Sensory sensitivity often results in emotional sensitivity and sensory aversion. How could it not? They quickly learn that they get overwhelmed in situations that others do not. They don’t know how to handle being overwhelmed, and the adults around them might not know how to help them. Better to just avoid anything they don’t already find comfortable. And even then, they could be so jacked up that some of their comfortable choices can be too much on a particular day. Daily life is a series of minefields that they expect and some they never see coming.
When this is true, their default response to everything is…”NO!” They are the fire department, sans firefighting tools. All they have is a uniform and a megaphone:
Want to try a new food? “NO!”
Want to go somewhere new? “NO!”
Want to get new clothes, or put on a new type of clothes? “NO!”
This makes complete sense: Bombarded by everyday things and events that trigger a subconscious defensive response (it comes mostly from a midbrain response, not a hippocampal one, BTW!), they aren’t eager to see how triggered they’ll be with something new. Why would they be? I asked one of my clients if he liked the activity we did in our session. He agreed that he liked it. I then asked him if he’d like to do it again. He said…no! And that makes complete sense to me. He isn’t sure that the success was a one-off, and he is hedging his bets. We will almost certainly repeat that activity, and I will be sure to find something visible that is different about his performance that I can tie into this activity to help him see how well it worked for him. And he has only mild sensitivity and modulation issues. Enough to make life harder, but not hard enough to need an intense daily sensory diet.
What can be done?
Well, naming and explaining these responses helps some kids. There is a caveat. You have to be careful not to make their issue a get-out-of-jail-free card. They need help, not an exemption from things they would rather not do. Teaching sensory strategies they can use in the moment and after being triggered helps. And some kids really do need a daily sensory diet that has some “teeth”. This means that fidget toys are pea shooters, and Astronaut Training activities can help them for hours as well as making lasting changes. I am a big fan of using Quickshifts auditory treatments ( Quickshifts: A Simple, Successful, and Easy to Use Treatment For Regulation, Attention, and Postural Activation ) because they have few risks, are portable and relatively short, and can be chosen to support calming but also focusing.
Want more assistance to support a sensitive child?
Contact me!
Go to the menu above and send me a message. I can do a consult to help you form a plan, know how to ask for what you want from your child’s current therapist, or find one that can work well with your child. It is time to get your ducks in a row!
