Sensory Processing Disorder

When babies are born, they use their senses to learn about their surroundings and find comfort in connecting with their mother and father. If a doctor or other medical staff member is negligent while delivering a baby, it could lead to a birth injury that results in sensory processing problems. Sensory processing disorder is a neurological condition that makes it difficult for a child to respond to certain sensory signals the nervous system sends and receives. According to a study published by JAMA Pediatrics, about one in six children have sensory processing difficulties.

Babies born with sensory issues may have an exaggerated response to sounds and food textures. Others may have trouble sitting still or recognizing personal space. In terms of sensory processing, an occupational therapist (OT) can help a child learn and respond appropriately to stimuli and allow them to function more normally. This therapy involves using specialized toys and relaxing activities that help a child respond more appropriately and better deal with light, sound, and touch.

Children that suffer preventable brain injuries at or shortly after birth causing Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE) or cerebral palsy often suffer from sensory processing disorder due to the area of the brain commonly injured.

When the negligence of a doctor, hospital, or other medical team members during labor and delivery causes your child to suffer a preventable birth injury that causes a sensory injury, you should consult with a seasoned birth injury malpractice attorney who can help you hold them accountable for depriving your child of their best life. If you have questions, our experienced legal nurses and birth injury lawyers will help you find the answers you deserve.

Recent Birth Injury Settlement:
Birth Injury settlement against a hospital in which nurses and physicians failed to properly monitor the mother's blood pressure during delivery causing an HIE event resulting in neonatal seizures and cerebral palsy at birth. Our national birth injury lawyers recovered $13,750,000 for the family to help with future medical expenses and developmental therapy.

With the recovery that Miller Weisbrod made for our son, I feel like our voice was heard in a sense of what can possibly go wrong in a delivery and finding us answers. I feel with our settlement, we are now in a comfortable position to provide for our son. Things are different because he's able to be in his own space. He's developing well. He is starting to speak a little bit more and live a bit more independently. He is also in school full-time and he gets help from his nurse aid that helps him with all his appointments, all his therapy. Pretty much, I feel like it kind of helped us in a good way. I feel like they care about your personal needs and how to make you comfortable in any situation.

Lyric, C.

Mother of
Miller Weisbrod Olesky Client

Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) is a complex neurodevelopmental function that affects the way the brain processes sensory input. Sensory processing enables our brain to receive and coordinate information from internal bodily cues such as hunger or external sources such as light or sound.

For example, whenever you feel cold, you may decide that you should put on a sweater. SPD makes it difficult for the brain to detect these sensory signals and respond to everyday sensory information the way most people do. This makes it harder for children with Sensory Processing Disorder to respond to information such as smell or touch in the right way.

Generally, most people are familiar with only five senses: sight, taste, touch, hearing, and smell. However, proprioception and vestibular sense are two less commonly discussed senses that affect our ability to interact with the environment.

• Proprioception, or an awareness of one's own body parts, impacts our ability to recognize our body's position, location, orientation, and movement.

• Vestibular Sense refers to inner-ear spatial recognition and contributes to balance, movement, and coordination.

Any of these senses may be affected in children with sensory processing issues. In most cases, children with sensory processing difficulties either over-respond (Hypersensitivity) or under-respond (Hyposensitivity) to sensory stimulation. Potential sources of sensory processing modulation problems include prematurity and birth injury; however, the exact cause may vary from child to child.

The two main types of sensory processing issues are hypersensitivity and hyposensitivity. Hypersensitive children are under-sensitive to stimulation and may want to constantly seek sensory output by touching things to feel their texture, jumping up and down, frequently tasting and sucking on objects, and having a high pain tolerance.

Hypersensitive children may find sensory stimulation overwhelming and often complain about sensory stimuli that seem normal to others. For example, hypersensitive children may have difficulty understanding where their body is in relation to other objects and appear clumsy.

Hypersensitive Children

• Have behavior problems
• Be clumsy or lack coordination
• Have difficulty focusing
• Cover their ears or eyes
• Have a low threshold for pain
• Become easily startled by loud noises or sudden movements
• Have emotional outbursts and meltdowns
• Be picky eaters or gag with certain textures
• Have a sensitivity to certain smells, loud noises, or scratchy clothing
• Struggle to understand the amount of force they're applying

Hyposensitive Children

• Have trouble recognizing personal space
• Be unable to sit still
• Enjoy jumping, spinning, and roughhousing
• Miss social cues
• Have a very high threshold for pain
• Chew on clothes or fingers
• Enjoy visual stimulation, like playing video games
• A desire to frequently touch objects or other people
• Crash into objects or other people
• Doesn't understand their own strength
• Actively seek excitement, and adrenaline rushes
• Have trouble sleeping

A child with sensory processing disorder may be more or less sensitive to sensory input, such as light, sound, and touch, compared to the average person. There is some debate among medical professionals about whether SPD is a stand-alone diagnosis or whether it is simply a symptom of other disorders. In fact, a study published by the National Library of Medicine reports that about 80% of children with autism also have sensory processing disorders.

Sensory processing disorder often occurs alongside:

• Anxiety
• Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE)
• Cerebral palsy (CP)
• Dyspraxia, a coordination disorder
• Attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
• Autism or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
• Other developmental disabilities

Many people do not realize that sensory processing issues and other symptoms that appear as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are caused by a type of newborn brain damage called hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). As cerebral palsy is often caused by HIE, children with CP often have sensory processing issues.

The exact symptoms of SPD will vary significantly with each child and depend on their unique sensory profile. Although some children with sensory processing disorder are only affected in one sensory system, typically, in most children, multiple sensory systems are affected.

The following are the three broad patterns that SPDs are classified into:

• Sensory Modulation Disorder (SMD): The child may have difficulty regulating the intensity of their reactions to sensory stimuli. They may have heightened reactions to stimuli like loud noises (sensory over-responsivity), may not notice pain in response to falls (under-responsivity), or actively seek sensory stimulation (sensory craving).
• Sensory-Based Motor Disorder (SBMD): The child may struggle with balance, motor coordination, and performing motor tasks (Dyspraxia). For example, a child with SBMD may be accident-prone or have trouble with fine motor skills like getting dressed.
• Sensory Discrimination Disorder (SDD): The child may have difficulty distinguishing between and reacting appropriately to different stimuli. For example, they may take extra time to figure out which way to turn when walking.

Although the exact cause of SPD has not been identified and symptoms vary from person to person, some research suggests birth injuries like trauma to the head from improper use of forceps, vacuum extration devices, and prematurity are potential causes of SPD. Before, during, or after birth, most expectant parents often dream about their child's future and never think their baby might suffer a debilitating birth injury.

However, medical errors like oxygen deprivation during delivery due to a doctor's negligence can impact brain function and cause sensory processing difficulties. Babies born prematurely are at an increased risk for developing sensory processing disorder because they are often born with immature immune systems, including sensory pathways, which may make it difficult for them to process and integrate sensory information.

In children with sensory processing disorder, the way their nervous systems send and receive messages is altered, causing them to react differently to stimuli than other babies may experience. Parents often first recognize signs of sensory processing issues in the toddler years and may notice that a child has difficulty with fine motor skills like shaking a rattle, or an unusual aversion to noise or light.

Additional Symptoms of Sensory Processing Disorder

• Be oversensitive to noises, smells, sounds, etc.
• Be constantly in motion or fatigue easily
• Move clumsily, fall easily, or have poor balance
• Avoid certain fabrics and prefer smooth, soft textures
• Have abnormal posture
• Withdraw from being touched
• Be uncomfortable with getting their hands dirty
• Have difficulty emotionally regulating after becoming upset
• Touch everything around them
• Have trouble understanding personal space
• Jump, swing, or spin excessively
• Be hypersensitive to visually stimulating environments
• Use too little or excessive force when handling objects
• Reject foods with certain textures
• Have trouble socializing or engaging in two-way interactions

Children who become easily overwhelmed by stimulation and sensations in their environment may be prone to tantrums. Other children with SPD may run away or shut down. While any of these signs in an infant may suggest that birth trauma may have caused some areas of the central nervous system to be compromised, it is essential to keep in mind that symptoms vary from one child to the next.

If you recognize that your child's behavior is not typical but are unsure why, don't hesitate to discuss your concerns with your doctor. They may refer your child to an occupational therapist who can assess them for SPD and observe how they respond to stimulation. Healthcare providers rely on the evaluation of occupational therapists, developmental milestone history, and caregiver reports to diagnose sensory processing disorders.

Despite cerebral palsy being a motor disorder, sensory issues are relatively common among children with CP. Sensory problems due to cerebral palsy generally result from damage to the area of the brain responsible for processing sensory information. In children with cerebral palsy who have greater levels of damage to the brain, sensory processing difficulties are often more prevalent.

Some of the most common sensory processing disorders in children with cerebral palsy are visual impairments, hearing loss, somatosensory impairments, and poor proprioception.

Signs that a child with cerebral palsy might be struggling with sensory processing issues:

• The child may have difficulty recognizing familiar faces
• The child may have poor balance and posture
• The child has trouble recognizing slight differences between sounds in words
• The child complains about mild changes in temperature

A child with cerebral palsy who struggles with sensory processing abnormalities may avoid encounters with environmental stimuli (hypersensitivity) or have difficulty responding to stimuli because their brain cannot process them (hyposensitivity). Sensory processing issues can negatively affect a child's activity levels, communication skills, and ability to interact with their surroundings.

Dedicating time to sensory activities for kids with cerebral palsy is incredibly beneficial and vital for their development. The most effective sensory activities for cerebral palsy help them feel more comfortable with the world around them.

Here are ten suggestions for sensory activities that you can do with your child who has cerebral palsy:

• Painting with fingers, brushes, or sponges will expose your child to various textures.
• Interactive bath time is a great way to have your child play with a variety of sensory stimuli.
• Use a pacifier throughout the day to help them become more familiar with controlling the muscles around their mouth.
• Practice tactile development by creating sandcastles using shovels and buckets.
• Rocking in a rocking chair can help your child feel more at ease and motion and become accustomed to shifting their weight.
• Collect various objects and have them practice tapping their hands or "drumsticks" on these surfaces.
• Have your child sort through a bag of candy and separate them by color.
• Start a dance party and encourage them to stomp or clap their hands to the music.
• Place ice cubes into a bin and let your child watch it melt in their hands.
• Making jewelry with larger beads is a good activity for building their fine motor skills and coordination.

There are many fun, creative, and exploratory sensory activities for kids with cerebral palsy. Consistent exposure to new textures, temperatures, and sounds will help your child's brain become more familiar with stimuli and allow them to feel less overwhelmed.

Sensory processing disorder is not a stand-alone condition in the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)," making it difficult to diagnose. However, many medical professionals now recognize SPD as a separate condition and use several different questionnaires to assess for sensory processing disorder. For newborns to 3-year-olds, the child's parent or caregiver will fill out The Infant/Toddler Sensory Profile (ITSP) or the Sensory Rating (SRS).

The parent or caregiver of a child ages five months through 6 years will be given The Sensory Experiences Questionnaire (SEQ) to fill out. An occupational or physiotherapist may conduct a screening that consists of structured observations of the child's response to sensory stimulation and an evaluation of standardized testing. The sensory assessment will allow the occupational therapist to better understand how the sensory environment affects your child's daily life at school and home.

A doctor may ask parents about the child's developmental milestone history and any symptoms they have noticed developing. Additional tests such as Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) and an Electroencephalogram (EEG) may also be used to diagnose SPD and reveal the extent of the condition in a child. An early sensory processing disorder diagnosis increases the chance of successful intervention, especially for younger children while their brains are still developing.

When children show signs of a sensory problem, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that doctors check for other developmental disorders, such as autism spectrum disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or childhood anxiety disorders. If a doctor fails to diagnose sensory processing disorder, it may only be identified when the severity of your child's symptoms causes an injury. Treatment can help retrain a child's brain to respond appropriately to sensory stimuli.

Occupational, physical, and sensory integration therapies can help children with SPD manage their symptoms and learn appropriate responses to their environments at home and school. An occupational therapist will observe your child's eye movements and how they balance and respond to stimulation.

An occupational therapist will also use Sensory Integration Therapy (SI) to assist children with SPD. Sensory Integration Therapy is designed to help children who have difficulties processing sensory input learn about and develop their senses through repetitive activities that stimulate the senses. SI uses things like movement therapy, balance treatments, and structured exposure to sensory output, to make it easier for kids to process and react to stimuli and sensations more efficiently over time. Therapy might involve playing tug-of-war or with a medicine ball to help a child develop an awareness of their body.

Sensory dieting is another approach that involves an occupational therapist creating a schedule of sensory activities tailored to a child's needs. Commonly used sensory diet activities include trampolining, playing with slime, or eating chewy foods. You can seek an occupational therapist out in private practice, or one can be referred to you through your child's school. For children with SPD, occupational therapy may only be one part of an overall treatment plan.

A treatment plan may involve one or more therapies, including Physiotherapy, speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, visual therapy, and Perceptual Motor Therapy. Children may outgrow sensory processing disorders in some cases, while others may need lifelong assistance. A child affected by sensory processing issues will face several challenges, and managing symptoms can be challenging when sensory problems co-occur with other conditions. Although there is no cure for sensory processing disorder, some children benefit from appropriate management.

Children with sensory processing issues can thrive and function in the world with fewer adverse SPD effects with accurate diagnosis and early sensory processing disorder treatments. If your child has a sensory processing disorder and you believe a negligent healthcare professional is to blame, an experienced birth injury attorney can help you hold them accountable for their actions and fight for the maximum available compensation for your child's injuries.

A birth injury lawsuit is a type of legal action that a parent may file on behalf of a child against negligent doctors, hospitals, or other healthcare professionals for causing the child to suffer a preventable birth injury. Through a birth injury lawsuit, families can recover compensation to help ease the financial burden of covering their child's treatment and care costs.

While each case is different, most lawsuits generally follow the same process. A lawyer with experience in birth injury cases can file your case, gather evidence, and pursue full and fair compensation on your behalf.

Here's how our birth injury attorneys will support you through the entire lawsuit process:

Free Case Review

After getting in contact with one of our birth injury lawyers, you will have your free consultation, where we'll determine if you may be eligible to file a birth injury lawsuit. Your case will likely be accepted if we can determine that medical malpractice may have played a role in your child's birth injury.

Gather Evidence

As soon as you qualify for a lawsuit, your birth injury malpractice attorney will gather information and evidence related to your case to build a strong claim. In proving a child's birth injury was caused by medical negligence, critical pieces of evidence like medical records, witness statements, and the employment history of the medical professional in your case are crucial to filing a successful lawsuit.

File the Lawsuit

Once all initial information has been gathered, your attorney will file your lawsuit in the proper court of law. You and your family will become the plaintiffs (the party taking legal action) as soon as the case is filed. The medical providers whose conduct may have caused your child harm will become the defendants (the party being sued). Every state has a deadline for filing a birth injury lawsuit, also known as the statute of limitations.

Your lawyer will be mindful of your state's statute of limitations and ensure your case is filed on time. The lawsuit will outline the charges in the lawsuit and give the defendants around 30 days to respond. If the defendants fail to respond, judgment can automatically be entered for the plaintiff. If the defendants send a response but fail to take responsibility, they will explain why they believe they are not at fault for your child's injury.

Discovery

As soon as the defendants file a response, your attorney will gather more evidence, such as additional medical records, medical expense reports, and other documents related to your child's birth injury to strengthen your case. You, your loved ones, and medical experts may have to give statements or answer questions under oath during this time. Both parties will also exchange information and evidence relevant to their respective cases to build strong arguments. A skilled attorney can pursue the legally required evidence to prove that the medical professionals did not uphold a high standard of care.

Settlement Negotiations

Once both sides prepare their case, settlement negotiations may begin. The goal of this phase is for both parties to reach an official agreement (settlement) that resolves the dispute without going through the time and expense of a full trial. The defendants will agree to pay a lump sum of money to you if the lawsuit reaches a settlement and all legal action stops. Our lawyers are prepared to represent your best interests in court if your case is unresolved during this phase.

Go Through a Trial

A case will proceed to trial if it is not resolved in settlement negotiations. During a trial, a judge and jury will hear arguments from both legal teams and examine all the evidence presented by each party. A verdict is reached once each side has had the opportunity to present their cases and a judgment entered. In some cases, the losing side may appeal the decision. Additionally, although trials may award you with more compensation than a settlement, you risk receiving no financial compensation at all if you lose. Let our lawyers help you win the compensation you need to help pay for the cost of your child's care.

When a doctor makes a mistake or is negligent while delivering a baby, the result is often an injury to a mother, her child, or both. Although not all birth injuries are indicative of medical malpractice, an attorney can ensure that if your provider was negligent in your child's care, you get the compensation you deserve.

Common Examples of Medical Negligence During Childbirth

• Improper use of forceps or a vacuum extractor
• Using too much force during delivery
• Failure to schedule an emergency cesarean section (C-section)
• Delaying in performing an emergency C-section
• Failure to properly monitor the mother during her pregnancy
• Failure to administer the proper antibiotics or administering the wrong antibiotics to a mother with an STD or other maternal infections before delivery
• Ignoring or misreading a fetal heart rate monitoring strip
• Failure to recognize and treat signs of maternal or fetal distress, such as lack of oxygen
• Failure to detect and treat an umbilical cord complication
• Failure to diagnose and treat preterm labor in a timely manner
• Failure to treat maternal elevated blood pressure (preeclampsia)
• Failure to properly resuscitate a newborn after delivery
• Failure to treat jaundice and kernicterus
• Failure to respond to signs of a placental abruption
• Failure to detect a severe break defect on a prenatal ultrasound
• Failure to carefully manage an abnormal fetal position
• Administering too high of a dose of labor-inducing drugs like Pitocin

Neglecting complications such as premature delivery or issues with the umbilical cord can lead to a serious birth injury that causes a child to develop sensory processing disorder. As leaders in our communities, we place a great deal of trust in medical professionals to make the right decisions regarding our health.

While most people automatically picture doctors and nurses when medical malpractice liability comes to mind, additional parties involved who played a role in the healthcare of a pregnant woman and her baby may also be held accountable in a birth injury lawsuit.

The following types of medical providers and/ or facilities may be held responsible for committing medical negligence:

• Obstetricians (OB-GYN)
• Other obstetric professionals
• Pediatricians, including pediatric neurologists
• Anesthesiologists
• Labor and delivery nurses
• Midwives
• Nurses
• Hospitals and medical facilities
• Hospital administrators
• Other hospital staff
• Neonatal nurses and aids
• Neonatologists or pediatricians providing neonatal care
• Respiratory therapists
• Maternal-fetal medicine physicians and specialists (MFM)
• Laboratory staff

While healthcare providers like doctors and nurses are often the ones medical malpractice suits are brought against, there are times when a hospital could also be held responsible. A hospital can be vicariously liable for an employee's negligent actions that caused harm during work hours or while the employee was performing a job-related task. For example, a hospital may be held vicariously liable for the negligent mistakes of an OBGYN during a patient's pregnancy or delivery.

A hospital may also be held directly liable for its own actions. For instance, hospitals may face direct liability for a patient injury caused by a failure to establish and adhere to medical protocols and standards. Whether it was a doctor, the hospital itself, or another medical professional, we can help you determine the cause of your child's birth injury and hold healthcare providers accountable for their actions.

When you file a birth injury claim, your lawyer must be prepared to present evidence that proves that a doctor's or hospital's negligence caused your child's birth injury. In a birth injury lawsuit, the plaintiff must be able to prove each of the following four legal elements.

• Duty of Care: Before the provider will have a duty of care, the plaintiff must be able to establish a provider-patient relationship. Upon establishing this relationship, the medical provider is expected to meet a relevant standard of care that a medical professional with the same specialization would have exercised under the same conditions.
• Breach: The next element the plaintiff must prove is that the healthcare provider or facility breached that duty by failing to meet the applicable standard of care.
• Causation: The plaintiff must then demonstrate that the healthcare provider's negligent care directly caused their or their child's injuries.
• Damages: Finally, the plaintiff must show that the harm they or their child suffered resulted in specific expenses and other losses. These losses may include anything from the cost of lifelong medical care to emotional suffering.

In birth injury cases, compelling evidence must be presented by the plaintiff's attorney to establish liability and secure damages. The birth injury lawyers at Miller Weisbrod Olesky can collect evidence on your behalf, consult with medical experts to determine the cause of the injury, and identify all negligent medical professionals who contributed to you or your child's birth injury.

When a doctor or hospital's negligence, wrongful action, or lack of action before, during, or after childbirth results in injuries to you or your child, you may be entitled to seek financial compensation. Damages in birth injury lawsuits generally fall into two categories: economic and non-economic. Economic damages refer to the financial losses you've sustained due to the injuries you or your child suffered. Non-economic damages refer to subjective, monetary losses and are meant to compensate the victim for pain and suffering experienced as a result of the birth injury.

Economic Damages

• Medical expenses (including the cost of any future medical care)
• The cost of any medications or surgeries
• Rehabilitation and therapy costs (occupational, physical, and speech)
• Lost income or wages of parents (including future loss of income)
• The cost of assistive devices like wheelchairs or communication aids
• Lost future earning capacity (if the child's birth injury impacts the child's ability to work in the future)
• The cost of special education services and tutors
• Home modification costs (such as ramps or accessible bathrooms)
• The cost of assistive devices
• Costs associated with a caregiver or home nurse

Non-Economic Damages

• Physical pain and suffering
• Reduced quality of life
• Disfigurement and permanent scarring
• Emotional or mental anguish
• Paralysis, scarring, and disfigurement
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Loss of consortium

Punitive or Exemplary Damages may be awarded in addition to economic and non-economic damages. These damages are often difficult to prove and only awarded in cases where the medical professional's behavior is intentional or especially negligent. Punitive damages are intended to punish the at-fault party and deter others from committing similar wrongful behavior.

The settlement award you may receive will depend on various factors, including the nature and severity of your child's condition, the impact of the injury on the child's quality of life, and the financial damages you have suffered. A dedicated birth injury lawyer can help you prove all your damages and calculate the potential value of your medical malpractice settlement.

A statute of limitations is a law that imposes a deadline for filing birth injury lawsuits. If you fail to file a claim before the statute of limitations "runs out," you may lose your right to pursue legal action and seek compensation. In some cases where an injury may not be immediately apparent, the statute of limitations may be extended.

The discovery rule prevents the statute of limitations from running until the injury is discovered or reasonably should have been discovered. It is also important to remember that the statute of limitations varies by state and the type of claim you're filing. A birth injury attorney can help you avoid missing all crucial deadlines related to your case.

Our nationally recognized birth injury attorneys at Miller Weisbrod Olesky have the resources and skills to guide you through the legal process. We have successfully represented medical malpractice clients in more than 20 states and have recovered multi-million dollar settlements on behalf of our clients.

If your child suffered a preventable birth injury that resulted in sensory processing difficulties, you have the right to take legal action against a negligent medical professional. Our team of birth injury malpractice lawyers, registered nurses, and nurse attorneys will thoroughly investigate the facts of your case and determine how and why your child suffered a birth injury. To learn more about how we can put our decades of experience to work for you and your family, call our toll-free line at 888-987-0005 or fill out our convenient online form.