ADHD and sensory processing disorders: placing the diagnostic issues in context

Abstract

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and sensory processing disorders are behaviorally defined conditions that often co-occur, while both diagnoses have been controversial in part due to the constraints of categorical behavioral diagnosis. However, neuroanatomic studies using neuropsychological tests as "probes" have clearly demonstrated that the various symptoms of ADHD are the result of abnormalities in large-scale brain networks. Sensory processing disorders have not yet been grounded within a neuroanatomical substrate. This article reviews sensory processing disorder as a categorically based diagnosis. It discusses certain possible neuroanatomical relationships between the symptoms of ADHD and sensory processing disorders, and suggests that the symptoms of sensory processing disorders be studied within the dimensional framework of research domain criteria.