Sensory Processing & Coordination Difficulties
Some children find movement harder than their peers: they are clumsy, avoid the playground, struggle with balance, tire quickly, or seem uncomfortable with certain movements and textures. At Modern Physio we focus on understanding the root-cause of your problem & personalizing your treatment for lasting results.
Understanding Sensory Processing & Coordination Difficulties
Some children find movement harder than their peers: they are clumsy, avoid the playground, struggle with balance, tire quickly, or seem uncomfortable with certain movements and textures. This can occur on its own — as a motor coordination difficulty — or alongside sensory processing differences, including in autistic children. It is important to be clear about what physiotherapy is doing here. **It does not treat autism, and it is not a therapy for a diagnosis.** It works on motor skills, balance, strength and confidence, so that a child can join in with what other children are doing. That is the whole of the claim.
Common Symptoms
- Appearing clumsy, or bumping into things and falling more than peers
- Difficulty with balance and single-leg activities
- Avoiding playground equipment, climbing or ball games
- Difficulty learning new motor skills like cycling or catching
- Tiring quickly during physical activity
- Discomfort with certain movements, such as swinging or being upside down
- Seeking constant movement, or avoiding it markedly
- Poor sitting posture and low endurance at a desk
How Common Is It?
Coordination difficulties are a common reason for paediatric referral, and often only become apparent when a child starts school and is compared with peers. They frequently coexist with sensory processing differences.
Causes & Risk Factors
- Differences in how the brain processes balance and body-position information
- Motor coordination difficulties occurring on their own
- Co-occurring with autism or ADHD in some children
- Reduced practice, since children avoid what they find difficult, which widens the gap
- Low muscle tone or reduced core endurance
- Prematurity in some children
Our Diagnosis Process
- History from parents and, where relevant, from school about what the child finds difficult
- Assessment of balance, coordination, strength and core endurance
- Observation of the specific activities the child struggles with
- Discussion of which movements or sensations the child avoids or seeks
- Identifying goals that matter to the child — riding a bicycle, joining a game, managing a school day
- Referral to occupational therapy, paediatrics or psychology where the picture extends beyond motor skills
Our Treatment Approach
- Motor skill practice broken into achievable steps, so the child experiences success rather than repeated failure
- Core strength and endurance work, usually through play
- Balance and coordination activities graded to the child's level
- Gradual exposure to movements the child finds uncomfortable, at their pace
- Building confidence and willingness to participate, which is often the real barrier
- Practical advice for parents and school on activity and seating
Recovery & Prevention Tips
- Break skills into small steps and celebrate each one — avoidance is usually built on repeated failure
- Practise briefly and often rather than in long sessions
- Choose activities the child enjoys; motivation does more than any specific exercise
- Tell school what helps, so the same approach continues there
- Expect uneven progress; confidence and skill do not improve at the same rate
Products That Can Help
Supports and equipment we fit at the clinic that patients with this condition commonly use alongside treatment — never instead of it.
Evidence & Sources
Autism is a lifelong developmental difference rather than an illness to be treated, and support should be tailored to the individual.
NHS — AutismFrequently Asked Questions
Does physiotherapy treat autism?
No, and it is important to be clear about that. Physiotherapy addresses motor skills, balance, strength and confidence in movement. Where an autistic child has coordination difficulties, those can be worked on — but that is motor support, not a treatment for autism, and any clinic framing it otherwise is overselling.
My child is just clumsy. Is that worth assessing?
It can be. Clumsiness that limits participation, causes avoidance of play, or affects confidence at school responds well to structured motor practice. Assessment also identifies the smaller number of children with an underlying cause.
How is this different from occupational therapy?
There is overlap. Physiotherapy tends to focus on gross motor skills — balance, strength, whole-body coordination — while occupational therapy focuses more on fine motor skills, daily living and sensory strategies. Many children benefit from both, and referral is made where appropriate.
Will my child catch up with their peers?
Many children improve substantially with practice. Honest goal-setting focuses on participation — being able to join in — rather than on matching an average, which is a more useful and more achievable target.
How long does it take?
Motor learning takes time and repetition. Programmes usually run over months with home practice between sessions, and progress is reviewed against the goals you set at the start.
Medically Reviewed
This content was reviewed for medical accuracy by Dr. Surabhi Bansal, BPT, MPT (Ortho) with 14+ years of clinical experience.
At Modern Physio, all medical content undergoes a thorough review process to ensure accuracy and alignment with current physiotherapy standards. Our content is created to educate and should not replace professional medical advice. Learn more about our review process.
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