Sensory Processing in Adults: Signs and What an OT Assessment Involves

What sensory processing means

Your senses take in information all day: sound, light, touch, taste, smell, movement and body position. Sensory processing is how your brain sorts and responds to it. Most people filter out the background without noticing. For some adults the filter works differently, so everyday sensations are too intense, too faint or hard to ignore. This is a difference in how a person experiences the world. It is not a diagnosis on its own, and it often sits alongside autism, ADHD, anxiety, brain injury or chronic pain.

Common signs in adults

• Being overwhelmed by noise, bright lights, strong smells or busy places such as shopping centres
• Being bothered by clothing labels, seams, certain fabrics or being touched unexpectedly
• Strong food preferences based on texture, temperature or smell
• Needing to move, fidget, chew or seek strong pressure to stay focused or calm
• Missing cues such as hunger, thirst, pain or needing the toilet
• Feeling exhausted after social or sensory-heavy days, or needing long recovery time
• Clumsiness, bumping into things or difficulty judging how hard to press or grip

The four sensory patterns

Occupational therapists often use the Adolescent/Adult Sensory Profile, which sorts responses into four patterns. Most people show a mix.

What happens in an OT sensory assessment

1. A conversation about your day. Your OT asks what is hard, what helps and which environments drain you.
2. A standardised questionnaire. You complete the Adolescent/Adult Sensory Profile, which is scored against typical responses.
3. Observation at home. Because we visit you, the OT can see your actual routines, lighting, noise and layout.
4. Other tools as needed. This might include a task-based assessment of daily living skills or a measure of how sensory differences affect participation.
5. A practical plan. You receive clear recommendations you can use straight away.

Read more about our sensory assessments for adults and children.

What a sensory plan can include

• Changes to lighting, noise and clutter at home and at work
• Tools such as noise-reducing earplugs, tinted lenses, weighted items or fidget aids, where they genuinely help
• Routines that build in movement and recovery time
• Strategies for shopping, public transport and social events
• Ways to explain your needs to employers, family and support workers

Funding

For NDIS participants, a sensory assessment is usually funded from Capacity Building – Improved Daily Living Skills when it links to your goals. If you are applying for the NDIS, the evidence in a sensory assessment can also form part of a functional capacity assessment. Under the NDIS, occupational therapy is usually funded from Capacity Building – Improved Daily Living Skills (Category 15). Equipment is funded from Capital – Assistive Technology (Category 05) and home modifications from Capital – Home Modifications (Category 06). Self-funded OT is limited to functional capacity assessments for people applying for the NDIS.

Evidence referenced in this article

• Occupational Therapy Australia.
• National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA): information for participants and providers.

Written by the Exercare allied health team. This article is general information only and is not a substitute for individual medical advice. Exercare provides mobile exercise physiology and NDIS occupational therapy across south-east and eastern Melbourne.

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