High Emotional Dysregulation Common in Children with Sensory Processing Disorder: New Study

December 17, 2024Emotional dysregulation is an invisible string linking sensory processing, anxiety, and ADHD in children, according to new research that explores the relationship between sensory processing subtypes and self-regulation in children with neurodevelopmental disorders.

Researchers found that, while some sensory subtypes were associated with elevated anxiety and others with elevated ADHD symptomatology, all sensory processing subtypes were associated with higher emotional dysregulation compared with sensory-typical children.The study, published in Nature, enrolled 117 participants from a community-based specialty clinic; all participants were children aged 8 to 12 years old with various neurodevelopmental diagnoses, including autism and ADHD.1 The researchers uncovered five distinct sensory processing profiles in this group:The study highlights the “wide range of heterogeneity in sensory experiences among populations with neurodevelopmental concerns,” say the study’s authors.The researchers investigated the prevalence of behavioral and emotional regulation challenges in the group as a whole and in different sensory subtypes.

They also considered the following comorbidities:They also studied patterns associated with specific sensory subtypes:These findings offer insights into the complicated relationship between sensory processing and self-regulation challenges, which researchers hope will help clinicians better serve neurodivergent children through targeted interventions that address overlapping symptomology.“Not many people realize that the sensory systems are foundational to development, functioning and wellbeing.