In one study, Patricia Davies of Colorado State University led a research team that analyzed how children identified as having sensitivity to sounds responded to pairs of sharp clicks, heard through headphones. The team used EEG technology to measure brain waves, and found that these youngsters responded to the first click normally, showing the same pulse of brain activity as children without sensory problems.
But this comparison group muted its response to the second click, whereas the children identified as more sensitive did not. This automatic adjustment, called sensory gating, "was clearly different in the group with sensory processing problems," the authors concluded.
Similar studies have found that children identified as having sensory problems also have an atypical brain response, as measured by EEG, when exposed to two things at once, like a click and touch. And in March, The Journal of Occupational Therapy published the first scientifically rigorous trial of guided therapy as a treatment.
In the study, which included 24 children, those who received a 10-week course of occupational therapy showed greater improvements, on specific goals set by their parents, than a comparison group of children who did not receive such therapy. "We don't have as much data as we'd like, but honestly, I've been at this for 33 years, and it's just nice to see some solid, experimental data," Miller said. "We desperately need more, and for that we need money."
The money is likely to flow only when sensory processing is recognized as a legitimate disorder. And the APA's decision (on this proposal and many others) is not expected for three to four years.
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