DS sensitive to paper, pencils etc. won't read because of it

[Natsku]

Another thread got me thinking about this. DS is 7, he can read quite well considering he only started school this year (live in Finland) but he won't read independently because he can't bear the sound or feel of the pages. I have to hold the book for for him and turn the pages and then he'll read to me (quite happily, he asks to read to me every night so this is not him finding an excuse not to read). He's ok with magazines and some books that have glossier pages but normal books feel too uncomfortable to him.

He also has issues with pencils, he says he can't bear the sound of them writing so the school gave him a special erasable pen and I got him one for home for doing his homework which makes me think this must be some kind of misophonia, right? How can I help him with this? Because he needs to be able to handle books as he goes through school (they don't use screens much here, its all textbooks and exercise books and reading from real books) and I can't hold books for him all the time. Do I try and get him to cope with them by exposure or what? We've got parents evening in late Jan/early Feb so I will talk to his teacher about this then too but would be good to have some ideas before then. He does manage to do his homework in his workbooks with headphones on but the pages are fairly glossy compared to, for instance, the Hey Jack books he's currently reading, the headphones don't work for those.

I have an old school reconditioned kindle from eBay - about 20 quid. Would that help him with reading?

Could he wear those cotton gloves that people wear to handle important documents?

Maybe if he starts to read for pleasure he will forget about it because he will want to get on with the story.

Firstly I'd get him an e-reader so he can read as much as he wants.

Hopefully, you'd then be able to get any text books that he needs loaded onto that.

It does sound like a genuine struggle for him so I would expect the school to accommodate the use of an e-reader and potentially a scribe tablet too.

In terms of desensitizing him to the noise I think I would seek professional guidance. I don't think a layperson would know enough about it to not potentially make it worse. Hopefully, he can overcome it to some extent as it will limiting. Although paper is very much on the way out so less limiting than it would have been 20 years ago.

I do think he'd read with a kindle but it won't help him handle school books. Cotton gloves are worth a try, I'll have a look for some. I need to get him into books with proper stories to them (so not those early readers), he did once read a chapter of the Fudge books by himself because he couldn't wait for me to read it to him but he hasn't repeated it despite me refusing to read for a couple of nights to see if he would get desperate again.

I don't think paper will be any closer to being on the way out while he's still in school, the schools in my town are very keen on writing on paper and using physical textbooks and workbooks (which I do agree with in principle, just difficult with DS) so getting him used to it is a priority but e reader to enjoy reading is probably a very good idea right now.
I think I need to talk with the special ed teacher, she's the one that identified the issue with pencils so she might have some ideas and can tell me what the school can accommodate. I'll ask at parents evening.

I wonder whether drawing gloves and/or silicone fingertips might help?

A book holder or book stand to hold it open so he can minimise touching it in between turning pages?

I don't think it's that unusual to dislike paper. I remember a few DC who would pull their sleeves over their hands so as not to touch it directly.

Are you sure you need to wait until parents evening? I'd try and get in to see the teacher asap.

Not easy to get time off work to go to the school so makes sense to wait until parents evening when I can get there without needing to take time off, especially as its only about a month away.

I don't think it's that unusual to dislike paper. I remember a few DC who would pull their sleeves over their hands so as not to touch it directly

I think I remember now some kids being like that when I was in primary school. Wonder how they managed in secondary.

I think he'll probably grow out of it and learn to cope/detach from the sensations. It may not be a problem forever. My daughter said she can't stand the glossy paper that textbooks are made from. This is a kid who spent years making slime so I find out hard to believe and have sympathy for to be honest, but she has got better as she has got older.