Tactile hyposensitivity
Does your child enjoy being hugged and like a ‘rough and tumble?’ Are you puzzled because he insists on contorting himself? Or doesn’t cry when hurt? Or does his behavior simply distress you – perhaps because he hits or bites himself? If so it is likely that he is hypo (under) sensitive to tactile sensations.
Tactile Hypersensitivity
Did your baby arch away from you when you held her or tried to feed her? Or your toddler rush away to avoid that hug? Does she hate to have her hair combed or brushed? Or does she insist on wearing the same clothes time and again - or take them off at every opportunity? Such behaviors are not simply ‘autistic’ fads. They arise from some degree of tactile hypersensitivity.
Such behaviours are not ‘autistic’ fads. They arise because the child is hypersensitive.
Top Tips
* Make everyone in the family aware of his hypersensitivity.
* Do not hug him unless he is expecting it.
* Check that clothes do not have ‘prickly’ labels or scratchy stitching.
* Work out which clothes he finds most comfortable and buy more than one of each item.
* Wash new clothes, sheets, etc. before use to help soften them – or buy specially manufactured soft/seamless clothes.
* Wear moccasins instead of shoes
* Make putting dirty clothes in the wash and choosing clothes for the following day a bedtime routine.