Sensory Processing Handbook

(over-sensitive) where the protective tactile pathway tends to override our discriminative pathway, which can lead to negative reactions.
Potential signs	Potential impact	Strategies to assist with learning
Dislike of certain foods, brushing of hair or teeth	The avoidance of messy play or being dirty	Proprioceptive activities can help inhibit the protective response pathway and aid in reducing sensitivity.
Difficulty with clothing labels or textures		Label free clothing, sewing soft fabrics over labels.Allowing some flexibility around what to wear.Trying different washing powers, such as eco brands.
Dislike of physical touching especially light touch	A dislike of crowds	The exploration of different textures; water play, finger painting, science and cooking activities and handling pets. This will need to be carried out in a careful graduated response due to the negative feelings associated with touch and should always be carried out on the child's or young person's terms.
Touch being perceived as negative or threatening	May respond with physical aggression to light touch

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