Does anyone else have a super sensitive dc (clothes related)

[mrsyattering]

In the last month or so ds 4 has become super sensitive about comfort, started with socks he hates them. Seams bother him, heels bother him, I have spent a fortune on socks and still he complains. Then it was shoes so we took him to measured and bought shoes of his choice that he was happy with plus new gym shoes for pre school. Everything fine until this morning, now his pants and trousers are hurting him! I don't know what to do, it's making us all late in the morning, and him very upset

Yes, I do have this issue with dd2, now 5. It's been happening since she turned three, the third winter now that it has happened. She's a July baby and in y1. She goes to a school uniform school, and that, thankfully, made my life easier. Still, this half term it all got really bad again and I realise that it is worse because it is getting colder and I am insisting on warmer clothes (tights, socks, leggings etc).

I did notice (but haven't read yet) a thread in special needs chat that discusses recommendations for clothing that is less irritating. And I think m&s do seam free socks, or perhaps I just dreamed that! Good luck, dressing in the morning is the bane of my existence. Dd3 is three and wants a dress every day and now dd4 21 months is getting picky!

I have just posted in the preteen section on this . My daughter is 11 and we have always had this problem. She is very sensitive to noises as well.

Shoe won't wear jeans, anything which doesn't sit firmly around her waist, certain socks and knickers, short teeshirts, vests, certain dresses. it is sometimes very hard to get her to wear something which looks lovely, but feels "wrong".

this has actually become worse as she aged and now manifests itself in lots of other distressing ways - frustration, anger and taking it out on others.

Sorting it early is a very good idea. Apparently CBT works well for young children. it helps them identify the anxiety they feel about certain clothes and learn techniques for putting those feelings to one side.

This is a very familiar scenario for parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Our bodies are programmed to switch off small irritations like seams, labels, certain textures after they have been happening for a few minutes but for some people they don't.

Lots of small children seem to experience this and grow out of it but for others like my DDs, who have AS, it is part of a sensory processing disorder and it sticks around.

We find seam-free socks help but when anxiety is high like it is for DD2 right now, we have to buy new socks every two or three washes which is an almighty PITA.

M&S do a lovely Skinkind range which has been a godsend for us, especially their cotton school trousers and the Sensory Smart online store has been useful too.

Sometimes you can get away with putting an item of clothing on and then plunging straight into some major distraction which stops the meltdown in that first few minutes before the clothing becomes a bit more tolerable but this only works for children whose brain does switch off the stimulus after a while. Other children may end up in meltdown for no apparent reason hours later when they can't take any more of the itch or discomfort.

I sometimes put new clothes through several washes before DD2 puts them on for the first time.

Another strategy is to allow them to wear something comfortable until they get to pre-school, school, etc then change once they have been there for a little while. They often find they can tolerate things then that they won't for you at home but the staff have to be on board to make that work.

Thanks for your replies, I was worried about it yesterday, as he had a meltdown at nursery about his new gym shoes. Apparently when the teacher took his away from my dh he stopped and carried on with his day. Seems to only do it for us. I have been really calm today and started early with all dressing/leaving the house etc. we've had one issue about socks these seem to be his biggest issue, and one about sleeves. Going to look up them m&s stuff. Thanks again