Understanding sensory differences and how to support them in the classroom.
Sensory processing describes how the brain receives, organises, and responds to information from the senses, including sound, sight, touch, smell, taste, movement, and body awareness. Most people have a sensory profile that sits within a typical range. Some students have a profile that is more extreme, and they may seek out sensory input or work hard to avoid it. Schools that understand this can set students up to learn, rather than simply survive the day.
Understanding a student’s sensory profile, rather than only managing the behaviours it produces, can make a significant difference to how a classroom feels for that student. Small, low-cost adjustments to the sensory environment often do more to support engagement and wellbeing than any single behavioural strategy on its own.
Sensory differences are common in autistic students, students with ADHD, and students who have experienced trauma, though they can also occur on their own.
Sensory overwhelm at school often shows up as ‘behaviour’, such as shutdown, meltdown, or running, rather than as an obvious sensory complaint.
Small, low-cost adjustments to the sensory environment can change a student’s whole school day.
Hypersensitive vs Hyposensitive
Sensory differences can show up in different, sometimes opposite, ways. Broadly, they fall into two patterns:
Hypersensitive (Over-Responsive)
Distressed by classroom noise, fluorescent lights, scratchy uniforms, or strong food smells.
Avoids physical contact, queues, busy hallways, and unexpected touch.
Covers their ears, squints at lights, refuses certain food textures, or asks to leave noisy spaces.
Hyposensitive (Under-Responsive)
Seeks out loud noises, intense movement, deep pressure, or strong tastes.
Crashes into things, hugs hard, chews collars or pens, or climbs furniture.
Appears not to notice cold, heat, or minor injuries.
Many students have a mixed profile, hypersensitive in some areas and hyposensitive in others. Both patterns can lead to fatigue and dysregulation across a school day.
Common Classroom Triggers
Some environments create more sensory load than others. Common triggers include:
Fluorescent lighting, including flicker and hum.
Background noise, such as air conditioning, chatter, or scraping chairs.
Crowded transitions, including corridors, lines, and lunch queues.
Unpredictable touch, such as being bumped, brushed past, or surprised from behind.
Strong food smells in canteens and shared spaces.
Sudden changes, such as fire drills, relief teachers, or swapped timetables.
Tools and Adjustments
Supports tend to fall into two groups: changes to the environment itself, and tools an individual student can use.
Environment Adjustments
A predictable, lower-stimulation seat, such as a corner, near a window, or away from doors.
Sensory breaks built into the timetable, particularly after lunch and before challenging subjects.
A quiet space the student can access without negotiation when overwhelm rises.
Preview of transitions and changes wherever possible.
Visual schedules so the student knows what’s coming.
Individual Tools
Noise-cancelling headphones or ear defenders for noisy periods.
Access to fidget tools, weighted lap pads, or chewable necklaces.
A consistent, easy-to-reach ‘sensory kit’ kept at the student’s desk or nearby.
Sensory overwhelm at school is not a behaviour choice. It is a nervous system asking for something different. The student is often the last to know what they need, and the adults around them are often the ones best placed to help map it.
When to Suggest Assessment
If sensory differences are significantly impacting a student’s school day, an occupational therapist can complete a sensory profile assessment, such as the Sensory Profile-2 or the Adolescent/Adult Sensory Profile. Where sensory differences sit within a broader picture of autism, ADHD, or anxiety, a psychological assessment can help clarify the whole profile and inform supports across home and school. School staff should follow their school’s wellbeing and referral processes when raising these observations with families, and conversations should focus on observed patterns and support needs rather than attempting to diagnose a student.
Working With Families
Parents often have years of trial-and-error knowledge about what works for their child’s sensory profile. Asking ‘what helps at home’ before recommending adjustments at school typically saves time and builds the kind of partnership that helps the student most. Starting the conversation by acknowledging what is already going well in the classroom, before raising concerns, tends to build trust and make families more likely to partner constructively with the school.
HELPFUL RESOURCES
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Deakin University resources for sensory-inclusive classrooms and schools.
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Victorian autism peak body — sensory profile information and school adjustments.
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Find an Occupational Therapist directory and information on sensory assessment.
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Neurodiversity-affirming guides on sensory experience from autistic educators and clinicians.
