Sensory Integration
Problems





From an early age, our son fussed about how his shoes felt. They were too

hard. They were laced too tight. They were not laced tight enough. They

were too big. They were too little. If we walked into a busy, noisy mall or

restaurant, he would freak out, bouncing "off the walls", so to speak. He

would become terribly agitated, angry, and uncontrollable. To all

appearances, this was just another demonstration of willful disobedience.



We all came to dread the shopping-for-school-clothes day. I dreamed of

being able to wear an umpire's vest and mask into the dressing room. Jeans

had to be tried on, as invariably they never felt "right". We went through

the entire kid's section trying to find the "right" pair. Taking clothes to

try on at home was not an option, as we would have needed a moving van.

Invariably, we ended up with an angry, agitated, miserable kid. Solutions

were hit or miss, trial and error.



We learned to watch for a pattern of irritable behaviors. We tried to

identify the triggers. We learned to avoid malls at busy times of the year,

after he finally screamed out, "I can't stand the noise." If we walked into

a noisy restaurant and our son headed for the door, we knew that the noise

was actually painful to our son's ears.



Then help arrived in the form of Dockers, and Velcro closures on shoes. We

marveled at the relief our son showed at such simple inventions. Only much

later did I learn about sensory integration disorder.



Many children are irritated by labels in clothing, by overheating, by

feeling too cold, or by certain fabrics. Some children simply cannot handle

any kind of layered clothing. Others may be bothered by certain scents or

any scent at all. Hot may feel cold. Cold may feel hot. A child may go for

a long time without eating, then suddenly be frantic for food. Sometimes

their systems seem to only identify what appear to be extremes.



One of our daughters, has had a lifetime aversion to bright lights. Being

what I considered a responsible parent, I would fuss about how she was

damaging her eye sight if she did not read by a bright light. Now I

understand more damage would have been done if she had followed my advice.

Also, all her life she has had an extreme sensitivity to loud noise. She

has to have the TV or radio on at as low a volume as possible. A radio five

blocks away that no one else really hears causes her distress.



Such sensitivities need to be identified and accommodations made to minimize

their impact. The only real way to do that is to partner with your child,

be sensitive to such sensory issues, identify them through dialogue, and

reduce their impact as much as possible. Just showing your child you care

by inviting such discussion can relieve some of the irritability. For your

child is looking to you for support and help.



If your child has an IEP, consider listing any sensory issues. Compare what

goes on at home with any comparable problem at school. For instance, a

child who becomes overheated while running the home vacuum cleaner may

demonstrate behavior at school resulting from becoming overheated during

gym. Look for the links. Consider asking for accommodations you believe

would reduce the negative impact. Discussing and partnering to identify

sensory problems can make life simpler both at home and at school.



Whether a child has sensory integration disorder, or whether such problems

are part of ADHD, Asperger's Syndrome, autism, or other disorders, is best

left to the experts. But for parents, the important thing is to recognize

such sensitivities are real, are to be respected, and accommodations made

both at home and at school to reduce their impact.



These sensitivities are not necessarily outgrown. They can be with a person

throughout the life span. Our daughter, now grown with her own family, still

lives with dimmed lights, and suffers from heightened sound sensitivity. Our

son totally avoids certain restaurants, and avoids malls. We respect and

accommodate their unique sensory needs.



Judy Bonnell