Sensory-Integration Disorder...?

Apologies for the lag between posts.

It seems that the lives of working parents are busy and full to the brim.  I am personally in an adjustment phase of trying to return to work and retrieve some of my lost paediatric knowledge.  As I embark on this daunting process, I am taking the opportunity to go back to basics and try to understand some of the issues I found perplexing in the past.  One of those issues was Sensory-Integration Disorder.  From time to time, children would present with this diagnosis often accompanied by volumes of ‘supporting’ documentation.  Still I found myself trying to understand the nature of the disorder and how it could be relevant to cognitive performance.  The types of complains these children and parents would volunteer included a sensitivity to certain textures and noise.  I wondered if these sensitivities were just normal variation and if they really needed to be labelled as a disorder.  Similarly, do these complaints need treatment, which was often intensive and expensive, or would they just resolve over time?  After all, I don’t think I had ever encountered an adult complaining of sensory-integration disorder.  More perplexing though was the implication that this disorder could impact on cognition and behaviour.  I still just don’t really get the link – probably as I am still struggling to understand what is specific about this disorder rather than perhaps just being a marker of general CNS immaturity.  Recently I took my questions to Medline where “Sensory Integration Disorder” returned only two hits that in themselves were not particularly helpful.  I looked further on the internet and found the expected mix of proponents and opponents to the disorder.  I don’t necessarily feel that I have clarified my understanding of this ‘disorder’.  I suppose though that the context of the other complaints/conditions is particularly important.  Can the symptoms ascribed to ‘Sensory-Integration Disorder’ be better thought of as subsumed by other conditions, such as anxiety, ADHD or ASD? Are the symptoms real but fall short of warranting a separate disorder?  I put it over to you to further my musings over this ‘basic’ issue. 

Also for your information:

The American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology moderates a Pediatric Special Interest Group (SIG), complete with list-server.  You do, however, need to be a member or affiliate of the AACN to access this resource.  There are some additional paediatric resources that are freely available on their website and may be worth a look.  https://sites.google.com/site/aacnped/

Abstracts close on Aug 31 for the INS meeting in Hawaii (Feb 6-9 2013). 

Linda and Frank