Toddler hates loud noises/environments

[JC2021]

My toddler, just age 3, seems to hate playgrounds, soft plays any anything free-flowing with not much structure

Anyone else toddler like this?

Also loud noises really unsettle him.. e.g. a balloon popped at a party quite close to him and he jumped in my arms literally shaking.

He also said how 'noisy the party was'

Anyone else experienced this with their little ones?

Thx

My eldest DD was the same. She's still that way. She shows a bit of ASD type behaviour but doesn't want to seek a diagnosis at the moment.

Her language development was extremely fast...spoke aged 1 etc. She's bright and funny and has a good social life but now she's 17 she still avoids crowds and chaos.

I'm the same way. I was the same as a child too. I remember thinking "Why are they all SHOUTING?" in the playground or at parties. Just could not see the fun in that sort of behaviour. Still can't.

Yep. Dd hated noisy places and would cry if anyone laughed near her for years! A friend said ‘well, what are you going to do?’ In an accusatory manner. ‘We, not go to noisy places?’ Was my answer! Dd is fine now-grew out of laughing hatred although she still doesn’t like loud echoey places. But neither do I!

It could be sensory or ASD related, with my Autistic 7 year old these were some of the earliest signs, or like PPs it could just be something he doesn't like right now, but will become less sensitive to over time.

One of mine was the same, he is slowly growing out of it but still covers his ears around hand dryers and other noisy things a bit. No ASD, just a bit of an anxious personality with very good hearing!

@MancMum2000 did you have your little one assessed?? Did they clarify no ASD? Sounds like my boy with the hand dryer

[quote JC2021]@MancMum2000 did you have your little one assessed?? Did they clarify no ASD? Sounds like my boy with the hand dryer [/quote]
No I didn’t as there were no other indicators of ASD. Several of his friends were the same, it’s totally normal to find loud noises scary and children can have very sensitive hearing. If there are no other signs of sensory/social/learning issues I would not be concerned. But always worth discussing with your GP if you are concerned.

My eldest was like this, and still is.

She was diagnosed with autism at 3.

Does you child show any other signs/do you have any other concerns?

I've spoken with my gp and they said he far too young for a diagnosis and that there is a waiting time for referral of around 6 months. She suggested I make an appointment to speak with his key worker at nursery to see if they have noticed or observed anything..

He is very bright, walked and speaking at age 1, socially has always been anxious and doesn't like people too close in his space (other than close family)

I suppose lockdown hasn't helped as we stayed home for a year pretty much...

Fear of hand dryers, in my experience that's very common. In fact, if my eldest is in a school toilet and there is a younger child in there she will check to see if they have an issue with her using one. My youngest has just got over his fear of them at 6. A lot of small children have a fear of loud noises, I think that it is an in built protection mechanism-I am actually looking forward to a firework night this year without tears. I do appreciate that there may be other reasons for this fear however.

@myrtlehuckingfuge

Fear of hand dryers, in my experience that's very common. In fact, if my eldest is in a school toilet and there is a younger child in there she will check to see if they have an issue with her using one. My youngest has just got over his fear of them at 6. A lot of small children have a fear of loud noises, I think that it is an in built protection mechanism-I am actually looking forward to a firework night this year without tears. I do appreciate that there may be other reasons for this fear however.

Yes, very common. Also worth remembering that small children's ears are far more sensitive than adult ones.

My eldest was like this with hand dryers and other loud things... Just very good hearing. No other issues

My DD was exactly the same & it was because of glue ear & she had grommet surgery twice.
So don't always automatically think it's a neurodevelopmental disorder as sometimes it's something physical like glue ear or at the other extreme exceptional hearing. Though sometimes it can be both neurodevelopmental & physical combined

My DSS was like this. I remember he had a meltdown on a beach at 2 or 3 because a air ambulance had to come in. He wouldn't stand outside at Halloween to watch fireworks as he would jump out of his skin. He used to complain about the noise in the lunch hall and ask why the teachers couldn't stop all the noise. He grew out (hes now 9), he now loves fireworks, he hasnt commented on lunch noise in a couple years and loved it when we went to the airport to watch the planes last year. No ASD just didnt like the noise.

Ok thanks everyone so far for your input x

Sounds like an empath. I am one.

drjudithorloff.com/top-10-traits-of-an-empath/

Your GP is very wrong. My friend's son was diagnosed aged almost three.

Totally normal for small children to be scared of loud noise - and not, by itself, an indication of anything ND.

Hi any updates please