Question 1

Fine-Motor Concerns:

Accepted Answer

Difficulty grasping writing and drawing tools
Trouble writing letters, drawing shapes, tracing, or coloring within lines
Challenges with using utensils while eating
Difficulty playing with small toys (e.g., lego, beads, blocks)
Struggles with picking up objects with hands and fingers

Question 2

Gross-Motor Concerns:

Accepted Answer

Difficulty with crawling, walking, climbing stairs, running,  jumping, hopping, climbing, or catching/throwing a ball
Trouble balancing on one foot
Challenges with reaching across the body to pick up objects
Appears less skilled in sports, dancing, or learning new movements
Tires easily with physical activity compared to peers

Question 3

Self-Care Concerns:

Accepted Answer

Difficulty completing shoelaces, buttons, snaps, buckles, hooks, or velcro straps
Trouble putting on or taking off clothes, underwear, or socks
Struggles with brushing teeth, brushing hair, or bathing/showering thoroughly 
Difficulty wiping self thoroughly after using the restroom 
Resistance to self-care tasks, often preferring caregiver to handle more steps than age-appropriate

Question 4

Visual-Processing Concerns:

Accepted Answer

Difficulty with discriminating between letters, shapes, sizes, or colors
Trouble copying shapes, letters, or words from a board
Difficulty differentiating between left and right
Struggles with following an object with eyes
Challenges with completing puzzles 
Difficulty with searching for a specific item 
Trouble recalling the details of a picture 
Difficulty recognizing familiar faces, objects, or shapes
Trouble keeping track of place while reading a book or copying sentences
Difficulty making or maintaining eye contact

Question 5

Social Concerns:

Accepted Answer

Difficulty interacting with others
Struggles with making or maintaining friendships
Difficulty taking turns or sharing
Trouble sustaining attention during play
Frequently switches between activities 
Difficulty with transitioning away from preferred activities 
Trouble with imaginative play
Engages in repetitive play (e.g., lining up toys, stacking toys, throwing toys)

Question 6

Oral Motor/Oral Sensory Concerns:

Accepted Answer

Difficulty chewing food properly
Trouble  drinking from a bottle, cup, or straw 
Tends to drool often
Coughs or gags while eating or drinking often
Difficulty with eating certain textures of foods (e.g., soft, lumpy, slimy, bread crusts)
Has limited food preferences 
 Dislikes or avoidance of certain foods or food groups

Question 7

Praxis Concerns:

Accepted Answer

Difficulty with coming up with ideas with how to move one’s body
Struggles with interacting with objects or navigating the environment 
Difficulty with planning and organizing novel movements 
Appears clumsy, uncoordinated, or awkward while moving 
Seems confused when expected to do something and may have trouble getting started

Question 8

Bilateral Coordination Concerns:

Accepted Answer

Difficulty with jumping jacks
Riding a bike
Difficulty holding the paper and cutting
Trouble holding the paper while writing/drawing/coloring

Question 9

Postural Control Concerns:

Accepted Answer

Difficulty maintaining a stable posture while moving, standing, or sitting still for extended periods (tends have slumped posture, leans on table, holds head up in hands while seated, or changes position often when sitting)
May avoid or appear hesitant/fearful of engaging in motor activities requiring postural control (e.g., climbing across playground equipment, climbing on ladders, swinging, navigating balance beams, dancing, or playing sports)
Leans on walls, furniture, or other people for support at times when standing or sitting
Does not have a preferred hand for writing

Question 10

Ocular-Motor Control Concerns:

Accepted Answer

Loses place while reading, or skips words or sentences at times
Trouble copying words from board to paper
Difficulty following moving objects smoothly with eyes (e.g., while playing sports, video games)
Difficulty keeping eye contact or focusing on a single point/object

Question 11

Sensory Processing Concerns:

Accepted Answer

Sensory processing involves the brain’s ability to interpret and respond to the signals it receives from the body and the environment. Our senses include what we see, hear, touch, taste, and smell, along with our body awareness (proprioception), internal bodily sensations such as hunger or pain (interoception), and our sense of balance and spatial orientation (vestibular sense). Effective sensory processing skills enable us to engage in everyday activities and regulate our responses to different stimuli. Sensory processing skills are important because they allow us to do simple yet important things we engage in daily (e.g., recognize familiar faces, enjoy the taste of our favorite foods, put on a jacket if becomes cold, maintain our balance while walking or running, regulate our emotions and behaviors).

Question 12

Sensory Over-reactivity Concerns:

Accepted Answer

Children who are highly reactive to sensory input often show stronger responses to their senses in what they see, hear, touch, taste, or smell. Children may also exhibit stronger reactions to stimuli related to body awareness (proprioception), internal bodily sensations such as hunger or pain (interoception), and their sense of balance and spatial orientation (vestibular sense).

What concerns do children with sensory over-reactivity often face?

They might avoid bright lights and cover their eyes often, and they can react strongly to certain patterns or colors. Loud or sudden noises can startle them, and they might feel distressed in noisy or crowded places.

They may also be bothered by certain textures in clothing, tags, or seams, and may not like getting messy during play or grooming. Touching them might elicit a stronger reaction than expected. With food, they can be very particular about tastes, textures, and smells, and strong odors like perfumes or cleaners can be uncomfortable for them.

They might have difficulty with balance and coordination and may avoid intense physical activities like climbing or swinging. They can be very sensitive to hunger, minor discomforts, temperature changes, and bodily functions, or reacting strongly to small changes.

Question 13

Sensory Under-Reactivity Concerns:

Accepted Answer

Children who are less reactive to sensory input often show less intense reactions, delayed reactions, or may not notice information from their senses in what they see, hear, touch, taste, or smell. They might not react much to things like their own body movements, feelings of hunger or pain, or how they balance and move in space.

What concerns do children with sensory under-reactivity often face?

They may show a strong interest in bright lights, spinning objects, or visually stimulating activities because they need more visual input to stay focused or alert.  This often impacts their ability to focus and attend in their daily lives. They might not always respond to loud or sudden sounds, like when their name is called, and may even seek out loud noises themselves for stimulation.

When it comes to touch, these children often crave intense experiences, such as playing with slime or engaging in rough play that involves deep pressure, like hugging or squeezing.

They might also have strong tastes and smell preferences, seeking out bold flavors and unusual smells.  They may also struggle to recognize internal body cues, like feeling hungry or needing to use the restroom, and might not notice minor injuries or pain.

Movement is another area where sensory-seeking children often crave more stimulation. They may engage in repetitive actions like rocking or spinning, and may not consistently react to activities like swinging, which typically engage a child’s vestibular system. These children often crave intense physical play, and may have trouble staying still for quiet tasks or activities.

Question 14

Sensory Seeking Concerns:

Accepted Answer

Children who are sensory seekers actively look for or crave certain sensory experiences to feel engaged or calm. These children often seek more stimulation than usual from their senses—like touch, sound, sight, movement, or taste. They may enjoy activities like jumping, spinning, or making loud noises. They might touch things or people constantly, or seek out strong smells or bold flavors. This need for extra sensory input helps them feel more grounded, but it may significantly interfere with their daily life.

What concerns do children with sensory seeking challenges often face?

Children who have an excessive need for sensory input may find it difficult to sit still, focus on tasks, or follow routines, which impacts their ability to concentrate at school or engage in stationary activities.

In social situations, sensory-seeking children may struggle to interact appropriately, often interrupting conversations or being in constant motion, which can affect their relationships. Additionally, they may have difficulty self-regulating, which can lead to restlessness or becoming overwhelmed. Safety concerns may arise if they engage in risky behaviors or don’t notice pain. In occupational therapy, sensory-seeking children can learn to manage their sensory needs more effectively.

Question 15

Sensory Perception Concerns:

Accepted Answer

Children who have difficulty with sensory perception have trouble with identifying, interpreting, or distinguishing between their senses.

They might find it difficult to recognize objects, faces, or shapes and may confuse similar-looking letters. Understanding what someone is saying in a noisy environment can be challenging, as well as distinguishing between different sounds and similar-sounding words. Tasks like finding objects by touch alone or buttoning shirts without looking can also be difficult.

They may have trouble detecting or differentiating flavors in food and may struggle to identify or distinguish between different scents. They might find smells that are generally pleasant to others extremely unpleasant, or vice versa.

These children often have issues with using the right amount of force when throwing or kicking a ball, and may apply too little or too much pressure during activities like writing or coloring.

Coordination, balance, and spatial awareness may be poor, which can lead to avoiding movement activities or, conversely, seeking out motion behaviors like spinning, rocking, or jumping to fulfill their sensory needs. They also struggle to recognize and respond to internal sensations, such as hunger or pain, which can impact their ability to manage their needs effectively.

Question 16

Sensory Based Motor Concerns:

Accepted Answer

Children with sensory based motor challenges usually have difficulties with praxis, bilateral coordination, postural control, and ocular-motor control (see above). This impacts ability to coordinate movements based on sensory input, impacting activities like planning/executing novel movements, coordinating movements from both sides of the body, and/or reading/writing.

Sensory Based Motor Subcategories: 
1.     Dyspraxia: Children with dyspraxia have difficulty planning, timing, organizing, sequencing, or performing new movements.  These children may appear awkward and uncoordinated due to difficulties with motor planning.
2.     Postural-Ocular: Children with postural-ocular disorder have trouble with coordinating bilateral movements and maintaining a stable posture. They may slouch in their seats, have weak muscles, low tone, or poor balance.  They also show challenges with functional vision. Functional vision skills refer to how effectively the eyes work together to process and interpret visual information. These skills extend beyond clear eyesight, involving eye movement and visual processing abilities.

Eye Movement Skills
Fixation: The ability to keep the eyes steadily focused on a single point.
Visual Tracking: The skill that enables the eyes to smoothly follow a moving object in a controlled manner. This is essential for tracking moving targets.
Saccades: Rapid, precise eye movements that allow for quick shifts in focus between different points in a visual scene. The eyes momentarily fixate on one spot before swiftly jumping to the next.
Vergence: The coordinated movement of both eyes to adjust focus at varying distances. Convergence occurs when the eyes move inward to focus on a nearby object, while divergence happens when they move outward to focus on something farther away.
Visual Processing Skills
Visual Perception: The ability to recognize and differentiate shapes and forms, recall visual information, understand spatial relationships, and locate objects in a busy setting. Difficulties with visual perception can affect school performance, making it challenging to learn letters and numbers.
Visual-Motor Integration (Eye-Hand Coordination): The ability of the eyes and hands to work together smoothly and efficiently. This skill is essential for everyday tasks such as dressing, buttoning, and tying shoes, writing, cutting or catching a ball.