Sensitivity Question

[ReadingMama1214]

After reading about overexcitabilitirs and sensitivity, I do believe my 4yo has some overexcitabilities especially to clothing and worry. She also is a perfectionist.

 

Lately, she has been even more prone to meltdowns and extra sensitive. We are having at least one big meltdown a day that involves her crying and screaming over the things that bother her.

 

I am scheduling an appointment to possibly get her assessed. Someone mentioned giftedness, but I'm not convinced.

 

My question is in regards to developmental/skills leaps. Did your overexcitable/sensitive child seem even more sensitive e before a leap in ability or development? There's been no other changes lately. I have noticed that her perfectionism with drawing seems to peak before she has a huge jump in drawing ability and I wondered if something similar could be happening now to make her more sensitive and prone to melt downs. She doesn't have sensory processing disorder.

[Guest]

What you describe is sensory processing disorder. That can manifest in many ways. I suggest the book The Out of Sync Child.

The only things to do are to find out what is causing the sensitivities, etc. and eliminate it. Scratchy tags? Cut them out. Itchy sock seams? Turn them inside out. Too much stimulation? Cut back on electronics and busy/loud places.

All my kids are this way even though only one is classified as gifted. Giftedness manifests in any ways beside academic or such. An excellent book is You Know Your Child is Gifted When... My son found the book an absolute relief when he read it.

 

 

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[ReadingMama1214]

What you describe is sensory processing disorder. That can manifest in many ways. I suggest the book The Out of Sync Child.

The only things to do are to find out what is causing the sensitivities, etc. and eliminate it. Scratchy tags? Cut them out. Itchy sock seams? Turn them inside out. Too much stimulation? Cut back on electronics and busy/loud places.

All my kids are this way even though only one is classified as gifted. Giftedness manifests in any ways beside academic or such. An excellent book is You Know Your Child is Gifted When... My son found the book an absolute relief when he read it.

 

 

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She was evaluated for SPD and they stated that she doesn't have it. Her sensitivities aren't consistent. For example, the socks will be a huge issue for a few weeks and then be okay. Or she'll have issues with her car seat strap tightness for a few weeks and then be fine with it. I do have another consultation in a few weeks to discuss it again though.

[PagesandFields]

Read the book "Living With Intensity"... It changed my life forever and is never read... Also Elaine Aron's book... I fit the descriptions in both books pretty well... And from my perspective, if you are not "highly sensitive" you cannot truly understand what it feels like... I recommend both books all the time.. The first I mentioned was suggested to me by someone who worked in gifted and talented education for 35 years... Also reactions don't have to be consistent... It is a build up thing... If my son is in a peaceful environment something won't irritate him... But if his emotions or senses have already been excited or bothered, then the shirt, or noise, or sock, or feel of his hair on his forehead, or whatever, bothers him a ton...

 

ETA

Neither myself or my son has SPD... But it is the only familiar "term", "diagnosis", or whatever that parents, teachers, and often doctors understand that describes anything similar to highly sensitive?..

 

ETA

If you are open to it mindfulness and meditation have helped both of us enormously, and avoiding the key triggers... For me it is noise, for my son it is crowds...

Edited April 6, 2016 by PagesandFields

[mschickie]

The Highly Sensitive Child is also an excellent book   http://www.amazon.com/The-Highly-Sensitive-Child-Overwhelms/dp/0767908724

 

My daughter is a highly sensitive person.  I have not really noticed a connection between being extra sensitive before a developmental leap but that does not mean it was not there.  That also just maybe the way your daughter grows, which does make sense.  Changes either physically or mentally can be taxing on the body so that may be her way of processing it.

[ReadingMama1214]

The Highly Sensitive Child is also an excellent book http://www.amazon.com/The-Highly-Sensitive-Child-Overwhelms/dp/0767908724

 

My daughter is a highly sensitive person. I have not really noticed a connection between being extra sensitive before a developmental leap but that does not mean it was not there. That also just maybe the way your daughter grows, which does make sense. Changes either physically or mentally can be taxing on the body so that may be her way of processing it.

Thanks! I placed the book on hold from the library.

 

I will be interested to see if it is connected to a leap of some kind whether physical or intellectual. She's a perfectionist top and the last time her perfectionism was really bad was right before she had a huge leap in drawing ability and her work got more detailed. That was the first time I noticed any connection between an increase in perfectionism and sensitivity before a leap. Now I'll try to be more aware.

[Rosie_0801]

You might also look up retained primitive reflexes, because they can explain some of these behaviours.

 

If you aren't adverse to chiropractors, they can help with hyper-sensitivity too. 

[Dmmetler]

I have a kid who is similar, supposedly doesn't quite meet the diagnostic criteria for SPD, but it close enough that it becomes splitting hairs. As explained to me, the difference between a sensory sensitive GT kid like DD is that they process the information correctly, just take in too much of it. The recommendations are still the same-exposure, gradually to desensitize, limit exposure otherwise, and, basically, wait for the brain to grow up a bit. OT is recommended, but, of course, without a diagnosis other than gifted isn't covered by anything. Our pediatrician has gotten around this by referring us for "evaluation" for OT every time our insurance changes or she can justify it based on her exam. At this point, the OT just uses the couple of visits to evaluate what DD needs to work on most, gives some stuff to do at home, and see you in two years or so ;).

 

And yes, when she's growing rapidly, it's harder for her.

 

The single thing that helped most was gymnastics, not because she's good at it, but because working on the skills both helped feed her high sensory needs and helped her learn that some of the areas where she was over sensitive were areas she could control. It also helped her learn to control the anxiety that was coming We lucked out in that she was able to spend her first year with a gymnastics coach who was working on a master's in OT, and that summer, I sent DD to class every single day. It was still cheaper than private therapy.

 

At 11, she still does tumbling twice a week. She has never made it past the level 1-3 class, and may never do so. But it makes a big difference

[PagesandFields]

Developmental leaps often coincide with increased hunger, being easily tired, not sleeping well, all of which make sensitivities worse for my little one... So it is possible... We tried gymnastics, but they practiced cheer at he same time and the music was so loud it made my DS cry every time... "The out of synch child has fun" has some good exercises...

[camino]

4 was a hard time for my very sensitive child. I think, for him, it had to do with asynchronous development. He was developing so fast in some areas, not just intellectually but in his awareness of himself and the world, and not as much in others. He hadn't developed the emotional strategies to deal with how much, and how deeply he perceived everything. Also for him, sensory processing has always been very closely linked to anxiety. When his anxiety is lowered, he is much less sensitive, or over-reactive, to the physical environment.

[ReadingMama1214]

Developmental leaps often coincide with increased hunger, being easily tired, not sleeping well, all of which make sensitivities worse for my little one... So it is possible... We tried gymnastics, but they practiced cheer at he same time and the music was so loud it made my DS cry every time... "The out of synch child has fun" has some good exercises...

Thanks!

 

she does ballet and loves it. I'm thinking it would have some of the same benefits that gymnastics has. She didn't have it this week due to school break and she is begging for dance class! So hopefully that will help this week.

 

She's never really slept well. She still wakes up most nights regardless of what we try. And her appetite has been funny. She fluctuates between eating a good amount to not eating a lot at all.

[Dmmetler]

If gymnastics gyms are too loud, you may want to look for a dance studio that has a floor acro class. It would be much the same, but not have as much going on at once. Or look for a time of day where the gym is almost empty, like an afternoon homeschool class that is before the kids mostly get out of school, or the first slot in the afternoon rec block. We've found the 4:00 PM slot tends to be very quiet-the team girls are starting to get there and stretch, but the rec classes are very small-there is one girls level 1, one tumbling, and one preschool total at 4:00, while at 5, there are 2 level 1, 2 level 2, two level 3, a double-size tumbling class, preschool, toddler with parents, and four teams all practicing at once.

 

 

[amyc78]

My DS9 has always been a very sensitive child. He also does not have SPD or anything on the Autism Spectrum and is intellectually very gifted. He is a late bloomer physically and emotionally. Things have gotten so much better in the past couple of years and I think a lot of that has to do with general growth and maturity. So hang in there Mama! In the meantime, here are some things that helped us:

 

Lots of outside time, sunlight, fresh air, free creative play

Gymnastics and yoga- especially if it gets the kids upside down a lot, this actually helps the vestibular system

Cutting out dairy (except for raw), processed foods, food dyes and try to keep sugar low

Essential oils- peace & calming or similar blends

Decreasing screen time and other stimulating environments

 

I do think there is an increase in sensitivity around growth spurts, developmental leaps, etc. When he was a baby, we tracked the Wonder Weeks and his fussiness almost alway increased on schedule.