Does this sound like some kind of sensory issue, or is my daughter just quirky?

[Nakia]

My middle daughter (almost 6) does some of the weirdest things. She smells EVERYTHING!! It's like she is obsessed with smells. But the things she smells the most are her fingers. She will pet the dog or cat, then smell her fingers. If she is coloring with markers, she constantly smells her fingers. Today she was helping me clean with vinegar and water, and she kept smelling her fingers. If I am in the front of the van and open a stick of gum, she will say right away "I smell gum." I am sure she has a super sense of smell, but I'm wondering if it is something more. Oh, and she is my worst eater, and often I think it is because of certain smells.

 

She is healthy otherwise, has only been on antibiotics once in her life, and is a very happy and bright child. She is very loving, but very shy and timid around people she is 100% comfortable with. For example, at her birthday party yesterday, she had to think long and hard about opening her presents. She studied everybody for a while, almost to make sure she trusted everyone. And that was only immediate family.

 

Some of you may remember me posting last year about her crying hysterically at swimming lessons. She was excited until she got there and realized I wouldn't be going in the water with her. She balked. She did the same thing at t-ball. Then she started crying about going to dance class after going for two years for no reason except that she just couldn't do it anymore, so I didn't make her. So no activities for her right now, which I am perfectly fine with. That's really the only other personality quirk that I've noticed.

 

So anyway, do you all think this smelling thing is something more than just a quirk? The finger smelling has been going on for about six months, but I've noticed her super sense of smell for a really long time. TIA!

 

 

ETA: I just remembered something else. Emma has always been the slowest-moving little creature ever. She is the last to ever get ready to go, brush her teeth, or anything else. Part of it is that she just has one speed, and part of it is that she gets easily distracted. I'm not sure if it has a thing in the world to do with the other stuff, but I thought I'd throw it out there.

Edited March 16, 2009 by Nakia

[Miss Sherry]

I think it would be a good idea to post this question on the Parents Forum Special Needs board here. :001_smile:

[Nakia]

Thank you! I just did that.

[Karen sn]

I'm a smeller.

I have a strong sense of smell and I sniff things regularly.

Not as often as your kid - but frequently I find myself doing this.

I think some people are visual, some people are nasal.

I'd be interested to hear what the special board thinks.

[FourOaks]

I am a smeller also! I do the finger-smell thing myself, although possibly not as pronounced as your daughter. I really hated a lot of foods when I was younger and I think it might have been due to my strong sense of smell. I was forced to clean a boat growing up with straight vinegar and I would gag each and every time -- nearly vomitting. Now I am better with it and can tolerate it and love so many more foods. I feel like I am losing a lot of my sense of smell as I get older (40). Interesting to note, I LOVE the smell of skunk! I truly believe my olfactory sense is messed up a bit. I'm sure this didn't help, but wanted to let you know that I don't think your daughter is CRAZY.

[Nakia]

I am a smeller also! I do the finger-smell thing myself, although possibly not as pronounced as your daughter. I really hated a lot of foods when I was younger and I think it might have been due to my strong sense of smell. I was forced to clean a boat growing up with straight vinegar and I would gag each and every time -- nearly vomitting. Now I am better with it and can tolerate it and love so many more foods. I feel like I am losing a lot of my sense of smell as I get older (40). Interesting to note, I LOVE the smell of skunk! I truly believe my olfactory sense is messed up a bit. I'm sure this didn't help, but wanted to let you know that I don't think your daughter is CRAZY.

 

SKUNK??? Seriously? That's a smell I've never heard anyone admire. :D

 

No, I don't think she's crazy either. I just want to know if I should be more concerned or not. She is a great little person!!

[Parrothead]

... I LOVE the smell of skunk! I truly believe my olfactory sense is messed up a bit. I'm sure this didn't help, but wanted to let you know that I don't think your daughter is CRAZY.

I like the smell of skunk from a distance. It smells like ripe lemons to me. Now up close and personal, Yick!

[LaxMom]

I'm a smeller.

I have a strong sense of smell and I sniff things regularly.

Not as often as your kid - but frequently I find myself doing this.

I think some people are visual, some people are nasal.

I'd be interested to hear what the special board thinks.

 

Yup, me too. And I like the smell of skunk, as Parrothead said, at a distance. And I'm also very visual, with a photographic memory.

 

The only weird effects I've ever experienced is scent-triggered migraines. Anything that tends to fill a room - certain perfumes, bleach, flea dip - used to trigger them. I haven't had a migraine in a number of years now, but I do make my husband (who does not posses the Bat Nose) go around looking for the source of the burning wood smell fairly regularly. Nightly, in fact, when there were rampaging brush fires a few states away last summer. (In my defense, DC was apparently inundated with people calling 911 to report fires then, too, so I wasn't the only one.)

 

No special needs, though, other than being a little high-maintenance in the sniffing department. :D

[Alphabetika]

I'm still a sniffer. It's sort of a compulsion for me, but I don't think it interferes with my life. Well, not so far. :tongue_smilie: