What Are Sensory Needs, and Why Do They Matter in the ALN System?

Published 7 May 2026

Learn Without Limits CIC - Sensory Needs and the ALN System - Article 1

In this article, we explain

what sensory needs are;
what terms such as vestibular, proprioceptive and interoceptive mean;
the difference between hyper-responsive, hypo-responsive and sensory-seeking patterns;
why sensory distress can be mistaken for behaviour;
how sensory differences can affect safety and daily life;
why sensory needs may matter in the ALN system;
why home and school may see different parts of the same child;
how a shared diary can help parents, schools and professionals spot patterns.

This article is the first in our Sensory Needs and the ALN System series. It explains what sensory needs are, the terms professionals may use, how sensory differences can affect everyday life, and why they matter in the Additional Learning Needs system in Wales.

This article provides general information for families in Wales. It is not medical, legal, therapeutic or safeguarding advice. If a child may be injured, unwell, unsafe, at risk, or in crisis, parents should seek appropriate professional or emergency help.

Sensory needs are often talked about as if they are small preferences.

A child is described as “not liking noise”.
A young person is described as “fussy with clothes”.
A teenager is described as “refusing school”.
A parent is described as “not setting boundaries”.
A child is described as “rough”, “unsafe”, “attention-seeking” or “overreacting”.

Those descriptions often tell us more about how adults are interpreting the behaviour than about what the child or young person is experiencing.

For some children and young people, sensory differences are much more than preferences. They can affect whether the child can enter a classroom, wear uniform, eat lunch, use the toilet, sleep, travel, read, write, play safely, attend college, manage personal care, access work, or take part in ordinary family life.

When sensory needs are not recognised, the child’s distress may be treated only as behaviour. The parent may be blamed. The real access issue may go unaddressed.

What do we mean by sensory needs?

A sensory need is about sensory processing, which is how the brain and body receive, organise and respond to information.

Most people think of the senses as sight, sound, smell, taste and touch. Those senses matter, but they are not the whole picture.

We also have body-based senses that help us understand movement, balance, body position, pain, temperature, hunger, thirst, tiredness, toileting signals and internal body states.

The National Autistic Society explains sensory processing as the way the brain interprets sensory input from the environment and sensations from within the body. It also identifies vestibular, proprioceptive and interoceptive senses alongside sight, sound, smell, taste and touch [1].

In simple terms:

vestibular relates to balance and movement;
proprioception relates to body position, force and body awareness;
interoception relates to internal body signals, such as hunger, thirst, pain, temperature, toileting needs, tiredness and emotional body signals.

Sensory needs can therefore affect much more than comfort. They can affect regulation, learning, movement, safety, communication, personal care and daily participation.

For some children and young people, the world may feel too loud, too bright, too fast, too unpredictable, too rough, too crowded or too painful.

For others, the world may not give enough clear information. They may need more movement, pressure, noise, chewing, crashing, climbing or physical input to feel organised and alert.

Many children have a mixed sensory profile. They may avoid some types of sensory input and seek others. From the outside, especially to an untrained eye, this can look confusing or inconsistent. A child might cover their ears because sound is too much, but also seek intense movement by spinning, climbing or crashing. That does not mean the child is being deliberately difficult. It may mean different sensory systems are responding in different ways.

Sensory needs are not only about the five senses

In addition to the five major senses we generally understand, there are other sensory systems and professional terms that parents may hear. These words can sound technical, but they describe everyday body systems that can have a major impact on a child’s life.

Visual processing

Visual processing is about how the brain makes sense of what the eyes see. It is not just about whether a child can see clearly.

A child may pass a standard eye test but still struggle with bright lights, glare, visual clutter, busy worksheets, tracking across a page, copying from the board, judging movement, or keeping both eyes working together comfortably for near tasks.

Visual sensory or visual processing difficulties may look like:

distress under fluorescent lights;
headaches or fatigue after reading;
losing place on the page;
difficulty tracking words across a line;
difficulty copying from the board;
avoiding busy displays or visually cluttered worksheets;
discomfort with glare, screens or patterned backgrounds;
appearing distracted in visually busy classrooms.

Parents may hear terms such as tracking, convergence or binocular vision.

Reading discomfort, losing place, visual fatigue or difficulty copying from the board can have several possible causes. These may include eyesight, binocular vision, tracking, convergence, visual stress, attention, dyslexia, sensory overload, medical conditions, or a combination of factors.

Parents should not be expected to work out the cause alone. The practical point is to ask the right professional the right question.

Optometry and orthoptics: what is the difference?

An optometrist is the professional many parents know from the opticians. Optometrists carry out eye tests, check vision and eye health, prescribe glasses or contact lenses where needed, and can refer on if they identify concerns. The NHS explains that optometrists are trained to recognise eye abnormalities and conditions, prescribe and fit glasses and contact lenses, and refer where needed [4].

A simple parent question for optometry is:

Can my child see clearly, do they need glasses, and is there an eye health issue?

An orthoptist is different. Orthoptists specialise in eye movement and problems with how the eyes work together, known as binocular vision. The British and Irish Orthoptic Society describes orthoptists as experts in diagnosing and treating defects in eye movement and binocular vision [5].

A simple parent question for orthoptics is:

Are my child’s eyes working together properly, and could eye movement, tracking or convergence be affecting reading, copying, balance or visual comfort?

This distinction matters because a child may be told their eyesight is “fine” while still struggling with visual tracking, convergence, visual overload or reading comfort.

We will cover referral routes in a separate article, because pathways vary across Wales and can change over time.

Auditory processing

Auditory processing is about how the brain receives, filters and responds to sound.

Auditory sensory differences may look like:

covering ears;
distress at hand dryers, alarms, bells, scraping chairs or shouting;
difficulty coping with lunch halls, assemblies or corridors;
being unable to focus when there is background noise;
seeming not to listen when overwhelmed;
difficulty following instructions in noisy rooms;
panic or shutdown in loud environments;
exhaustion after school or social events;
needing headphones, quiet spaces or reduced exposure to noise;
becoming overwhelmed by road noise, traffic, sirens, engines or sudden outdoor sounds.

Auditory sensitivity can become a safety issue. For a child who bolts, freezes or panics when overwhelmed, road and traffic noise may be more than unpleasant. It may affect how safely they can manage streets, school gates, car parks, buses, crossings or busy public places.

A child may pass a hearing test but still struggle to process, filter or tolerate sound in everyday environments.

Tactile processing

Tactile processing is about touch, pressure, texture, temperature and how things feel on the skin or in the mouth.

Tactile sensory differences may look like:

distress with labels, seams, socks, shoes or uniform;
refusal of certain fabrics;
distress with hair brushing, washing, toothbrushing or nail cutting;
distress with haircuts, especially in barbers, salons or other unfamiliar sensory environments;
strong reactions to light touch;
avoiding messy play, sand, paint, glue or certain foods;
seeking deep pressure, tight clothing, weighted items or firm hugs;
finding unexpected touch painful or alarming.

This is one of the areas most likely to be misunderstood as “fussiness”, “defiance” or “poor parenting”.

Taste and smell

Taste and smell differences can affect eating, hygiene, school attendance, social activities and family life.

They may look like:

very restricted eating;
gagging at textures, smells or mixed foods;
distress in dining halls or kitchens;
nausea from perfume, cleaning products, food smells, toilets or particular synthetic smells;
tolerating a real food but not an artificial version of the same flavour or smell;
avoiding school lunches;
refusing to eat away from home;
strong reliance on “safe foods”;
needing the same brand, packaging, texture or preparation method;
distress around parties, family meals or celebrations.

Where eating is very restricted, weight, growth, hydration, nutrition or physical health is affected, or the child is choking, gagging, vomiting or highly distressed around food, parents should seek appropriate clinical advice.

Sensory needs can be part of the picture, but eating difficulties may also need medical, dietetic, mental health or specialist assessment.

Parents may also hear about PICA, where a child or young person eats non-food items. PICA can have different causes and can carry health risks, so it should be discussed with appropriate health professionals. It should not be treated simply as “sensory seeking” without clinical advice.

Vestibular sense

The vestibular sense supports balance and movement. It is linked to the inner ear and helps the brain understand movement, balance, gravity, head position, speed and direction.

Vestibular differences may look like:

fear of swings, slides, stairs, escalators or climbing equipment;
distress during PE or playground activities;
motion sickness;
avoiding movement;
freezing when balance is challenged;
constantly spinning, jumping, rocking or climbing;
being upside down more than upright;
difficulty sitting still;
seeking intense movement;
becoming dysregulated after too much movement;
misjudging speed, height or movement risk during play.

A child with vestibular differences may avoid movement because it feels frightening, or seek movement because their body needs more input to feel organised.

Vestibular needs can also affect ordinary play. A child may climb higher than expected, spin until they are disorientated, run without judging speed well, avoid playground equipment, or become distressed by movement that other children enjoy.

Proprioceptive sense

The proprioceptive sense is body awareness. It helps the brain understand where body parts are, how muscles and joints are moving, and how much force to use.

Proprioceptive differences may look like:

bumping into furniture, doorways or other children;
falling more often than expected;
crashing into cushions, walls or people;
using too much force;
pressing too hard when writing;
breaking pencils or toys unintentionally;
seeming rough during play;
chewing clothing, pens or objects;
difficulty judging personal space;
struggling with posture or sitting upright;
always moving, running or using more speed than the situation needs;
difficulty with dressing, cutlery or PE.

This is a common parent-blame area. A child may be described as “rough”, “unsafe” or “naughty” when they are struggling to judge body position, force, speed or movement.

That does not mean unsafe behaviour should be ignored. It means the support plan should be based on the child’s actual sensory, developmental and supervision needs.

Interoceptive sense

The interoceptive sense helps a person notice what is happening inside their body.

It includes signals such as hunger, thirst, pain, temperature, tiredness, nausea, heart rate, needing the toilet, feeling unwell, or recognising the body signs of emotion.

The National Autistic Society describes interoception as an internal sensory system linked to noticing and responding to physical and emotional states, including hunger, toileting needs and body signals linked to emotion [3].

Interoceptive differences may look like:

not noticing hunger or thirst;
not recognising when they need the toilet;
toileting accidents;
difficulty identifying pain or illness;
not noticing cold or overheating;
extreme distress without being able to explain why;
difficulty knowing whether they are anxious, angry, sick, tired or overwhelmed;
sudden dysregulation that seems to come “from nowhere”;
trouble describing emotions because the body signals are confusing.

This can be especially misunderstood. Adults may assume the child is ignoring, refusing, manipulating or “not trying”, when the child may genuinely not be reading internal body signals clearly.

Pain and temperature response

Pain and temperature differences can be especially important for safety.

Some children may be hyper-responsive to pain. A small bump, scratch or touch may feel overwhelming or unbearable.

Others may be hypo-responsive to pain. They may not cry when injured, may continue playing despite a serious injury, may not report pain clearly, or may show distress later rather than at the time.

A reduced or unusual pain response does not mean the child cannot be seriously hurt. It may mean adults need to be more vigilant, because the child’s behaviour may not show the level of injury clearly.

The same can apply to temperature. A child may not notice that they are too cold, too hot, unwell or becoming physically overwhelmed.

If there is any concern that a child may be injured, unwell or in significant pain, parents should seek appropriate medical advice. A sensory profile should never be used as a reason to ignore possible injury or illness.

Hyper-responsive, hypo-responsive and sensory-seeking profiles

Professionals may describe sensory responses using terms such as hyper-responsive, hypo-responsive or sensory seeking.

The National Autistic Society explains that autistic people can be much more or much less sensitive to sensory experiences than non-autistic people, and may seek, avoid or become overwhelmed by sensory input [1].

Hyper-responsive

Hyper-responsive means the person experiences sensory input as more intense, painful, sudden or overwhelming than others may realise.

Examples include:

lights feel painfully bright;
sounds feel unbearable;
touch feels intrusive;
smells cause nausea;
clothing feels painful;
movement feels frightening;
small injuries feel intense.

Hyper-responsive does not mean “overreacting”. It means the nervous system may be experiencing the input as too much.

Hypo-responsive

Hypo-responsive means the person may not register enough sensory input, or may need more input to notice, feel alert or feel organised.

Examples include:

not noticing their name being called;
not noticing pain, cold, hunger, thirst or toileting signals;
needing strong movement;
chewing, crashing, jumping or spinning;
using too much force;
seeming unaware of mess, temperature or injury.

Hypo-responsive does not mean the child “doesn’t care”. It may mean their body is not giving them clear enough information.

Sensory seeking

Sensory seeking means the person actively seeks sensory input.

This may look like:

spinning;
rocking;
jumping;
climbing;
chewing;
touching everything;
seeking deep pressure;
making noise;
crashing into cushions;
enjoying strong flavours or smells.

Sensory seeking is not automatically bad behaviour. It may be the child’s attempt to regulate, feel their body, stay alert or manage overwhelm.

Mixed sensory profiles

Many children have mixed profiles.

A child may be:

hyper-responsive to sound;
hypo-responsive to pain;
sensory-seeking for movement;
avoidant around food textures;
overwhelmed by visual clutter;
unable to recognise hunger or tiredness reliably.

Those patterns can sit together in ways that seem contradictory from the outside.

For example, a child may cover their ears in the lunch hall but seek loud music at home because they can control it. A child may refuse messy play because certain textures feel unbearable, but chew clothing or pens because their body seeks pressure through the mouth. A child may avoid climbing equipment because balance feels frightening, but constantly run or crash into furniture because their body is seeking movement and force.

Sensory responses can also change depending on tiredness, stress, illness, environment, predictability, sleep and emotional load. Autism Central explains that sensory processing may vary according to factors including sleep, emotional state, environment and other people [2].

This is why a child may cope in one setting and not another. It is also why a child may appear to cope all day in school and then collapse at home.

Not every difficulty is sensory

Sensory needs can be one part of the picture.

Behaviour, attendance, eating, toileting, pain, sleep or learning difficulties may also involve medical, developmental, emotional, environmental, communication, trauma-related or safeguarding factors.

The aim is not to reduce everything to sensory needs. The aim is to make sure sensory needs are not missed.

This matters because a child’s visible behaviour may be the signal that something else is happening underneath.

What sensory distress can look like

Sensory distress does not always look like distress.

It may look like:

refusal;
running away;
hiding;
aggression;
crying;
shutdown;
silence;
school avoidance;
pulling clothes off;
refusing food;
bolting;
climbing;
chewing;
constant movement;
panic in busy places;
exhaustion after school;
“unsafe” behaviour, such as running into the road, climbing dangerously, lashing out when overwhelmed, crashing into others, or not noticing injury;
sudden meltdowns;
avoiding toilets, lunch halls, assemblies or corridors.

This is where misunderstanding often begins.

If adults only look at the behaviour, they may miss the cause.

A child who runs from assembly may be reacting to noise, crowding, anxiety, communication difficulty, unpredictability, another unmet need, or a combination of factors.

A child who refuses uniform may be experiencing pain, discomfort, anxiety, demand pressure, temperature issues, tactile sensitivity, or a mixture of these.

A child who pushes in the corridor may be overwhelmed, may be struggling with body awareness or personal space, may be reacting to crowding, or may need a fuller assessment of what is happening.

A child who refuses school may be anticipating an environment their body cannot tolerate, or may be experiencing anxiety, burnout, bullying, unmet ALN, health needs, or other barriers.

A child who injures themselves without noticing may have an unusual pain response, but possible injury should still be taken seriously.

NICE guidance on autistic children and young people states that, when assessing factors that may increase the risk of behaviour that challenges, professionals should consider communication difficulty, pain or physical disorders, mental health needs such as anxiety, other neurodevelopmental conditions such as ADHD, the physical environment including lighting and noise levels, the social environment, changes to routines, developmental change, exploitation or abuse, and lack of predictability and structure [6].

That matters because behaviour may be the visible signal, not the whole explanation.

Why a child may look different in different environments

One of the most confusing things for parents and schools is that a child’s presentation may vary widely between settings.

A child may appear settled in one classroom but become overwhelmed in the corridor, lunch hall, bus, playground, sports field, gym or art room.

Home may feel very different from school.
The street may feel very different from the bus.
A quiet classroom may feel very different from a noisy transition between lessons.
A structured lesson may feel very different from unstructured break time.
A familiar home routine may feel very different from a family celebration, supermarket, medical appointment or public event.

Sensory needs can mean a child’s behavioural presentation changes dramatically across environments.

That does not mean one adult is telling the truth and another is wrong. Sometimes school and home genuinely see different parts of the child’s day.

A child may mask, hold things together, avoid demands quietly, or collapse later. Masking means the child may be working very hard to hide distress, copy others, suppress reactions, or appear as though they are coping. A child may cope in a low-arousal classroom, meaning a calmer, quieter, less overwhelming space, but struggle on the sports field. A child may manage a predictable activity but become distressed when the environment changes.

Rather than arguing about which account is “true”, the more useful question is whether the full pattern is being understood.

The challenge for parents, schools and other professionals is to consider how the child can feel safe, supported and able to learn across the environments they actually have to encounter, as far as reasonably possible.

This does not mean every environment can be made perfect. It means adults should avoid assuming that a child is “choosing” distress simply because they cope somewhere else. Sensory access can change from room to room, activity to activity and day to day.

This is where a shared home-school diary can be very helpful.

Why a shared home-school diary can help

If parents and school both record what happens across different environments, patterns may become clearer over time.

A joint diary can help move the conversation away from:

“They are fine here.”

versus

“They are not fine at home.”

and towards pattern recognition.

For example, the diary may show that the child struggles most:

after noisy transitions;
in corridors;
after PE;
during lunch;
when the room is visually cluttered;
when there is a strong smell;
when they have not eaten;
after poor sleep;
during unstructured time;
when lessons involve copying from the board;
after wearing uncomfortable clothing;
when they have had to mask all day.

A diary can also be useful for professionals such as an occupational therapist, optometrist, orthoptist, audiologist, paediatrician or other clinician.

Professionals may notice patterns that parents or school staff would not be expected to recognise, such as links between visual fatigue, movement, pain response, body awareness, sound tolerance, recovery time or environmental triggers.

The aim is not to monitor the child harshly or build a case against anyone. The aim is to understand what helps the child feel safe, supported and able to learn across real environments.

Useful things to record might include:

where the difficulty happened;
what was happening just before, sometimes called the antecedent;
noise, light, smell, touch, movement or crowding;
whether the child seemed tired, hungry, hot, cold, unwell or in pain;
what helped;
what made things worse;
how long recovery took;
whether the same pattern appears at home, school, transport, shops, appointments or family events;
whether accidents, injuries or near-misses follow a pattern;
whether the child appears to notice pain or danger in the expected way.

A good diary does not need to be perfect. It just needs to be clear enough to help adults stop guessing and start seeing patterns.

How sensory differences can be disabling across the lifespan

Sensory needs are sometimes dismissed as preferences, quirks or sensitivities.

But sensory differences can be disabling when the person is repeatedly expected to function in environments that overwhelm, confuse, exhaust or under-support their nervous system.

The National Autistic Society explains that sensory processing differences can affect every area of life, including eating, sleeping, learning, working, socialising, family life, self-care, physical health, mental health and navigating public places [1].

Babies and toddlers

Sensory differences may affect:

feeding;
weaning;
sleep;
clothing;
bathing;
nappy changes;
closeness, cuddles, feeding position or being held;
prams and car seats;
movement in the car or on public transport;
family visits;
noise in public places;
nursery transitions;
distress in busy environments.

Parents may be told the child is “difficult”, “clingy”, “spoilt” or “rejecting comfort” when the child may be overwhelmed by touch, closeness, movement, noise, transitions or internal body signals.

Some babies may seek constant closeness. Others may find closeness, cuddles, feeding contact or being held uncomfortable or overwhelming. Neither pattern means the parent has failed. It may mean the child’s sensory profile needs to be better understood.

Early years and primary school

Sensory needs may affect:

uniform;
toileting;
lunch halls;
assemblies;
classroom noise;
handwriting;
reading;
playground safety;
safety during ordinary movement around school, not only in the playground;
running, climbing, crashing or bolting;
group work;
messy play;
PE;
transitions;
after-school meltdowns;
attendance.

At this stage, sensory distress may be mistaken for behaviour, immaturity, anxiety, defiance or lack of routine at home.

Secondary school

Secondary school can increase sensory load dramatically.

A young person may have to manage:

crowded corridors;
bells;
timetable changes;
multiple classrooms;
multiple teachers;
uniform enforcement;
lunch halls;
PE changing rooms;
exams;
transport;
social pressure;
masking;
noise;
lighting;
unpredictable transitions;
multiple subject demands;
homework load;
pacing, planning and time management.

This can contribute to fatigue, shutdown, burnout, behaviour sanctions, avoidance, attendance problems or placement breakdown.

FE and 16+

At 16+, sensory needs may affect:

travelling to college;
navigating large campuses;
managing breaks and lunch spaces;
workshops, labs, salons or practical settings;
placements;
exams and assessments;
independence expectations;
communication with different departments;
consent and young person rights;
fatigue and burnout.

FE can feel less nurturing and more adult-facing than school. A young person may be expected to manage more independently, move between departments, organise support, cope with busier shared spaces, and self-advocate more often. For a young person with sensory needs, that increased independence can be positive with the right support, but overwhelming if support is removed too quickly.

This is one reason sensory needs should not be treated as an early-years issue. They can continue into further education, training, employment and adult life.

Higher education

Sensory needs may affect:

lectures;
libraries;
group work;
halls of residence;
shared kitchens;
nightlife and noise;
independent living;
cooking;
cleaning;
laundry;
personal care;
shared bathrooms or shared facilities;
coping with other people’s noise, smells, mess or routines;
travel;
self-advocacy;
deadlines;
managing support services.

Some young adults can cope academically but struggle with the sensory and daily living demands around the course.

Employment and adulthood

Sensory needs may affect:

interviews;
open-plan offices;
lighting;
noise;
uniforms or PPE;
shift work;
smells;
commuting;
customer-facing environments;
unpredictable tasks;
workplace relationships;
fatigue;
personal care;
shopping;
public transport;
medical appointments;
social isolation;
ability to work.

Some adults can work with the right adjustments. Others, including some autistic adults, people with learning disabilities, complex needs or severe sensory profiles, may need significant support with daily life and may not be able to work.

The key point is that sensory needs are not “grown out of” simply because someone gets older. The presentation may change, but the access barriers can remain.

Recognition does not remove every difficulty, but it can help adults stop using the wrong explanation and start making better support plans.

Sensory needs, accident risk and safeguarding misunderstandings

Some sensory differences can increase everyday accident risk.

A child with proprioceptive differences may bump, crash, climb, fall, misjudge force, misjudge speed or struggle with personal space.

A child with vestibular differences may seek intense movement, climb too high, spin too much, spend lots of time upside down, run too fast, or misjudge risk during play.

A child with interoceptive differences may not notice pain, hunger, thirst, toileting signals, temperature, illness or exhaustion in the way adults expect.

Auditory overwhelm may also increase safety risk if a child bolts, freezes or panics around traffic, alarms, sirens, crowds or sudden outdoor noise.

This can matter in safeguarding conversations.

Repeated accidents, bruises, bolting, climbing, poor danger awareness or an unusual pain response may raise reasonable safeguarding or safety questions. Those questions should be taken seriously.

At the same time, professionals need to consider whether sensory, motor, communication, developmental or health needs are contributing to the pattern.

The point is not to dismiss concern. The point is to understand the child’s actual risk profile so that support, supervision and any social care assessment are properly informed.

A child who frequently crashes, climbs, falls, bolts or does not show pain in the expected way may need a clearer support and supervision plan. That is not the same as assuming poor parenting.

For parents and professionals, a clear support and safety record may help everyone understand what support is needed:

What happened?
Where did it happen?
What was the environment like?
Was the child seeking movement or pressure?
Did the child appear to notice pain?
What supervision was in place?
What helped reduce risk?
What made risk worse?
Has an OT or other professional described the sensory profile?

This is not about blaming the child or blaming the parent. It is about making the child’s real support needs visible.

Where occupational therapy fits

Occupational therapists, often called OTs, are important because they look at how a child or young person takes part in everyday activities.

The Royal College of Occupational Therapists describes occupational therapists as helping children and young people take part in daily activities that are important to them at home, school and elsewhere, including self-care, learning, play and leisure [7].

That matters because sensory needs are not just about how a child feels. They are about what the child can access and participate in.

An OT may consider areas such as:

daily living;
school participation;
self-care;
movement;
equipment;
adaptations;
handwriting;
independence;
physical access;
sensory processing;
safety;
routines.

But there is an important caution.

Not every OT has specialist sensory training

Not every occupational therapist has the same training or experience in sensory integration, sensory processing or sensory regulation.

Some OTs may focus mainly on equipment, adaptations, physical access, functional skills, handwriting or daily living. Those areas can still be very important.

But if the main concern is sensory overwhelm, sensory seeking, unusual pain response, poor body awareness, emotional regulation, sleep, eating, toileting, bolting, crashing, or safety at home and school, parents may need to ask whether the OT has specific training and experience in sensory processing, sensory integration or sensory regulation.

RCOT’s 2026 guidance distinguishes between Ayres Sensory Integration Therapy, sensory-based interventions and participation-focused sensory approaches. It explains that occupational therapists use a range of approaches to support children and young people with sensory processing differences to participate in everyday activities and routines [8].

Parents can ask:

Do you assess sensory processing differences?
Do you have training in sensory integration or sensory regulation?
Can your report explain how sensory needs affect school access, daily life and safety?
Can your recommendations be used in IDP discussions?
Can your report include home and school considerations?
Can you comment on risk, supervision and environmental adjustments where relevant?
Do you distinguish between sensory integration therapy, sensory-based strategies and practical sensory-informed adaptations?

This does not mean every child needs sensory integration therapy. It means that if sensory needs are the concern, parents should ask whether the assessment will actually explore sensory needs properly.

Why OT reports may matter beyond school

An OT report may be useful for more than education.

If a child’s sensory profile affects safety at home, sleep, toileting, eating, bathing, transitions, personal care, supervision or daily family life, parents may be able to share the report with the local authority children’s disability team, disabled children’s team, social care front door, or equivalent local route.

In some cases, social care may consider in-home support, practical adjustments, equipment, adaptations, short breaks or support for carers, depending on eligibility and local arrangements.

Social care is not only about child protection. It can also include assessment of care and support needs, disabled children’s support, adaptations, short breaks and carer support.

The Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 provides the framework for social care in Wales for people who need care and support, and carers who need support. Its principles include voice and control, prevention and early intervention, and well-being [9].

This does not mean every sensory need will lead to social care support. It does mean that clear professional evidence can help families explain why the issue is not “just behaviour” or “just parenting”. It may be about care, support, safety and family sustainability.

Where there is an unusual pain response, poor danger awareness, frequent crashing, climbing, bolting, sleep disruption or difficulty with personal care, the question is not only:

What should school do?

It may also be:

What support is needed at home to keep this child safe and family life sustainable?

Where an OT report clearly explains the child’s functional needs, sensory profile, risks and daily-life impact, it may help education, health and social care professionals work from the same evidence.

Why sensory needs matter in the ALN system

Sensory needs do not automatically mean a child or young person has Additional Learning Needs.

The key question is whether the sensory needs affect access to education or training, and whether the child or young person needs additional learning provision.

Welsh Government guidance explains that a child may have ALN if they need extra support to learn because they find it harder to learn than other children of the same age, or because they have a disability that means they cannot use, or find it difficult to use, facilities for learning in a local nursery, school or college. The extra support given to children and young people with ALN to help them learn is called additional learning provision, or ALP [10].

Some sensory needs can be supported through ordinary inclusive practice and reasonable adjustments. Others may require more specific, planned provision.

The key questions are impact, access, learning, safety and participation.

For sensory needs, practical questions may be:

Is the child able to access the classroom?
Can they manage the lunch hall?
Can they use the toilet safely?
Can they tolerate uniform?
Can they access reading, writing or visual materials?
Can they manage corridors, bells or transitions?
Can they participate in PE, play or practical subjects?
Can they stay regulated enough to learn?
Are sensory barriers contributing to attendance problems?
Are sensory needs affecting safety?
What provision is needed, by whom, how often, and in what setting?

If sensory needs prevent or hinder access to education, they should not be dismissed as personal preference. They may need to be properly understood and considered as part of the learner’s ALN profile and provision.

When the parent-blame game starts

When sensory needs are not understood, conversations can quickly move towards blame.

Parents may hear:

“He’s fine in school.”
“She just needs firmer boundaries.”
“You need to get him into a better routine.”
“She is choosing not to engage.”
“He is attention-seeking.”
“She is manipulating you.”
“This is an attendance issue.”
“This is a parenting issue.”
“He needs to learn consequences.”

Sometimes boundaries, routines and expectations are relevant. But they are not the whole answer if the child is overwhelmed, in pain, unsafe, unable to process the environment, unable to read body signals, or unable to access learning without support.

Sometimes school and home genuinely see different parts of the child’s day.

A child may mask, hold things together, avoid demands quietly, or collapse later. Rather than arguing about which account is “true”, the useful question is whether the full pattern is being understood.

Understanding sensory needs does not mean ignoring risk, aggression, bolting or unsafe behaviour. It means the safety plan should be informed by why the behaviour is happening, what reduces risk, and what support the child needs to access the environment.

A useful reset question is:

What is this child finding difficult to access, what patterns are we seeing, and what support or adjustment is needed?

Parents and professionals can try to bring the conversation back to evidence:

What sensory triggers have been observed?
What environments make things worse?
What helps the child recover?
Is the child able to access learning in this setting?
What reasonable changes have been tried?
What happens before, during and after distress?
Has pain, illness or physical discomfort been considered?
Has OT input been requested?
Are home and school seeing different parts of the same pattern?
What support is needed to reduce risk and improve access?

This is not about excusing unsafe behaviour. It is about understanding whether unmet sensory needs are contributing to distress, dysregulation, accidents, school avoidance or non-attendance.

If you are only recognising this now

Many parents only recognise sensory patterns later, especially where professionals have described the child mainly in terms of behaviour, anxiety, attention, attendance or parenting difficulties.

Not spotting the pattern earlier does not mean a parent has failed.

Sensory needs can be missed for years, particularly where the child masks in school, where needs are described as “challenging behaviour”, or where the child has another diagnosis that seems to explain everything.

A sensory explanation should not replace proper assessment. But it may help adults ask better questions.

What parents can start noticing

Before requesting support, parents can begin recording patterns.

You might notice:

where distress happens;
what happened just before;
what the sensory environment was like;
whether noise, light, smell, touch, movement, food or visual clutter played a part;
whether the child seemed to notice pain, hunger, thirst, temperature or toileting signals;
what helped;
what made things worse;
how long recovery took;
whether the child coped in one setting but collapsed later;
whether accidents or injuries follow a pattern;
whether the same issues appear at nursery, school, home, shops, appointments or family events.

This kind of record can help parents speak more clearly to school, health professionals, social care or an OT.

It can also help shift the conversation away from blame and towards support.

Parents often find it helpful to compare practical ideas with other families, not as a substitute for professional advice, but because daily-life sensory challenges often show up in ordinary routines such as shopping, family events, clothing, meals, haircuts, appointments and travel.

Where this series goes next

This article has introduced what sensory needs are and why they matter.

The rest of the series will look at:

what occupational therapists do;
what a sensory-integration-trained OT is;
how parents can ask for referral or assessment;
how sensory needs can be described in an IDP;
sensory support in nursery;
sensory support in primary school;
sensory support in secondary school;
sensory needs, EHE and EOTAS;
sensory needs at FE and 16+;
higher education and reasonable adjustments;
employment and adult support;
child disability social care, child protection social care and parent-blame risk;
how parents can use peer support to manage daily life more safely and sustainably.

Sensory needs can be complex. But the starting point is simple.

If a child or young person cannot access ordinary environments safely, consistently or without serious distress, adults need to ask better questions.

Not:

What is wrong with this child or this parent?

But:

What is this child’s sensory profile telling us, and what support is needed?

References

[1] National Autistic Society, “Autism and sensory processing.” Accessed: May 2026. URL: https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/about-autism/sensory-processing

[2] Autism Central, “Sensory differences.” Accessed: May 2026. URL: https://www.autismcentral.nhs.uk/guidance/sensory-differences

[3] National Autistic Society, “Interoception and mental wellbeing in autistic people.” Accessed: May 2026. URL: https://www.autism.org.uk/learn/knowledge-hub/professional-practice/interoception-wellbeing

[4] NHS, “Visiting an optician.” Accessed: May 2026. URL: https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/opticians/visiting-an-optician/

[5] British and Irish Orthoptic Society, “What is an orthoptist?” Accessed: May 2026. URL: https://orthoptics.org.uk/patients-and-public/what-is-an-orthoptist/

[6] National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, “Autism spectrum disorder in under 19s: support and management,” Clinical guideline CG170. Accessed: May 2026. URL: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg170/chapter/recommendations

[7] Royal College of Occupational Therapists, “Occupational therapy for children and young people.” Accessed: May 2026. URL: https://www.rcot.co.uk/explore-resources/children-young-people-families/OT-children-and-young-people

[8] Royal College of Occupational Therapists, “Using sensory integration therapy, sensory-based interventions and sensory approaches with children and young people,” Informed View, Mar. 2026. Accessed: May 2026. URL: https://www.rcot.co.uk/sites/default/files/2026-03/RCOT_Guidance%20-%20Using%20sensory%20integration%20therapy%20with%20children%20and%20young%20people%20-%20March%202026_0.pdf

[9] Law Wales, “Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014.” Accessed: May 2026. URL: https://law.gov.wales/social-services-and-well-being-wales-act-2014

[10] Welsh Government, “A guide for parents about rights under the additional learning needs (ALN) system.” Accessed: May 2026. URL: https://www.gov.wales/guide-parents-about-rights-under-additional-learning-needs-aln-system-html