Try This Tuesday

So I've never actually DONE one of those weekly blog post things...but today's



really caught my interest :)

Sensory processing difficulties...they are a really fascinating aren't they?

well, annoying too.

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Oh, I was never actually diagnosed with Sensory Integration Disorder (SID), but I feel as if it is clearly a problem I deal with on a daily basis. - I've just had to learn how to deal with it (or at least try to).
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At 21, I still have some problems with processing different things. I posted awhile back about my "quirks" but I'll reiterate them for the sake of this post.

1. I cannot stand the feeling of woodend popsicle sticks/those wooden spoons they have for those ice cream cup things

- If I accidentally touch one of these it makes my whole body tense up. I get
like...all shivery inside and I clench my teeth really hard, bite my lip or
press my tounge against my teeth very hard. If I decide to EAT the popsicle
anyways (cause I really like 'em), I have to wrap the stick in a napkin at
the very least. My preference when I was younger was to wrap those rubber
jar opener things around the stick, cause that prevented me from even HEARING
the paper rub the stick. Sadly, I don't have one at school...oh and G-D help
me if my teeth/tounge actually touch the stick...blech. I can FEEL those
things as I write about them. yeesh.

2. Rough/cheap paint

- Roughly the same reaction as to the texture of the wooden spoon...I get really
tense and kind of want to throw up.

- My mom helped me move my stuff into my residence hall room this year, because
well I begged her to. Anyways, we got to my cell residence
hall room (I'm an RA) and I dropped her off with a load of stuff to start
organizing (hey, that's why she came!) and then I went about unloading the
cars(s) (yeah, I know...2 cars??) I came back up and was starting to set up
my desk and I leaned against the desk drawer which had been painted a nice
shade of blue and my whole.body.CRINGED. The paint was disgusting. Other
parts of the room were painted with "nice" paint...but this part, this part
I'd be touching ALL OF THE TIME. It was awful. I seriously almost cried.
My fingers were all bent up and it really just hurt me to touch it. I said
to my Mom...what am I supposed to do?? She suggested going to speak to
maintenance about repainting the rough spots, but I didn't want to do that.
What can I say, I'm really stubborn. So I have this roll of pink, plastic
tablecloth stuff (I don't know what it really is) and I proceeded to cut
strips off of it and - yeah, you guessed it - tape it to my desk drawer.

It took me 30 minutes to cover everything, it's not the most attractive thing, but...
I can sit at my desk without wanting to throwup. That's a plus, right?\

3. The feeling of chalk/chalkboards, the sound chalk makes on blackboards and on
the sidewalks... I swear. EEP.

- I hate even picking a piece of chalk up off the floor. When it is inevitable
that I HAVE to do something involving chalk, I wrap a tissue over it first,
but that doesn't help a whole ton because I can feel the tissue rubbing the
chalk

- Today in class we had to write down part's of our assignment from the week
before up on the board. I spent a good 5 minutes trying to find someone who
would write mine for me...but no one wanted to. I ended up using a tissue
and writing as fast as I could with as few chalk stroke as possible (I
especially hate making curving lines with chalk...) The result? I was the
last one up at the board by about 2 minutes, I wanted to
cry cause it felt so awful and you could barely read my writing (hell, *I*
could barely read my writing)

- During my last practicum they used a program called Handwriting
Without Tears and it was all I could do NOT to run far, far away when we were
assigned to work on HWOT by doing wet/dry tries on mini chalkboards.

Could this be a problem with my being a teacher? NO! Dag nabit...I will buy my own whiteboard if I have to. NO CHALKBOARDS FOR ME!!!!!

3. Texture of meat

- I hate it when meat is thick, the texture of it is just something that doesn't
feel right to me. I have really tried to grow out of what most people think
of as simply being picky, but it's hard!

- Generally, meat that is on the thin side and somewhat dry is the only kind I
can eat without feeling really...icky. My mom used to say to me if I
wouldn't eat something for dinner, "ok Jaimie, go get yourself a bowl of
cereal" She wouldn't force me to eat something I couldn't stand to look at,
let alone touch/chew it. For awhile she made me something separate to eat,
but then she decided I was old enough to do that myself.

4. Not sure if this counts - but bright lights at night while driving

- I used to literally hide my entire head under ANYTHING that was available if
we were driving at night because oncoming headlights felt like someone was
stabbing me in the eyes. I don't think it physically actually hurt me,
because as soon as the headlights had passed us, I was fine. Though sometimes
I'd have my head under a sweatshirt the whole ride home because I just
couldn't deal with the lights coming at me. Again, I don't know if this is a
sensory thing because I know other people's eye's hurt at night with bright
lights...but the way I've always reacted to them makes me think I'm just a bit
more sensitive to that kind of input.
Random thing's:

sandpapery-like things, how notebook paper feels sometimes, having excessively dry skin, having lotion on that is too greasy (it has to be just right!), light touches on my lower back - it makes me jump! I love massages...but for some reason my lower back is excrutiatingly sensitive) I don't like hot drinks/hot food.

I think that my ADHD may also come into play here because I am very easily distracted and I oftentimes get distracted by some random thing that most people don't notice. (music playing down the hallway while I'm talking to someone, people coughing/sneezing repeatedly, something itching, something poking, something bumpy (god help me if I have a pimple...)

It would seem that I get hit by the same senses as everyone else, but I have a much harder time tuning them out (this is a common theory with people who have SID, right?)

I know there are more, but I can't think of all of them and I am tired of writing ;)

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Anyways, how does this help anyone? I don't know that it will, but this topic is one that is of great interest to me so I wanted to answer the Try This Tuesday post!

Let me preface this section of suggestions by reminding anyone who might be reading this that I am NOT a parent, just simply a student going into special education. I may not be right, you may not agree (if anyone reads this, lol), but these are just my thoughts after 3 full years of studying to be a special education teacher.

You may already know about these, but here are some of my favorites:


There is almost always an alternative way of doing/making something to make life just a little bit less grating on your child/students nerves.

If it's textures - (like it is with me), ask your child what would make them feel better when they HAVE to be in an environment that is physically uncomfortable to them.

This could be as simple as

- Allowing them to have headphones on when in a crowded place, because the
auditory input might just be too much for them.

- Let them take their shoes off whenever it is legally allowed! shoes might feel
to a sensory defensive child like someone is torturing them.

- Making a blanket for them out of their favorite texture

ETC.

Starting at a young age, introduce many different stimuli to your child so
that when they encounter something out in public they have at least already
experienced it before and may be able to handle the situation. (don't force them though!!!!)

- Have them play in whipped cream/shaving cream/jello/sand/edible
playdough (or the inedible stuff, lol) etc.
- Search for hidden objects!
- Encourage them NOT to use their hands to look for the objects (this can
get fun and messy!!)
- Oh! This is also a REALLY fun way to practice handwriting...:D

(well goodness, those all sound like OT things...!)

- Create a "safe" (sensory room). This room could have all the different things
that help your child calm down and feel better. Some good sensory rooms that
I've seen have: rope lights strung from the ceiling with beanbag chairs
underneath the lights, a texture wall, soft carpeting, muted lighting in
different shades, gym mats, several swings, a ball pit, stuffed toys...and any
number of great things :)

- If you don't have a whole room free, you could even just corner off a
section of your child's room, the living room, etc. to make a little
safe haven for them for when they get too overwhelmed.

Understand that for some kids, all their little quirks go well beyond simply being "the picky kid".

Comments? I'd love to hear 'em :)

Jaimie