Children can have difficulty processing stimuli. A child can then be oversensitive to stimuli or undersensitive (understimulation) to stimuli. With understimulation, few stimuli enter a child. In order to activate our brain, we need stimuli. If few stimuli enter, our brain is less (well) activated. Fortunately, understimulation in a child is easy to recognize and also to prevent.

This article explains what understimulation is, how to recognize it in a child and how to prevent understimulation with useful practical tips.

What is understimulation?

With understimulation, a child is undersensitive to stimuli, which means they cannot properly process certain information that comes in through the senses. Think of perceiving changes in gravity, are you hanging upside down, are you standing still or are you in a car? These are stimuli that are sent to your brain. With understimulation, these types of stimuli can be difficult for children to understand.

How do you notice understimulation?

Understimulation, also known as sensory understimulation, can manifest with various signs and symptoms. Some indications of understimulation are:

1. Listlessness and boredom: A general feeling of listlessness, with the individual having difficulty showing interest in activities.

2. Slow reactions and lack of alertness: Delayed reactions to stimuli and a lack of alertness to the environment.

3. Stimulation seeking: Actively seeking stimulating activities or stimuli to relieve boredom.

4. Problems with concentration: Having difficulty focusing on tasks due to a lack of sensory stimulation.

5. Restlessness and irritability: Restless or irritable behavior due to a lack of sufficient sensory stimuli.

How does understimulation work?

Understimulation occurs when a person does not experience enough sensory stimulation to maintain a sense of well-being and alertness. This can occur if the environment provides too little interesting stimuli or if the individual is unable to obtain sufficient variety in sensory experiences. It can lead to feelings of boredom, listlessness, and a desire for stimulation.

Is my child under-stimulated?

Determining whether a child is understimulated can be a complex process, as each child is unique and may respond differently to sensory input. Some signs that may indicate understimulation include:

1. Lack of Interest: The child seems to show little interest in activities and appears to become bored easily.

2. Stimulation Seeking: Actively seeking intense sensory input or stimulating activities.

3. Listlessness: A general feeling of listlessness and decreased energy.

4. Sluggish responses: Delayed responses to environmental stimuli, including slower motor responses.

5. Difficulty concentrating: Problems with concentration and attention, possibly due to a lack of sensory stimulation.

If you are concerned about the possibility of understimulation in your child, it may be helpful to talk to a pediatrician, occupational therapist, or specialized sensory processing professional. They can perform a detailed evaluation and recommend appropriate interventions to promote the child's well-being.

How do you recognize understimulation in a child?

With understimulation we see that children are less able to concentrate, have difficulty following a conversation, they often drift off and wander off. Signs of understimulation:

• clumsiness
• Doesn't notice if they have a runny nose or food on their cheek
• Difficulty getting out of bed
• High pain threshold
• Quickly drifts off when something is being said
• Does not notice when his/her bladder is full
• Sleeps through sounds
• Difficulty getting out of bed
• Withdraws from social interaction
• Often bumps into objects
• Is daydreaming a lot

With these signals, the child does not actively seek out stimuli, in which case understimulation is a problem. The child's brain is then not activated very much. A child who suffers from understimulation needs a lot of stimuli to 'wake up' their brain again. In the heading below you can read a few handy practical tips that can help prevent understimulation.

Prevent understimulation

You now know that an under-stimulated child needs a lot of stimuli to reactivate their brain. Here are some handy tips that can 'wake up' an under-stimulated child:

• Exercise is very important, make sure your child does a lot of sports or plays outside
• Activate the senses; listen to music, taste new flavors, smell new scents, do crafts or play with clay
• Challenge your child with brain games

In short, understimulation is only a problem if the child does not actively seek out stimuli. You can help an understimulated child with stimulating activities to 'wake them up' and to better perceive and understand their environment in the form of stimuli.