Sensory Processing Problems Research Articles

Sparse Representations for the Cocktail Party Problem

A striking feature of many sensory processing problems is that there appear to be many more neurons engaged in the internal representations of the signal than in its transduction. For example, humans have approximately 30,000 cochlear neurons, but at least 1000 times as many neurons in the auditory cortex. Such apparently redundant internal representations have sometimes been proposed as necessary to overcome neuronal noise. We instead posit that they directly subserve computations of interest. Here we provide an example of how sparse overcomplete linear representations can directly solve difficult acoustic signal processing problems, using as an example monaural source separation using solely the cues provided by the differential filtering imposed on a source by its path from its origin to the cochlea [the head-related transfer function (HRTF)]. In contrast to much previous work, the HRTF is used here to separate auditory streams rather than to localize them in space. The experimentally testable predictions that arise from this model, including a novel method for estimating the optimal stimulus of a neuron using data from a multineuron recording experiment, are generic and apply to a wide range of sensory computations.

How Does a Child with Sensory Processing Problems Play?

The occupation of play during one’s childhood years serves as a foundation for the development of future occupations in an individual’s life. By understanding a child’s extant play skills and deficits, one may then provide the necessary interventions needed to promote development and successful growth into new occupations. The purpose of this paper was to understand how a child with sensory processing deficits plays in a naturalistic environment. The findings revealed an interplay between the child’s underlying sensory processing deficits and his play skills and behaviors. Increased understanding of how a child with sensory processing deficits plays will provide information for other occupational therapists and help in the treatment of children with similar deficits.

Increases in Identified Cases of Autism Spectrum Disorders

Autism is the term commonly used to refer to autism spectrum disorders, a group of neurodevelopmental disorders involving sensory processing problems and social and language difficulties. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the exact prevalence of autism is unknown. Estimates range from 1 person in 500 to 1 in 1,000 in this country; and the number of people diagnosed with autism is growing. This article assesses the policy implications of the autism “epidemic.” It begins with an overview of the disability policy—making process in the United States and its implications for autism policy and proceeds to a discussion of the social construction of autism as a policy issue. This is followed by an analysis of federal and state governments' institutional capacity to respond to the autism epidemic.

Clinical Incidence of Sensory Integration Difficulties in Adults with Learning Disabilities and Illustration of Management

This project investigated the prevalence of sensory processing problems in a clinical group and also examined the clinical effectiveness of a specialised therapeutic technique, sensory integrative therapy (SIT), in the treatment of maladaptive behaviours in two adults with learning disabilities. The Sensory Integration Inventory — Revised for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities (SII-R, Reisman and Hanschu 1992) was used to identify two clients suspected of having poor sensory processing. A single-subject experimental design (ABAB) was used to assist the objective measurement of the effects of SIT.The results suggest that the SII-R has some limitations in identifying clients who would benefit from SIT. One client (Ms D) was seen to instigate more positive interactions with her environment during and following the treatment phases; however, the overhabituated behaviours of the other client (Mr K) showed little response to SIT. These results are discussed in the form of a practitioner's update, with respect to the indicators of sensory processing dysfunction and the potential therapeutic benefits of SIT as an adjunct to therapeutic interventions for individuals with learning disabilities.

Sensory Processing Problems in Post-Institutionalized Children: Implications for Social Work

This article describes problems in sensory integration shown by some institutionalized and post-institutionalized children. The types of problems in sensory integration are discussed as well as contributing factors. Case studies are offered as examples. Implications of these findings for social work are presented.

Factor analysis on the Sensory Profile from a national sample of children without disabilities.

The purpose of this study was to identify relationships in the 125 items of the revised Sensory Profile, a tool designed to assess children's responses to commonly occurring sensory events. Parents of 1,115 children ages 3 to 10 years and without disabilities completed the Sensory Profile. The parents reported the percentage of time their children engaged in each of the 125 behaviors listed on the profile. Factor analysis revealed nine discreet factors that indicate sensory modulation and responsiveness: sensory seeking, emotionally reactive, low endurance/tone, oral sensory sensitivity, inattention/distractibility, poor registration, sensory sensitivity, sedentary, and fine motor/perceptual. In addition to the traditional method of organizing sensory history information by sensory system, we may need to consider a person's thresholds to sensory events as well as his or her responsiveness to sensation. Because the Sensory Profile factors in these children without disabilities are similar to patterns observed in children with various disabilities, it may be that some sensory processing problems are related to intensity or duration of behaviors as they begin to interfere with functional performance in daily life.

Fussy Babies: To Treat or Not to Treat?

In this prospective study, the developmental outcomes of 39 infants with high irritability and sensory processing problems, also described as regulatory disordered, were examined at 7–30 months and at 3 years using clinical interdisciplinary assessment. Infants with regulatory disorders were defined as being behaviourally difficult with disturbances in sleep, feeding, state control, self-calming, mood regulation and sensory processing. The performance of samples of infants with regulatory disorders, 13 untreated and 26 treated, and 11 normal children were compared at 3 years. All subjects in the clinical sample were offered 12 weeks of Intervention after the initial assessment to address regulatory problems. Of the 39 subjects, 26 chose treatment, thus resulting in a self-selected treated sample. Post hoc analysis revealed that, at 7–30 months, untreated subjects had more sleep problems and were more irritable whereas treated subjects had more feeding problems and their mothers reported feeling depressed. At 3 years, the children with regulatory disorders differed from their normal counterparts in sensory integration, mood regulation, attention, motor control, sleep and behavioural control. Untreated subjects showed more emotional and behavioural problems than treated subjects. Treated subjects had more motor and sensory integrative problems than untreated subjects but, despite the fact that they had more constitutional problems, they did not show the emotional and behavioural problems that were found in the untreated group. The clinical importance of these findings for occupational therapists is discussed.

Motor control of schizophrenics—II. Manual control and tracking: Sensory and motor deficits

Manual control and tracking of 12 acute and chronic schizophrenics was tested for comparison with their performance in oculomotor tracking. Schizophrenics tended to be slower in a non-timed, non-tracking hand movement, and chronics made even slower movement when the experimental room was illuminated than when it was darkened. Chronics also had a significantly higher reaction time than normal controls. When tracking a constant-velocity visual target, all schizophrenics were significantly slower than normals to high-velocity (50° and 60°/s) targets only. When tracking a sinusoidally moving target, schizophrenics were not less accurate over-all but they showed less improvement than normals when room illumination gave visual information about background and hand position. This complex group of motor deficiencies of schizophrenics, along with their oculomotor control problems, suggests that they have sensory processing, attentional, and motor planning problems when performing orienting tasks.

Basis of learning disorders: Management implications.

There are many potential causes for a child's inability to learn in the school environment. If one moves away from learning disorders as being specifically problems of perception and sensory processing and toward the concept that a child may not be learning for more general reasons, then the physician must consider a number of possibilities for impairments in learning. These potential causes may be viewed from an organic and a functional perspective. The specific child in question may have more than one definable reason for his inability to learn and may represent a combination of etiologic factors of both the organic and the functional variety. Thus, the physician is cautioned about "labeling" a child with specific entities thus excluding the possibility of secondary and tertiary causes as well as ignoring the dynamic nature of change in the developing child. The categories to be mentioned are to be used~as guidelines onlyto provide a foundation for thought from which to further elucidate the specific problems of the individual child.