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Sensory
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Understanding
Sensory-Based Feeding Selectivity vs Selective Mutism
Sensory-Based Feeding Selectivity is when a child eats only a narrow range of foods because of how food feels, tastes, looks or smells — their sensory system finds certain textures overwhelming. Selective Mutism is an anxiety-based condition where a child can speak comfortably at home but consistently does not speak in specific settings like school. One is about eating and the senses; the other is about speaking and anxiety. They look alike only in that both children may go quiet in new situations, but they need different professionals and very different support.
Read the answer AnswerSensory Feeding Selectivity vs Self-Regulation Difficulties
Sensory-based feeding selectivity is when a child eats a narrow range of foods because of how food feels — its texture, smell, taste or look — so the struggle is with the food itself. Self-regulation difficulties are broader: trouble managing energy, emotions, attention and body state, which can show as meltdowns, settling problems and hard transitions, including at meals. Feeding selectivity is about what and how a child eats; self-regulation is about how they manage their whole inner state — and the two often overlap and are best understood together by a clinician.
Read the answer AnswerSensory Feeding Selectivity vs Sensory Processing Differences
Sensory-based feeding selectivity is when a child eats a narrow range of foods because of how those foods feel, taste, smell or look. Sensory processing differences are the broader way a child's nervous system receives and organises all sensory information — touch, sound, movement and more — across daily life. Feeding selectivity is often one expression of a wider sensory processing difference, but a child can have one without the other, which is why an individual assessment matters.
Read the answer AnswerSensory Feeding Selectivity vs Separation Anxiety Disorder
Sensory-based feeding selectivity is when a child limits foods because of how they feel, look or smell — the distress follows the food, wherever and whoever feeds them. Separation anxiety disorder is intense distress about being apart from a caregiver; any eating trouble is a symptom of that fear and eases when the safe person is near. The simple guide: if refusal follows the food, think sensory; if it follows the separation, think anxiety. Children can show both, so a qualified clinician's look matters.
Read the answer AnswerSensory Feeding Selectivity vs Social Communication Difficulties
Sensory-based feeding selectivity is when a child eats a narrow range of foods because of how food feels — texture, smell, temperature, look or taste can feel overwhelming, so they stay with 'safe' foods. Social communication difficulties are about how a child connects and communicates — eye contact, turn-taking, gestures, shared interest and the back-and-forth of conversation and play. One lives mainly in the senses and eating; the other in relating and language. They are different things, though some children show both, and each deserves its own gentle observation.
Read the answer AnswerSensory-Based Feeding Selectivity vs Specific Learning Disability
Sensory-Based Feeding Selectivity and Specific Learning Disability are entirely different. Feeding selectivity is when a young child eats a narrow range of foods because of how food feels, smells, looks or tastes — a sensory and feeding matter, visible from toddlerhood and helped by feeding and occupational therapy. Specific Learning Disability is a brain-based difficulty learning academic skills like reading, writing or maths in a bright child, typically not reliably identifiable before about 6–8 years. One is about the body's response to food; the other about how school-learning building blocks are processed.
Read the answer AnswerSensory-Based Feeding Selectivity vs Speech and Language Delay
Sensory-based feeding selectivity is about how food feels — a child refuses certain textures, smells or temperatures because their sensory system finds them overwhelming, narrowing their diet. Speech and language delay is about communication — being slower to understand or use words and phrases. One centres on eating and the senses; the other on how a child takes in and expresses language. A child can have one, both, or neither, and both respond well to early, playful support.
Read the answer AnswerSensory Feeding Selectivity vs Stereotyped Movement Disorder
Sensory-based feeding selectivity is a feeding and sensory issue, where a child eats only a narrow range of foods because textures, smells or appearances feel overwhelming. Stereotyped movement disorder is about repetitive, rhythmic, purposeless movements such as flapping or rocking. One centres on eating, the other on movement; they are separate, with separate support pathways, though both can occasionally appear in the same child.
Read the answer AnswerSensory-Based Feeding Selectivity vs Tourette Syndrome in Young Children
Sensory-based feeding selectivity and Tourette syndrome are unrelated. Feeding selectivity is when a child eats only a narrow range of foods because of how food feels, smells, looks or tastes — a sensory-driven eating pattern best supported through feeding and occupational approaches. Tourette syndrome is a neurological condition involving tics — involuntary repeated movements or sounds a child cannot easily suppress — that needs a prompt paediatric or neurological review. One is about eating and the senses; the other is about involuntary movements and sounds.
Read the answer AnswerSensory-Based Feeding Selectivity vs Visual Impairment in Young Children
Sensory-based feeding selectivity and visual impairment are unrelated. Feeding selectivity is when a child limits foods because of how they feel — texture, smell, taste or look overwhelm a sensitive nervous system; the child usually sees food perfectly. Visual impairment is reduced clarity or amount of sight, ranging from low vision to blindness, identified by an eye specialist. Feeding selectivity is supported with occupational and feeding therapy; visual impairment needs a prompt eye examination. They can occasionally overlap but are assessed and supported in entirely different ways.
Read the answer AnswerSensory Integration Therapy vs Paediatric Physiotherapy
Paediatric physiotherapy builds the body's movement skills — strength, balance, coordination, gait and gross-motor milestones — and is led by a physiotherapist. Sensory integration therapy, usually led by an occupational therapist, supports how the brain organises sensations like touch, movement and body-awareness so a child can respond calmly. One asks whether the body moves well; the other asks whether the brain makes sense of what the body feels. Many children benefit from both together, which is why a single whole-child assessment matters.
Read the answer AnswerSensory Processing Differences vs Persistent Toe-Walking in Young Children
Sensory Processing Differences describe how a child's nervous system registers and responds to everyday sensations like sound, touch and movement, sometimes too intensely and sometimes by seeking them out. Persistent Toe-Walking is a specific gait pattern where a child keeps walking on the balls of their feet past the age most children walk heel-to-toe. They are different things but can overlap, because some children toe-walk partly due to how movement and foot contact feel to them. A proper assessment looks at both the walking pattern and the sensory picture together.
Read the answer AnswerSensory Processing Differences vs Speech and Language Delay
Sensory Processing Differences and Speech and Language Delay are distinct developmental threads. Sensory differences are about how a child takes in and responds to sensations such as sound, touch and movement — feeling them too strongly, too faintly or seeking them intensely. Speech and language delay is about communication — understanding words and using sounds, words and sentences. They can overlap, which is why a whole-child review matters rather than a single label.
Read the answer AnswerSensory Processing Differences vs Stereotyped Movement Disorder
Sensory processing differences describe how a child takes in and reacts to the world — sounds, textures, movement — sometimes too intensely, sometimes seeking more. Stereotyped Movement Disorder is a clinical term for repetitive, rhythmic, purposeless movements (flapping, rocking, head-banging) that begin early and can disrupt daily life or risk injury. The key difference: sensory differences are about how sensation is experienced, while stereotyped movements are about the repetitive motor pattern itself. The two can overlap, so a careful clinical assessment matters.
Read the answer AnswerSensory Processing Differences vs Tourette Syndrome in young children
Sensory Processing Differences describe how a child receives and responds to everyday sensations — sounds, textures, light, movement — often with a clear trigger that eases when the environment is adjusted. Tourette Syndrome is a neurological condition defined by tics: involuntary, repeated movements and vocal sounds lasting over a year, appearing without an obvious sensory trigger and waxing and waning over time. Sensory differences are about how the world feels; tics are movements and sounds the body produces on its own. The two can co-occur, so careful in-person observation by a clinician matters most.
Read the answer AnswerSensory Processing Differences vs Visual Impairment
Sensory processing differences describe how a child's brain receives, organises and responds to information from all the senses; visual impairment is a difference in the eyes or visual pathway that reduces how clearly a child sees. With visual impairment the eyes carry less information, while with sensory processing differences the eyes work but the brain reads and reacts to sensation differently. The two can look similar in young children and can overlap, so an eye examination and a developmental review answer different, complementary questions.
Read the answer AnswerICD-11 Classification for Auditory Processing Difficulties
ICD-11 has no dedicated standalone code for Auditory Processing Disorder; it is a functional descriptor coded through the Diseases of the auditory system chapter when pathology is present, supplemented by ICF functioning descriptors. Classification rests on the audiological and developmental profile, not the label alone.
Read the answer AnswerICD-11 Classification of Hearing Impairment
In ICD-11, hearing impairment sits in Chapter 08 (Diseases of the ear and mastoid process) under the hearing impairment and deafness block, principally AB50 (conductive, sensorineural or mixed) and AB51. Type, laterality and WHO severity grades are specified; functional impact is captured via the ICF.
Read the answer AnswerICD-11 Classification for Sensory-Based Feeding Selectivity
Sensory-Based Feeding Selectivity is not a discrete ICD-11 entity. When sensory-driven food refusal causes nutritional deficiency, faltering growth, supplement dependence or psychosocial impairment, it is coded under ICD-11-MMS 6B83 Avoidant-restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID). Developmentally typical picky eating without these consequences does not meet the threshold.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is the ICD-11 classification for Sensory Processing Differences?
ICD-11 has no standalone code for Sensory Processing Differences. Sensory reactivity is documented as an associated feature of recognised conditions — notably autism spectrum disorder (6A02) — with functional impact described via the WHO ICF framework rather than a dedicated diagnostic code.
Read the answer AnswerICD-11 Classification for Visual Impairment (9D90)
In ICD-11-MMS, Visual Impairment is classified at 9D90 within the visual system chapter. It is a functioning-based category grading reduced acuity and visual field loss — mild, moderate, severe and blindness — applied to the better eye with best correction, and paired separately with the underlying aetiological diagnosis.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is the Sensory area of child development?
The sensory area of child development is how a child takes in and responds to information from their senses — sight, hearing, touch, taste, smell, plus balance and body-awareness. In the WHO ICF framework it sits under sensory functions (b2). It is a foundation for settling, attending, playing and learning. Children vary in how they seek or avoid sensory input, and gentle, playful support — and a review when daily life is affected — helps a child feel comfortable and capable.
Read the answer AnswerSNOMED CT Concept for Auditory Processing Difficulties
"Auditory processing difficulties" maps in SNOMED CT to the disorder concept Central auditory processing disorder (CAPD). Always confirm the current SCTID and preferred term against a live SNOMED CT International Edition release, and map alongside the relevant WHO ICD-11 entity for classification — SNOMED for clinical recording, ICD for morbidity coding.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is the SNOMED CT concept for Hearing Impairment?
In SNOMED CT, hearing impairment is the concept Hearing impairment (disorder), identifier 15188001 — a finding/disorder-axis term subsuming graded, sensorineural, conductive and mixed hearing loss. It maps to the WHO ICD-11 ear-disorder block for statistical reporting, preserving degree, type and laterality qualifiers for interoperable records.
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