Ermer, J., & Dunn, W. (1998). The Sensory Profile: A discriminant analysis of children with and without disabilities. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 52, 283-290.

In this study, we compared the children with autism, children with ADHD and children without disabilities to see whether we could sort them into separate groups based on their Sensory Profile scores. We found that we could identify children into their appropriate groups with 89% accuracy based on specific scores on the Sensory Profile. Children with autism were more likely to have oral sensory processing challenges, while children with ADHD were more likely to have distractibility.

Dove, S., & Dunn, W. (in preparation). Sensory processing in children who have specific learning disabilities with and without hyperactivity.

In this study, we are looking for patterns of sensory processing in children who have learning disabilities. A subset of children also had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), so we are also analyzing whether there are any differences in sensory processing between children who have LD alone and children with LD and ADHD.

Our preliminary analyses suggest that about 50% of the children who have LD also have some sensory processing issues. When we compare the children with and without ADHD, we are not finding any differences between the two groups on sensory processing.

These preliminary findings seem to suggest several things.

• sensory processing may be an area that accounts for some of the heterogeneity in this LD population.
• it may be helpful to include assessment of sensory processing in LD assessment plans to contribute to intervention planning information.
• therapists need to be aware that not all children with LD will have sensory processing challenges.

Dunn, W., & Bennett, D. (2002). Patterns of sensory processing in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Occupational Therapy Journal of Research, 22(1), 4-15.

In this study, we wanted to see whether children with ADHD also display sensory processing difficulties when compared to their peers.

We found that there were 57 items that clearly distinguished sensory processing patterns of children with ADHD when compared to their peers. Children who have ADHD display more frequent responses in ‘sensory seeking’, ‘emotional reactivity’, ‘inattention/ distractibility’ and ‘fine motor/ perceptual’ factors. and in touch and other sensory processing sections on the Sensory Profile.

We think that the Sensory Profile can contribute to diagnostic and program planning processes and increase understanding the nature of the disorder of ADHD.