BellaOnline Forums Family Special Needs Children Sensory Discomfort in Children

Does your child seem uncomfortable during everyday activities and misbehave or react strongly in certain situations? He or she may have sensory defensiveness, sensory integration difficulties, and/or tactile defensiveness.

When children develop or experience these sensitivities, they respond and communicate their discomfort in ways that may leave their families wondering what in the world is going on.

It can be especially difficult to identify and understand the difficulties of very young children who have brief episodes of neurological immaturity, and children of any age who have long term sensory defensiveness issues along with communication challenges. What would they say if they had the words?

Family members who are sensitive to children's discomfort may be criticized for 'spoiling' or 'coddling' children who do suffer from a serious condition with what may be a wide array of sensitivities. If you have a feeling that something extra is going on in your child's experience of the world, trust your instincts. There are ways to help, and children with these difficulties deserve all our best efforts.

Medical and educational professionals and support staff may be as unfamiliar with the accommodations and support that benefit our darling children with this condition as extended family, neighbors and friends. Be patient with them and provide information. Chances are you will be helping many more children who have similar needs for understanding and intervention.

If you have a child who has sensory discomfort issues, please share your stories, resources and/or experiences with other families. Your advocacy could save many children from torment and frustration.

Pam W
SE of Seattle

How Uncomfortable is Your Child?
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art960.asp

It took a long time to realize that one of Michael's symptoms of his Asperger's was a sensory overload - especially his hearing.

He could not take the sound of the vacuum cleaner and would go into hysterics whenever I tried to clean, whereas most babies are soother by the "white noise". He also hated the dryer, and the buzz at the end would cause a meltdown. But the thing that would cause the most problems in our house were when he used the restroom. When he flushed the toilet, he would have to run out of the bathroom 90 miles an hour with his hands over his ears.

I feel horrible looking back on this time, because since we didn't know what was going on, we teased him about this, thinking it would make him get over it. Hoping it would show him how "silly" he was being. Now that I know what the real problem is i look back at the teasing with a lot of shame ad guilt. <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

I still cut out the tags on all our clothing, and have always done mine. I cannot tolerate them as they itch my skin and irritate my eczema.

My son has a sensory diet written into his IEP. He gets breaks to do a lap in the classroom. The OT put some tap on a section of the floor and they add some books to his backpack and he wears it to do walks.

They also do laps in the morning around the playground, good for all kids. I told the teacher they should do it before circle time instead of afterwards.

Oh! Isn't that always the way!

But as Oprah often reminds us, when we learned better, we did better. Something like that!

And after all, shouldn't we be glad that we noticed and remarked on early symptoms, and used humor and a comfortable family acceptance of those idiosyncracies when our children communicated their differences before they were diagnosed?

What else would we have done? Thrown up our hands and said "Omigosh! No one else in the family has any little quirks, what is this kiddo doing?!?"

Every child does funny, odd, and often charming things that only add up to a diagnosis if they persist, or increase, or cause enough difficulty for the child, or cause great enough concern in parents or other adults.

Chances are, most people in our families have little quirks that only make them unique. Of course we don't want our children to suffer, but it might be better for them and us if our first response to unusual behavior displays humor rather than drama.

When my son was very young, he had a dentist who was very serious telling mothers the horrible effects of poor dental hygiene. I remembered his face, his tone, and his words every time I helped my son brush his teeth - already an ordeal.

One day I looked up and saw my expression in the mirror, what my son saw as I used the mirror to look at him. I looked angry, or at least worried.

From then on, I decided to smile during toothbrushing time. Of course my son responded immediately. He relaxed, and within a few weeks wanted to take a turn himself with the toothbrush.

For him, toothbrushing was an ordeal because his mom looked like Attila the Hun. I thought it was because of sensory defensiveness. I was extra patient, gentle and understanding because I thought he was suffering. Sometimes the simplest observations make all the difference. It's a good thing I looked into that mirror.

I know that words can't undo the mom guilt and shame we feel when we find out stuff we didn't know and want to go back and be perfect, or at least what we feel is adequate.

But we probably should let that go, because we will make more mistakes in the future, and that guilt shelf expands when greater capacity is needed. We might need to hold a yard sale and just clear up room on the shelf we have.

I may have built on an addition to store all that stuff, myself. When I read another mom's terrible confession, a dozen very similar memories come to the forefront from my guilt room. Suite. Wing.

Pam W
SE of Seattle

I love to hear about accommodations and supports that we introduce to our children's classrooms that also benefit their classmates.

The Disability Solutions Winter 2005 newsletter article [url=BellaOnline ALERT: For anti-spam reasons, we restrict the number of URLs allowed in a given post. You have exceeded our maximum number of URLs.

Dear Pam, Cathy Haarstad and others at Bella On Line:
I am writing to congratulate you on your fantastic article about Tactile Defensiveness. I have never taken the time to figure out how to post on line before because I am so swamped by emails. But how could I not take the time when your article was so useful to the parents I see in my Center? Tactile defensiveness falls into a larger area, which we at the KID Foundation call Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD). I have been researching and treating children (and adults) with SPD for 30 years, and advocating for the inclusion of this diagnosis in the new DSM-V and the new ICD.

In all my years, this is one of the most informative articles I have ever seen, and I just wanted to send along a great "GOOD JOB" and "THANKS" to the authors.

Dr. Lucy Jane Miller
www.KIDFoundation.org

[color:"purple"] [/color]

[quote]Dear Pam, Cathy Haarstad and others at Bella On Line:
I am writing to congratulate you on your fantastic article about Tactile Defensiveness.

I have never taken the time to figure out how to post on line before because I am so swamped by emails. But how could I not take the time when your article was so useful to the parents I see in my Center?

Tactile defensiveness falls into a larger area, which we at the KID Foundation call Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD). I have been researching and treating children (and adults) with SPD for 30 years, and advocating for the inclusion of this diagnosis in the new DSM-V and the new ICD.

In all my years, this is one of the most informative articles I have ever seen, and I just wanted to send along a great "GOOD JOB" and "THANKS" to the authors.

Dr. Lucy Jane Miller
[url=BellaOnline ALERT: For anti-spam reasons, we restrict the number of URLs allowed in a given post. You have exceeded our maximum number of URLs.

My son has a disorder called Angelman Syndrome and is severely mentally and physically affected. However, he has overcome his tactile defensiveness after many years of reacting very poorly (pulling back, avoiding, fearing) to hard or cold objects, including toys such as keyboards and noisy plastic toys, which he loves and I once had to wrap in fabric (!). From birth until about 3 years, life was difficult and he avoided all but the softest of textures. Feeding was also difficult because of texture.

I just wanted to offer encouragement to anyone with a young child with severe sensory challenges. I heard so little about this until my child was about five, and then I began to introduce stimuli in a limited quantity, a very quiet and relaxed environment. The response was great and I got to see my kiddo experience a new kind of joy.

<img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I was wondering if anyone has read the new book by Fernette and Brock Eide?

[url=BellaOnline ALERT: For anti-spam reasons, we restrict the number of URLs allowed in a given post. You have exceeded our maximum number of URLs.

Seasonal transitions, new clothes and schedules can be upsetting for children with special needs, especially those who have sensory issues, learning disabilities, or chronic health conditions.

Children are not alone in finding the Fall and Winter months uncomfortable and stressful. Planning places and times for respite and relaxation can benefit the whole family.

Remember to take time for yourself, and be a good role model for enjoying life and carrying on during difficult times by being kind and generous to yourself and your loved ones. There will be wonderful times as well as difficult days, and I hope you take the time to enjoy everything that gives you calm and peace as well as hilarity.

Pam W
SE of Seattle

Autumn and Winter Challenges for Children with Special Needs
[url=BellaOnline ALERT: For anti-spam reasons, we restrict the number of URLs allowed in a given post. You have exceeded our maximum number of URLs.