sensitivity to noise - advice please

[paranoid2]

My Ds (7) has recently been diagnosed with ADHD with dyspraxic traits . He is on medication and is responding well. He is very sociable and has good communication skills . From when he was a toddler he has always been somewhat sensitive to loud noises but it has never been a major issue and has been pretty much limited to not liking loud cars/buses etc. It has never impacted on his daily functioning and we have never been prevented from going to places. He has always enjoyed parties, cinema, pantos etc . However lately he seems to be going through a really bad phase where he seems to be anxious about being places where there will be loud noise. We recently went on a city break to Berlin and he was very nervous about the underground. He attended a party on Friday in an indoors kids club and he spent the time with his hands over his ears as the music was too loud, yet he had his own 7th birthday party there as well as being at lots of other parties there previously with no issues at all. I had got him ear plugs for the plane to Berlin and today he used these because there was a panto at school and he had complained at previous school events recently that the noise was too much. He absolutely loved music as a toddler and would have stood up at pantos and joined in with everything back then

It seems strange to me that he is having this reaction at this stage. I know its common in young children but I cant understand why his reaction is more extreme in recent times. I know sensory issues can be part of ASD but anyone have a child with sensory issues with ADHD/dyspraxia and anyone with a child who developed a more extreme reaction at an older age? Also any advice on techniques to help him? I feel that it?s a phase and if he could get used to a small amount , then increase it gradually that would help but not sure. TIA

[mumgoingcrazy]

DD2 has sensory processing issues, she is much younger than your DS but she is on a 'sensory diet' by a trained OT. I wonder if something similar for his age group would be available to you.

Not much help I'm afraid but if anything it's a 'bump' for you!

[leamac]

Hi

My son is dyspraxia and hates noise.

Even his teacher shouting at another child is enough to send him over the edge, the older he gets the worst it gets, he seems worse if it is a noise he has to listen to rather than if he is part of making the noise

he will join in music making at school but if you ask him to listen to loud music he covers his ears and will be educed to tear,

no idea how to deal with it to be honest but at least we are not alone

[jenk1]

DD is like this, she has a private dx of PDD-NOS and is being assessed by CAMHS at the mo.

she hates things like the hoover,lawnmower,blender,ironing board being put up and folded away,she turns the tv down constantly.

she is starting desensitisation therapy in the new year with a clinical psych,hopefully they will give us some pointers.

HTH

[paranoid2]

thanks to all for your responses.Nice to know i'm not alone. Its just hard watching him at the moment not being able to join in in things that he loved a few months ago

[amber32002]

Earplugs work for me (ASD, but same principle re noise). Or try getting him to wear a hat he can pull down over his ears as that might help take his mind off the noise and focus on how the hat feels instead. Just might work.

[paranoid2]

Thanks. I had thought Ot was probably the way to go although I see a clinical psych can help also. Whats a sensory diet MGC or TC?

[Marne]

Hi both my dd's are sensitive to sound, dd1 has AS and dd2 possible ASD. WE have bought dd1 some ear muffs and dd2 has a wooly hat that goes over her ears. Dd1 hates the hoover or food mixer but has got alot better with traffic.

[mumgoingcrazy]

At the moment DD2 is mainly tactile defensive although she is about to undergo a full sensory assessment. We do a deep brushing technique and joint compression which is to desensitise her body so she starts to interpret touch in an appropriate way rather than something uncomfortable. Our OT trained us on how to do this with her as it is done 5 times a day.

We believe she also has auditory processing isses but until we've had the assessment we won't know the extent of this.

I should mention DD2 is only 17 months but a sensory trained OT will be able to devise a program for any age. Many OT's are trained in sensory processing so it might be worth a go.

[PatsyCline]

My DD1 has a diagnosis of PDD-NOS and noise is one of her main issues. She is now 8. Generally things have improved as she has got older (she used to hide behind parked cars when one drove by), but I now find that her sensitivity is heightened when she is feeling upset.

My main challenge is getting my DD2, who can be very feisty, disciplined without upsetting DD1 too much.

DD1 hides her upset at school. She currently has a very shouty teacher and a very disruptive classmate which is a bad combination for her. She was having terrible nightmares, but the school have now agreed that when her classmate starts to crank up the noise then she can leave the room if she wants to. The fact that she has a choice seems to have really helped.

I hope that things improve for you and your son.

Patsy

[SammyK]

This thread is really interesting to me too, as ds has lots of sensory issues, sound being one of them.

He hates loud noises, machine noises (driers, hoovers, etc), as well as having teeth and hair brushed/cut, etc.He gets really upset too

How do I go about getting him an OT referral and what do they do to help exactly?

[mumgoingcrazy]

Our Paed referred us for physio and OT and this is where her sensory issues were picked up. Make sure you get a sensory trained OT as not all of them are. Teethbrushing is one of the issues we are trying to iron out as she is very tactile defensive in the mouth area, even down to not taking a bite of a sandwich, everything has to be in bite sized pieces. I don't know how old your DC is Sammy but our SALT and OT gave me some handy tips and we now brush her teeth (very quickly) without shedding a tear! She still doesn't like it but it's progress.