On Sunday I was reminded, and it’s every Sunday, of Matthew’s sensitivity to sensory issues. I know, I know we are reminded daily but in this case I am talking about certain clothing. I am sure many can relate when I say given to his own devices he would wear a t-shirt, shorts and flip flops every single day of the year no matter the weather.
For church, and on those rare occasions when we go somewhere “nice” I know it is going to be a battle to get him to accept wearing a nice shirt with a collar and buttons oh and long pants too. It’s the feel of the collar on his neck that bothers him and I know small buttons are frustrating for him to button. Because I know what is coming I always start the request more like a negotiation… “You only have to wear it for XX number of hours” or “you don’t have to tuck the shirt in” this helps because then he knows exactly when he can take it off and trust me he is counting down the minutes.
All of this brings up the other, more daily, sensory issues he has. Some he had when he was younger and many still exist today, he’s just better at playing along, masking them, countering them with something else he enjoys or just maybe, luckily, he truly has outgrown them.
Sound. Sound is a “loud” one; which is funny as he can be the loudest person in the room. For example, in the car he doesn’t like when the radio volume is up to high. I on the other hand love to have it up loud when I am alone, this way I truly am that Grammy Platinum artist I know exists inside me, however when I get home I have to remember to turn it back down before turning off the car so it won’t upset him when the car starts up.
Touch. Matthew was and still is fearful of unexpected touching and will “jump” when someone reaches out and touches him, like an unexpected pat on the back or touch of his arm to gain his attention. Haircuts for some kids can be rough, because they don’t like the way it feels when someone is touching their head.
Balance. This one I joked for years that he woke up with two new feet every day that he had to learn to navigate. Matthew was always stumbling and falling down, with all the bumps and bruises I am sure many who didn’t know us well probably thought something else was going on there… thankfully for the most part he has outgrown this one, I attribute sports with helping here.
Each one of these could probably have a separate blog post on, and maybe one day they will, but you get the picture. There are many more, but what needs to be understood most is that each individual is different and they may truly have an adverse response to a sense that we can’t truly understand, we just have to accept it as it is…