"Bystander" Sensory Profile: "Wait what?"

"Wait what?"

This is the phrase that I think of when I think of someone who exhibits a "bystander sensory profile". We are looking at how our central nervous system manages sensory information in the world we live in. In my last blog. I provided a general overview of how Winnie Dunn describes this in her assessment (Sensory Profile-2). Head back to my last blog post for this overview.

Dunn describes the "bystander sensory profile" as having low registration. Others use the term "low arousal". The child (or person) has a high sensory threshold, passive self-regulation and may miss sensory cues. To put it into more simple language, let's think of the child's central nervous system being like a bucket. These children have a large bucket and it takes more sensory information/input for them to register the information. This means that are "hypo-sensitive" to input, so they don't notice it. They are passive with their self-regulation, which means they may need help as they are not aware or seek the information for themselves. To help this child to "fill their bucket", they need sensory input with more frequency, more intensity and longer duration than other children.
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Bystander Characteristics

​In the classroom, a child who may have a "bystander" sensory profile may demonstrate some of these characteristics.

Visual System: 
This child may miss visual information such a facial expressions, words on  the board, gestures or they may have trouble finding items.  On the other hand, they may not be distracted by visual information in the classroom. 

This children may be seen wandering around the classroom, as they haven't noticed everyone else is already sitting on the floor.  They may be looking in their pencil case for the eraser and don't notice that it is on the table.  They may not see the visual schedule that tells them what is happening.  They may not notice that the time on the clock so they ask to go to the bathroom two minutes before it is about to ring. They may not notice that the child who was asked to work with them has rolled their eyes, and they go sit with them easily.

Auditory System:
This child may not hear their name being called and may have difficulty listening to verbal instructions (especially if there are multiple steps). They may not be affected by environmental noises such as other people talking, clocks ticking, background music, etc. 

This child may be in the centre of the busy classroom and is undisturbed with the activity that is engrossing them. The teacher may have called their name multiple times and they don't notice until the child sitting next to them gives them a poke.  The child may hear that they are to do a maths activity, however may miss the information to place the finished work on the teacher's desk.   The child may not hear other students say "can I have a turn"? 

Tactile System: 
​This child may not notice their own body signals such as cold or messy hands. They may seem to have a high pain tolerance.  This recognition and response to body signals is also called interoception. On the other hand, this child may not notice other children bumping into them and can wear different textures without difficulty. 

This may be the child whom you notice on a really hot day is still wearing a jumper.  They may come back from lunch with food over hands that they haven't washed.  They may scratch themselves as they walk along the wall and not notice that they are bleeding.  They may not mind joustling in a line of children waiting for the bus. 

Proprioceptive and Vestibular Systems:
This child may be passive with movement and prefer sedentary activities.  They may have low energy levels and act overly tired.  They may also appear withdrawn or have poor balance. These children may have low muscle tone and poor core strength affecting their proprioceptive and vestibular systems. Movements may not affect them emotionally. 

These children may not notice when they are feeling unsteady and may fall over frequently.  They may move slowly from the classroom to the locker room.  They may not recognize that they feel dizzy spinning around until they fall over or vomit.  They may notice when they bump/lean onto other people or furniture. 

Oral Motor System:
This child may  not recognize body signals such as a messy face or dribble.  They may not notice if food is hot, icy, spicy or textured. 

This child may be disinterested in food. They neither avoid nor do they seek food. They may be slow to eat food and chew for a long time. 

Please note that these are general descriptions and characteristics.  A comprehensive assessment will provide individual information on sensory sensitivities, modulation and descrimination. 

Bystander Sensory Supports

In general, a child who exhibits a "bystander sensory profile" benefits from increased sensory input with more frequency, more intensity and for a longer duration. They will need help to do this from other people (from their family, friends and teachers).
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Intervention Planning may include:

• Increasing awareness with different presentations of information or varied task requirements (ie. novelty).
• Provide multisensory opportunities.
• Enhance task features.
• Highlight contextual cues.

Some examples of sensory supports may include...

Visual System:

• ​Provide increased visual contrasts (eg. change the writing colour/shape/presentation of the writing paper, use different coloured markers on the whiteboard to represent different information).
• Provide more time to find information.
• Provide strong visual cues (eg. sit on a coloured spot).
• Work on visual perceptual skills (eg. figure ground, visual discrimination, form constancy)
• Link visual information with a response (eg. everytime the teacher's hand is raised above her head the students raise their hands). 
• Explicitly teach visual information in handwriting (eg. noticing the left margin by highlighting it before writing, use craft stick to aid spacing between words). 

Auditory System:

• Make sure the child is attending to the adult before providing verbal instructions. 
• Provide visual support together with auditory information (eg. a visual checklist).
• Practice active listening with action responses (eg. teachers clap a pattern and students copy, every time a movement word is spoken then the class perform the action - "popcorn" pops).
• Ask the child to repeat an intruction given to them. 
• Ask the child to repeat the instruction by instructing another student with the activity requirements. 
• Provide single instructions at a time. 

Tactile System: 

• Use massage of hands, feet or face to increase alertness before an activity. Older children can do this independently and it may involve using hand sanitizer, lotion or sunscreen. 
• Provide opportunities for multisensory learning through messy play and exploring different textures.  Assist the child to label different sensations and how they feel on the body.  Contrast sensations such as hot/cold/warm, wet/dry, messy/clean, smooth/bumpy/fluffy/spikey, etc. 

​Proprioceptive and Vestibular Systems:

• ​Provide opportunities to identify and contrast movement (eg. fast/slow, spining/rocking).
• Provide opportunities to grade force (eg. gentle/strong, heavy/light).
• Practice different body positions (eg. yoga).
• Use a mirror and help the child to monitor match what they see with movement.
• For older children you can may use ankle/wrist weights and a heart rate monitor to provide additional information from the body. 
• Incorporate movement breaks with heavy work or rhythm to provide regulatory benefits.

Oral Motor System:

• Incorporate facial massage (eg. before eating).
• Use an electric toothbrush (vibration) for toothbrushing.
• Use a face washer rather than hands to wash face.
• Practice oral motor activities incorporating movement of the tongue, lips and blowing.
• Increase crunchy foods eaten (eg. carrot sticks) providing increased jaw movements. 
• Make funny noises and faces. 

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The word "sensory" has been a buzz word for a while.  It seems like it has grown from OTs sharing information to a much wider interest and audience. This is great but sometimes we can be overloaded with information.  My attempt here is to provide information in a practical digestable way for everyone interested.   

I hope that this series of blog posts will be just that. I want to share the information in a way that you may not have seen before (my own infographics). My aim is to provide a practical approach to understanding how our children process sensory information, the impact that it can have and some supports that you may try immediately. 

In doing this series, I've removed some of the previous resources that I have published here at Your Kids OT.  I will be reviewing and updating some resources to reflect this new way that I'm presenting "sensory" information! To be continued... 

Stay in touch to find out about the other three sensory profiles anad more!
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Cindy is a registered occupational therapist practising in Sydney, Australia.  She has two growing children who are a constant source of inspiration and learning.  Cindy loves working creatively to help children to reach their potential, finding opportunities in everyday living and making learning fun. She is also addicted to making printables (even when they take a long time to complete).  Cindy is the author of the Occupational Therapy blog Your Kids OT.  Read more articles from Your Kids OT at https://www.yourkidsot.com/blog

Cindy is a contributing author of the Functional Skills for Kids Therapy Team.  They have together published THE HANDWRITING BOOK, THE SCISSORS SKILLS BOOK and THE TOILETING BOOK.

​The information on this site is general in nature. The activities are safe for most children, however, you should consult an Occupational Therapist or health professional to address specific movement, sensory or other medical conditions. Affiliate links are used throughout this website to promote recommended products. Your Kids OT receives a small commission if any purchases are made through these links. Please see my disclosure policy for more details. ​​​
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