Sensory Processing Assessment in the UK: How to Get One and What It Shows

When a child covers their ears in the school corridor, has meltdowns triggered by scratchy clothing, refuses to eat most foods due to texture, or constantly seeks physical input by bumping into things, parents are often told it's a behaviour problem. It is not. It is a sensory processing profile — and assessing it formally can unlock provision that makes the school environment liveable.

Sensory processing difficulties are not a standalone diagnosis in the UK clinical classification systems. But they are highly prevalent in autistic children, children with ADHD, those with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD/Dyspraxia), and some children without any current diagnosis. Regardless of diagnostic label, a formal sensory processing assessment can provide the evidence base to demand specific environmental and curriculum adjustments from a school.

What Sensory Processing Assessment Involves

Sensory processing is typically assessed by an Occupational Therapist, though some clinical psychologists and specialist CAMHS services also include sensory components in their assessments.

The gold-standard tool in UK school-based practice is the Sensory Profile 2 (Dunn, 2014). It is a questionnaire-based assessment completed by parents and teachers separately, measuring the child's sensory response patterns across multiple sensory systems:

• Auditory processing — how the child responds to sound, including background noise, sudden loud sounds, and ambient classroom noise
• Visual processing — sensitivity to light, visual clutter, fluorescent lighting
• Tactile processing — reactions to touch, clothing textures, food textures, incidental physical contact
• Vestibular processing — balance and movement-related responses; some children are under-responsive (constant motion-seeking) while others are over-responsive (terrified of swings or uneven surfaces)
• Proprioceptive processing — the body's awareness of its own position in space; children with proprioceptive differences often seek deep pressure and heavy work

The Sensory Profile 2 places the child in one of four processing patterns across each domain:

• Registration (low sensitivity, under-responsive)
• Seeking (actively seeks sensory input)
• Sensitivity (high sensitivity, over-responsive)
• Avoiding (actively avoids sensory input)

Scores are given as typical, more than others, or much more than others relative to age norms. A child who scores "much more than others" in auditory avoidance and tactile sensitivity, for example, has a documented profile that directly informs what environmental adjustments the school should be making.

Some specialist OTs also assess using the Sensory Integration and Praxis Tests (SIPT) or Assessment of Motor and Process Skills (AMPS) for more complex presentations, but these are less commonly used in school-based contexts.

How to Request a Sensory Assessment

Sensory processing assessment can be requested through several routes:

Via the school's SENCO: Ask the SENCO to refer your child to the NHS community paediatric OT service for a sensory processing assessment. Be specific: name the Sensory Profile 2 by name and ask that both school and parent versions are completed.

As part of an EHC Needs Assessment: When a statutory EHCP assessment is requested and sensory needs are part of the picture, the LA must commission OT advice. Your request letter should specifically mention sensory processing difficulties and ask that the OT assessment include the Sensory Profile 2.

Via your GP: A GP referral to community paediatric OT or to a neurodevelopmental assessment team can trigger a sensory assessment, particularly if the child is also being assessed for autism or ADHD.

Private OT: A private sensory processing assessment from a specialist OT typically costs £200–£450. Ensure the OT is HCPC-registered and has specialist paediatric and sensory integration training.

The UK Assessment & Evaluation Guide covers sensory assessment in the context of the wider EHCP assessment process, including how to use a Sensory Profile 2 report to specify environmental provisions in Section F that the school cannot simply ignore.

Using Assessment Results to Demand School Provision

A sensory processing assessment report is only useful if you know how to deploy it. The objective is to translate the assessment findings into specific, documented provisions in the EHCP (or SEN Support Plan at school level).

Common provisions that flow from sensory assessment evidence include:

Environmental modifications:

• Seating position away from fluorescent lights or the classroom door
• Access to ear defenders during transitions, assemblies, and exams
• Reduced visual clutter in the classroom environment
• Quieter spaces available during unstructured time

Sensory diet: A structured programme of sensory-regulatory activities embedded into the school day, designed by the OT and implemented by school staff. May include movement breaks, deep pressure activities before demanding cognitive tasks, or specific proprioceptive activities to help the child self-regulate.

Curriculum adaptations:

• Alternatives to food-based craft activities
• Modifications to PE changing-room procedures
• Adjustments to uniform requirements (a letter from the OT supporting a request to modify uniform components is powerful)

These provisions should be listed in Section F of the EHCP as specific commitments, not vague aspirations. If the EHCP says "school should be sensitive to sensory needs" without specifying what that means in practice, it is not enforceable.

Sensory Processing and Diagnosis

It is important to clarify that sensory processing difficulties are not a standalone diagnosis in the ICD-11 or DSM-5. Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) is not a recognised diagnostic category in UK clinical practice, which means you cannot be told your child "has SPD" by an NHS clinician.

However, sensory processing difficulties are recognised as a feature of autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, DCD/Dyspraxia, and several other conditions. An OT report documenting significant sensory processing differences carries educational validity regardless of whether a standalone sensory diagnosis exists. The SEND Code of Practice does not require a diagnosis — it requires evidence of educational need.

Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland

In Wales, sensory processing needs would be reflected in both the education and health sections of an IDP. The school ALNCo and the DECLO work together to specify appropriate provision.

In Scotland, sensory needs affecting learning fall within ASN. For children with complex sensory profiles who require multi-agency support, a Co-ordinated Support Plan may include specific OT/sensory provisions.

In Northern Ireland, the EA's statutory assessment will commission OT advice if sensory needs are part of the referral. Sensory processing provisions specified in a Statement are legally binding.

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