Sensory Processing Disorder Symptoms Checklist

Sensory Processing Disorder Symptom Inventory (14 Different Types)

Hypersensitivity to Touch (Tactile Defensiveness)

- Difficulty getting hair cuts
- Avoids being touched or sitting too close to others
- Resists wearing shoes, jeans, underwear or socks
- Doesn't like nails being cut
- Dislikes taking a shower or having a bath
- Gets angry or surprised by unexpected touch
- Dislikes being kissed or hugged 

Hyposensitivity to Touch (Under-Responsive)

- Seeks out touch and wants to touch everything 
- Bites or pinches themselves  
- Hurts family pets or other children when playing 
- Loves messy play 
- Unaffected by getting hurt (high pain tolerance) 
- Doesn't notice when being touched 
- Unbothered by dirty hands or messy face

Hyposensitivity to Movement (Vestibular) 
Under-Responsive

- Can spin for a long time and not get dizzy
- Has difficulty sitting still
- Enjoys riding on scary fair rides 
- Would rather run, skip and jump than walk  
- Likes to hang upside down 
- Craves fast and intense movement 
- Enjoys rocking in a chair 
- Struggles to pay attention 

Hypersensitivity to Movement (Vestibular)
Over-Responsive

- Avoids slides and swings at the park
- Fearful of heights
- Dislikes escalators and elevators 
- Afraid of riding a bike 
- Difficulty when using stairs
- Motion sickness 
- Do not like to watch spinning objects
- Being clumsy

Hypo-responsiveness (proprioception)

- Often fidgets 
- Always in constant motion
- Falls often and clumsy 
- Has a heavy foot and stomps feet
- Enjoys tight hugs and being squished under cushions 
- Jumps on bed and furniture 
- Appears to be aggressive 
- Purposely flops down on the floor 

Hyper-responsiveness (Proprioception)

- Dislikes hugs and affection
- Often appears to be lazy or too tired
- Sits still without much movement
- Refuses to participate in physical activities and sports
- Uncoordinated body movements
- Does not like to be touched by others
- Struggles walking up and down stairs

Hypo-responsiveness (Auditory)

- Enjoys making noise 
- Talks out loud while doing things 
- Says "what" often 
- Speaks loudly 
- Unaware of sounds and noises 
- Craves noise 
- Unsure where sounds and noises are coming from

Hyper-responsiveness (Auditory)

- Frequently asks others to be quiet or to stop talking 
- Holds hands over ears 
- Easily afraid when loud sounds are heard
- Startles to the sounds of hand dryers and flushing toilets 
- Doesn't like being in loud spaces
- Easily distracted by background noises
- Sensitive to certain sounds 

Hypo-responsiveness (Visual)

- Has double or blurred vision
- Has difficulty differentiating between similar letters (b,d)
- Confuses different shapes
- Struggles doing puzzles
- Misunderstands left and right
- Struggles with reading and writing
- Easily tired while doing school work
- Enjoys watching objects spin

Hyper-responsiveness (Visual)

- Covers eyes to bright lights
- Gets headaches from lights
- Squints eyes
- Has poor eye contact
- Likes to play in the dark
- Sensitive to bright colors and lights
- Difficulty adjusting to sudden color changes
- Doesn't like fluorescent lights

Hyper-responsiveness Smells (Olfactory)

- Dislikes smells that others don't notice
- Tells others how bad they smell
- Won't eat several foods because of their smell
- Doesn't like the smell of other people's homes
- Complains over perfume smells
- Anxious by certain smells
- Pinches nostrils to avoid smelling the environment

Hypo-responsiveness Smells (Olfactory)

- Enjoys strong scents
- Often smelling things in their environment
- Likes objects based on smell
- Has trouble distinguishing between smells they don't like
- Ingest something dangerous because they don't recognize smell

Oral Hypo-sensitive (Gustatory)

- Prefers spicy and intense flavorful foods
- Chews non-food items
- Prefers only very hot or very cold foods
- Bites other people
- Chews inside their cheeks
- Fills cheeks full of food

Oral Hyper-sensitive (Gustatory)

- Sensitive to hot and cold foods
- Gags on food textures often
- Doesn't like the taste of toothpaste
- Prefers bland plain foods without spices and flavor
- Anxious to go to the dentist
- Dislikes different textures of food mixed together
- Picky about different brands of food
- Avoids foods with certain textures