Sensory issues in teenage girl - should I be concerned?

[DitzyTitzy]

I have a nearly-14 year old daughter who has always had mild issues with some sensory stuff.

She's always been a really fussy eater - doesn't like a lot of textures, and we have really pandered to this as she's gotten older, as it's been so traumatic for us all in the past that we just pick our battles now!

(So she'll eat pizza, breaded chicken, bolognese etc and isn't adverse to spicy curry, but homemade stuff needs to have been blended before the chicken/mince is added, for example) Very reluctant to try new things.

Despite this, she's relatively healthy!

She's high-performing at school - top set for everything, and has a small, but decent group of friends, so there are not many social issues, which is something we worried about in her first year of high school.

She's whip smart, affectionate and just a gorgeous girl, but the older she gets, seems to struggle more and more with these sensory issues.

They are not limited to food - there are certain materials that she can't tolerate touching - cotton wool for example, which I know is a common phobia, and also 'squeaky' paper or card, so the type that glossy posters are printed onto, if that makes sense?

She also came home from school today, very upset as she'd been made to do press ups in the mud as part of a rugby lesson. She wasn't bothered about the rugby, but was really freaked out that her hands had sunk into the mud. (I did similar stuff at school, but I will have been more disgruntled by this than freaked out!)

She also 'flaps' when she gets anxious, which I don't think is normal.

She's worried that there's some sort of ADHD-type thing going on (she's 'diagnosed' herself on the Internet, which I've obviously discouraged) but I am wondering what's going on and whether I should get her a GP appt in the first instance?

It does seem like she's in a group of teenagers atm who are all desperate to label themselves in some way (they're all gay or bi or pan or have ADD /ADHD), which isn't an issue, but I honestly can't tell if this is part of that identification piece and I'm worrying about nothing.

Sorry for the length of this - just wondered if anyone had any good advice with anything similar?

What do you think is going on with DD?

Hmmm. I cant help much I'm afraid but I've got a similar 14 yr old dd. Its noise she is really sensitive to. And funny about what clothes she'll wear. And she flaps her hands when anxious. And gets very stressed about being late etc.
She is doing well at school, has a nice group of friends, hobbies etc. So I feel like unless these characteristics are making her really unhappy or impacting her life I wouldn't seek a diagnosis. I am considering seeing if there is something that might help her deal with noises etc in a calmer way.

If there were diagnoses level stuff going on id imagine it would fall more under ASD/SPD than ADHD from what you have described.
It all depends what she wants from a possible diagnosis I suppose, some people are relieved to know why they react differently to things than most of their peers, or if supports were needed down the line its easier to put in place quickly if the diagnosisis already there. Day to day it may not make any real difference to her

So sensory issues can become worse in teenage years. They are not totally sure why, but there it is a thought it is do with hormones.

It is also not uncommon for neuro-diverse children to not be diagnosed until teenager years when problems become more apparent.

You can have sensory issues and not have ASD/ADHD, but they can be a part of the condition.

So what's going on? I'm not sure. She could be neurodiverse. She could also just have some sensory processing issues which are worse because of her hormones.

I would normally say just keep an eye on it; however, the wait lists on CAMHS are huge, but I would also be concerned given the many "positive factors" you cite even if you got referred for ASD/ADHD you may get rejected as not meeting the threshold.

I think I would keep an eye on it. Have a meeting with school and see if they have concerns. I would have a low threshold though for getting referred to CAMHS. Waitlists for assessment 2 - 3 years.

If you can afford to go private I would do the same, but obviously if things become more problematic look for assessment.

In the interim if you can afford it you could look to an OT who works on sensory intergration

My teenager has a lot of sensory issues but has been assessed for ASD and it was ruled out.

Sensory Processing Disorder can be a condition of its own.

My DD has Autism with SPD and has a lot of similar sensory issues, and more, but you can have sensory issues without Autism.

Have you asked school if they can refer to an OT?

it sounds like it could be SPD or ASD.

High achieving girls with sensory issues are common in autistic girls.

I understand your point about some teenagers wanting a label but having a diagnoses for neurodiversity can be very helpful for children who want to make sense of why they experience the world differently from their peers?

She sounds a bit like my daughter who is autistic with SPD.

Please ignore the random ? in the third paragraph.

Asperger's maybe - now known as autism.

If you have no other real concerns an occupational therapy assessment can be really helpful. Dd11 has been recently diagnosed asc but at the age of 6 we were struggling with sensory issues like you describe so much that we had some private OT. It helped hugely and identified a range of sensory issues we hadn't fully understood. She particularly can't stand paper. And really struggled with socks and noises. Although we suspected asc we didn't bother pursuing diagnosis at that age because we feared she wouldn't meet the threshold in all areas. In the end we went for it and she did get the diagnosis. I'd advise you look closely at her interactions...girls are very good as masking. My daughter 'watches' and copies. She is reserved and holds back so doesn't make the social errors you might expect. Sensory issues continue to be the most challenging aspect but she has been empowered by the very good OT we found to cope with them.

You have described my DD down to a tee. She is 14, same list of foods (except curry). Similar sensory issues.

Of course your DD might be ND but there absolutely is an internet based craze for self diagnosis with ADHD etc. My DD started flapping at times but I could tell it was affected. She stopped after a couple of weeks.

Teenagers are hard.

I would be looking into assessment for ASD/SPD more than ADHD. It's incredibly important to start the ball rolling as issues can rapidly escalate in the teenage years as demands rise (and masking becomes more difficult) and it is hard to get help in a crisis - CAHMS and even some of the best private psychiatrists etc. have waiting lists of years for assessment/diagnosis.