Having a child can be one of the greatest joys that people ever experience in life, but it might not always go smoothly. For instance, if your child reaches a certain age and doesn’t appear to be developing the ability to talk at the proper rate, it’s possible they might have a condition known as hypersensitivity, a symptom of a sensory processing disorder, which affects how their brains take in and interpret sensory input like sounds. In case this ever happens to you, here are three things you need to know about hypersensitivity.

• Hypersensitivity Can Affect Speech Development: The first thing you need to know about hypersensitivity is that it can affect speech development in children. This happens, according to Chicago Speech Therapy because the child’s brain becomes overwhelmed by auditory stimuli and has trouble differentiating and forming words. This can create difficulties in learning to talk because the child can’t properly process the words they’re hearing to repeat them back.
• It is the Opposite of Hyposensitivity: Another thing you need to know about hypersensitivity is that it is actually the opposite of a condition known as hyposensitivity. While hypersensitivity occurs when the brain overloads after being exposed to small stimuli, hyposensitivity is the opposite, when the brain is largely unstimulated by even regular amounts of stimuli, causing the brain to seek extremes in order to “feel something.” The two terms look very similar, but they are not to be confused as they are separate conditions.
• It Can Be Treated with Speech Therapy: The third and possibly most important thing you need to know about hypersensitivity is that it can be treated by pediatric speech therapists. Hypersensitivity speech therapy can be used to help the child separate out different inputs and be able to learn to speak properly. As with any form of therapy, hypersensitivity speech therapy could potentially take a long time to be effective, it really depends on the individual child.

In conclusion, there are several things you definitely need to know about hypersensitivity. First, while it mainly involves the brain being overwhelmed by stimuli, it can definitely affect speech development in children. Second, it is the opposite of a similarly named condition known as hyposensitivity. And most importantly, it can be treated with hypersensitivity speech therapy, which allows the child to learn how to sort through different stimuli and learn to form words properly. These are just a few of the important things you need to know about this condition.