Hard To Process

In school I was classified with a learning disability. Back then, it didn't have a name. It was just labeled a "processing disorder". Now it has a name. Actually, for me, it's probably two of them. Auditory Processing Disorder and Sensory Processing Disorder.


There are actually three types of processing disorders.

Types of Processing Disorders

• Auditory Processing Disorder (APD), also called central auditory processing disorder, is characterized by an inability to process, interpret, and retain what a person hears. Children with APD may struggle to understand speech in noisy environments, mix up similar speech sounds, fail to follow directions, and misunderstand verbal instruction in the classroom, all of which lead to difficulty in task completion, both at home and at school.

• Visual Processing Disorder is characterized by an abnormality in the brain’s ability to process and interpret what the eyes see. A child with visual processing issues may struggle to differentiate between size, shape, and color of objects, confuse written symbols like those used in calculations, misjudge distance, and experience poor spatial awareness, often resulting in frequent falls or bumping into objects despite normal vision tests.

• Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD), also called sensory integration dysfunction, is a neurological difference characterized by either a hypersensitivity (over-responsiveness) or hyposensitivity (under-responsiveness) to one’s surroundings due to the brain’s inability to properly integrate multi-sensory input. While all children may be quirky or particular about their likes and dislikes, children with SPD are so severely affected by their sensory preferences that it interferes with normal, everyday functioning. Children with hypersensitivity to sensory input may exhibit extreme or fearful responses to touch, textures, noise, crowds, lights, and smells, even when these inputs seem benign to others. Children with hyposensitivity to sensory input may exhibit an under-reaction or high tolerance to pain, may constantly and inappropriately touch or bump into people and objects, be fidgety, and are often characterized as “thrill seekers,” leading to inadvertently putting themselves or others in danger.

https://www.brainbalancecenters.com/who-we-help/processing-disorders/ 






I suspect I have Auditory Processing Disorder because I don't always understand what I hear. If you tell me to get you something, what it looks like, and where it is, I am unlikely to see it. Even if it's right in front of me. What seems like something easy when told verbally, I often confuse. I ask a lot of clarifying questions to understand what's going on. Does it get annoying for the people getting the questions? Most likely. But, it's more likely to be understood with the questions answered.


I KNOW I have Sensory Processing Disorder. Hypersensitivity. When there is too much sensory stimulation, I get overwhelmed and feel tired, nauseous, and dizzy. Once I get some quiet for a few minutes I feel better. I startle easily. But, that partially comes with the General Anxiety Disorder. I can handle some noisy disorganized chaos. But, not for more then about an hour and a half.


Sometimes this gets confused with Autism. It's not autism. It isn't on the spectrum. But, it does involve neurological issues. Remember my blog post about always shaking? It's below.


http://homewithmommy-fran.blogspot.com/2016/09/are-you-shaking.html




I have been to a neurologist for testing. As a child. I remember going into a dressing room and having to put the gown on. I close my eyes and see the office. Tiny me. Shaking. Scared. I've seen the file. They found the shaking but couldn't identify where it came from. It was the late '80s. Maybe they would now.


Regular readers might notice I do that a lot. Remember details from long ago. These are the things my senses have processed. The things I might not understand at the time. But, my mind remembers. Sometimes I notice a lot about my surroundings. Sometimes, I don't notice what's going on around me. It has to do with too much stimulation.


When I was collecting the paintings, most are landscapes. I thrive in quiet nature. Outside on a beautiful day. It's why I like to garden. That's because it's easy to take in one stimulus at a time. Slowly.


Most days I have to lay down for at least half an hour in the afternoon. It's to let my brain process all of the stimulation it has come across during the day. Process everything my senses have taken in.

Causes of SPD

The exact cause of Sensory Processing Disorder has not yet been identified. Preliminary studies and research suggest that SPD is often inherited. Prenatal and birth complications have also been implicated as causal in SPD, as well as certain environmental factors.  A summary of research into the causes and prevalence of SPD is included in Sensational Kids: Hope and Help for Children With Sensory Processing Disorder (New York: Perigee, 2014, 2^nd edition). written by Founder and current Executive Director of STAR Institute, Lucy Jane Miller Ph.D., OTR

Ten Fundamental Facts About SPD

When extended family, teachers, neighbors, other parents, and service providers ask you what Sensory Processing Disorder is, the following are research-supported statements you can make.

1. Sensory Processing Disorder is a complex disorder of the brain that affects developing children and adults.
2. Parent surveys, clinical assessments, and laboratory protocols exist to identify children with SPD.
3. At least one in twenty people in the general population may be affected by SPD.
4. In children who are gifted and those with ADHD, Autism, and fragile X syndrome, the prevalence of SPD is much higher than in the general population.
5. Studies have found a significant difference between the physiology of children with SPD and children who are typically developing.
6. Studies have found a significant difference between the physiology of children with SPD and children with ADHD.
7. Sensory Processing Disorder has unique sensory symptoms that are not explained by other known disorders.
8. Heredity may be one cause of the disorder.
9. Laboratory studies suggest that the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems are not functioning typically in children with SPD.
10. Preliminary research data support decades of anecdotal evidence that occupational therapy is an effective intervention for treating the symptoms of SPD.

– from Sensational Kids: Hope and Help for Children With Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD ) p. 249-250 by Lucy Jane Miller, PhD, OTR




https://www.spdstar.org/basic/understanding-sensory-processing-disorder




They know more about it today then they did back then. I wonder what school would have been like for me if I were a kid today? I had mostly amazing teachers. Teachers who wanted to help me but didn't understand fully what the actual problem is. I always say "you can't solve the little problems until you have identified the real problem". Now they know. What are they doing differently? Does it help?


A lot of things are hard to process. As I have researched for this blog post I have learned a lot about myself. It explains a lot. Ironically though, this is all hard to process at the moment.