Sensory issues

[dontknowwasmadetoknow]

My Dd 10 is really struggling with sensory issues

She does not have a official diagnosis of anything at the present time.However,she has been struggling with anxiety for a number of years.

She has great difficulty going into school and has special arrangements for me to hand her over in the mornings ( this is very stressful for us both)

I have had various meeting with the school over the last year and they have tried to put things in place to help her,she however does not show her true self at school and is very quite and withdrawn and in their words"too compliant"

She is having sessions with cahms to help her with her worries
The senco has said once these sessions end in a few weeks thinks Dd should be referred for asd diagnosis.

Sorry this is long but I felt I should give a history so I'll get to the point
She has numerous sensory issues
Difficulty with smells
And spends a lot of time upside down.i know this sound strange but she says she feels better when she is upside down.
The problem right now is with clothes. She has always had difficulty with clothes but we have managed to get through as she will wear leggings and soft stretchy tops and certain socks.we have also found school tights she will wear and school dresses as she can't tolerate the waist band on skirts.
The last few weeks she has been reducing right down the clothes that she will wear. Word book day was a disaster as the outfit she so wanted to wear she just couldn't manage and so ended up so upset and angry.
The morning are getting harder and harder to manage as socks have to be perfect, sleeves cannot be tight but cannot be loose either and now she is saying she can't wear leggings as they hurt her and she ends up ripping her clothes off in distress.she spends a lot of time at home in just her knickers but obviously she does need to leave the house and I do t know what else I can do for her.
I am very close to breaking point myself as everything seems to be getting even harder.
Thank you if you managed to get to the end of this and if anyone can give me any suggestions I would be really grateful

So sorry for all the typos

That sounds tough for you both.

Do you think you would be able to get access to an OT who specialises in sensory integration therapy? It has made a huge difference to my ds.

He also loves to hang upside on things. It's a good way for him to regulate himself. Even when he was very small he was much happier when upside down.

I would imagine that the clothes issue is getting worse as she is more anxious? A lot of my ds's sensory issues get a lot worse when his anxiety levels are high. Is there anything in particular triggering the anxiety, which you could help to reduce?

Sometimes deep pressure before putting on clothes/socks can help to desensitise.

There are loads of good books which you could look at in the meantime Particularly 'the out of sync child' and 'the out of sync child has fun', ' raising a sensory smart child' and 'Understanding your child's sensory signals' are also good.

Thank for replying

It's good to hear of another child who likes to be upside down I thought she was the only one !

I haven't read any books about it but have been to a couple of workshops and have seen the weighted blankets but hadn't thought about using one before she got dressed so I will definitely try that.
She is anxious about lots of things too many to list but her main anxiety is around going to school I have considered homeschooling a number of times but I'm not sure that is the right thing for her, so we are still working on that.
I'm not sure if the sensory issues make her anxiety worse or visa versa it here to tell.

She goes horse riding which she loves but is now saying she cannot tolerate the hat so wants to stop going.Everything in her life seems to cause her distress and I don't know how to help her.
Thanks for your ideas I will definitely try some of them

My ds tends to be hypo rather than hyper sensitive to things so we face slightly different challenges to you but I can really relate to feeling helpless when you know your child is unhappy.

It may also be worth trying the sensory sock thing from this Purple Ella video (probably worth a watch in general).