), sex, sometimes abusive; may intrude on another’s space
__Drawn to TV, flickering lights, computer graphics
__Love loud, pounding music; blast TV
__Wear strong perfumes
__Like intensely stimulating -- malls, rock concerts, amusement parks
__Seek out intense sensations such as fast driving, roller coasters, parachuting, skiing, horseback riding, deep sea diving and so
__"Thrill-seeker," dangerous at times
__Enjoy wearing, tight, flashy clothes with rough, fuzzy, or uneven texture
__Like excessively hot or cold water or drinks
__Crave excessively spicy, sweet, sour, or salty foods
__Seek stimulants, like caffeine, nicotine, cocaine, speed
__Under-react to pain
__Self-abusive -- pinching, biting, slicing
__Mouth objects like pens or straws excessively
__Fidget constantly: with keys, change in pocket, a pen/pencil, paper clip, rubber band; twist hair; crack knuckles
__Grind teeth night and day
__Crack knuckles
Arousability(Sleep/wake cycle; ability to achieve, change, & appropriate states):
__Problemsfalling asleep; staying asleep; waking up
__Hyperactive
__Unusually sluggish and passive
__Vacillate between needing to calm down or rev up; little time in comfort zone
Rhythms
__Irregular heart rate
__Fast, shallow breathing
__Too hot, too cold, or vacillating between too hot and too cold
__Undereat or overeat
__Problem ingesting, digesting and eliminating
__Underactive or can’t sit still
__Speak too fast or too slow
Emotional Regulation
__Emotions run away or appear hidden; in relationships, inappropriately excessive
__Emotions lack range and depths and in relationships may be deficient
__Emotionally labile
__Emotionally dead
Behavioral Organization
__Messy
__Easily disorganized
__Avoid anything new or seek novelty and thrills
Sexuality
__Difficulties in sexual relationships
__Little or no sex drive, or obsessed with sex
__Sexual touch feels aversive or overstimulating or overly sexed
Sensory Discrimination
Poor Tactile Discrimination
__Seem out of touch with hands, as if unfamiliar appendages
__Unable to identify which body parts have been touched without looking
__Fearful in the dark
__Unable to identify objects by feel-- need to see keys to perceive they are in hand
__Need visual cues to zip, button and unbutton clothes and other motor tasks
__Dress messily & look disheveled with shirt half untucked, shoes untied, pants not pulled up
__Have difficulty with fine motor skills, such as buttoning, zipping, writing, or using silverware as may not always feel which finger is which or where each one is located
__Unable to tell if touch is friendly or threatening and may lash out aggressively to benign touch, e.g., perceiving a bump as a blow and feel as if being attacked
__Misjudge spatial relationships of objects in the environment, often bumping into furniture, mis-stepping on stairs and curbs, driving over a curb or hitting another car
Poor Body Awareness
__Unsure of where body parts are or how they interrelate
__Have poor difficulty orienting arms and hands, legs and feet to get dressed
__Withdraw from movement to avoid touch sensations, and may bump into things to figure out where you end and the world begins
__May feel separate from body – depersonalization
Poor Auditory Discrimination
__Difficulty attending to, understanding & remembering what is said or read & misinterpret requests
__Fail to understand or follow two sequential directions at a time
__Trouble articulating thoughts verbally or in writing
__Problem responding to others’ questions/comments; need what is said repeated
__Difficulty discerning if a sound is near of far; may be misdiagnosed with attention deficit disorder (ADD) rather than a problem with auditory discrimination
__Problems reading (dyslexia) and especially out loud
__Difficulty identifying people's voices or instruments in the orchestra
__Problem filtering out other sounds and attending to what someone is saying
__Bothered by loud, sudden, metallic, or high-pitched sounds
__Look at others for reassurance before answering
__Often talk out of turn or "off topic"
__If not understood, have difficulty rephrasing; may get frustrated, angry, give up
Poor Visual-Spatial Discrimination
__Fail to comprehend reading or quickly lose interest
__Hard to visualize what you read
__Uncomfortable or overwhelmed by moving objects or people
__Fatigue easily when using eyes for close work
__Difficulty distinguishing foreground from background and locate items among other items -- papers on a desk, socks in a drawer, items on a grocery shelf
__See double
__Write at a slant (up or down hill) on a page
__Confuse left and right
__Difficulty perceiving depth, distance, boundaries and thus judging spatial relationships; may bump into objects or people or misstep on curbs and stairs; may fear driving
__Problem scanning visual sequences and following rapid movement with eyes, as following a tennis match or video game
__Difficulty recognizing symbols or gestures and might misinterpret facial cues
Poor Smell and Taste Discrimination
__Difficulty identifying what food you are eating without looking at it
__Difficulty distinguishing particular tastes or smells, like orange from tangerine
Movement
Motor Planning Problems (Dyspraxia)
__Difficulty with organizing, and performing activities, both novel and familiar that involve a sequence of body movements, such as hitting a tennis ball
__Poor self-help skills and reliance on others to get started
__Poor gross motor skills -- jumping, catching a ball, climbing a ladder etc.
__Poor fine motor skills & difficulty using "tools" such as pencils, silverware, combs, scissors; gripping sandals or walking barefoot; eat messily
__Poor eye-hand coordination and can’t catch a ball
Movement and Balance Problems
__Appear clumsy, awkward, and uncoordinated
__Lose balance easily when climbing stairs, riding a bicycle, jumping, standing on one foot, or standing on both feet with closed eyes
__Avoid most sports or seek intense sports with strong input into balance system (roller coasters, parachuting, bungee jumping, car racing, water or downhill skiiing), or deep pressure to body (horseback riding, deep sea diving, jumping & crashing on trampoline, rock climbing)
__Have poor body awareness: bump into things, knock things over, trip; do things with too much force -- walking, slamming doors, dressing things too hard, slamming objects down
__Get car or seasick
Poor Muscle Tone
__Have stiff muscle tone
__Have a limp, "floppy" body
__Frequently slump, lie down, and lean head on hand or arm while working at desk
__Fatigue easily
__Compensate for "looseness" by grasping objects tightly
__Have difficulty turning doorknobs, handles, opening and closing items – use an electric can opener or often ask someone to open can
__Have difficulty catching yourself if falling
Body Language Deficits
__Facial expression and body language hard to read
__Body language does not match communicative intent
Bilateral Coordination Problems
__May have never crawled as an baby
__Have poor body awareness
__Lacked an established hand preference by age four or five
__Difficulty learning exercise or dance steps – have two left feet
__Confuse left and right
__Problem crossing the midline, like using the right hand to cross over the left shoulder to scratch yourself or to burp a baby
Social/Emotional
Emotional Instability
__Disruptive or aggressive; at times violent
__Silly
__Restless
__Tense
__Edgy
__Difficult or willful
__Easily frustrated & frazzled
__Explosive
__Moody
__Hypervigilant even in safe environments
__Attention getting
Social Ineptitude
__Poor eye contact
__Slow responding
__Inappropriate or lack of initiating
__Out of sync
__Misread other’s intent
Relationship Problems
__Dependency
__False independence
__Incapacity for intimacy
Poor Self-concept
__Low self-esteem
__Feeling “crazy,” “weird”
__Negative self-talk
__Identity confusion
__Seem lazy, bored, unmotivated, depressed, stubborn, troubled
Poor Coping Skills
__Easily frustrated, aggressive, or withdrawn when failing & give up easily
__Difficulty adjusting to a new situation
__Decrease sensory input through avoidance (flight) & by lashing out (fight) to push people away
__Control sensory input by compulsively adhere to strict schedules & rigid routines for eating, waking, going to sleep, and so on
Cognition
__Distracted easily and fidgety when needing to focus and concentrate
__Impulsive
__Disorganized
__Disoriented
__Lack of use of creative skills
__Poor inner drive -- feel stuck and find it hard to pursue goals
__Short-term memory problems
__Poor communication skills and often at a loss for words
__Lack good problem solving skills
__Problems academically as a child, despite normal or above normal intelligence
__Lack of strategies to modify behavior
__Largely unaware of behavior and generally not able to modify it
Psychiatric Symptoms
__Anxiety
__Depression
__Bipolar disorder
__Eatingdisorders
__Obsessive-compulsive behavior
__Panic attack
__Phobias
__Substance Abuse
__Distorted hearing
__Depersonalization
__Dissociation
__Cutting