Search Results for: blog touch sensitivity

Tooth Sensitivity

There are different culprits for that little zing of pain in a tooth… and different types of pain can mean different things! Here’s a look at some common types of tooth sensitivity, and what they may mean for the health of your mouth. Sensitivity to cold — this is a common complaint and often indicates tooth decay or root exposure. Both these things can make cold a real pain in the mouth! After a dental treatment, teeth may temporarily be sensitive to cold, but the sensation should subside within a week. If it doesn’t go away (or gets worse), call … Continue reading →

Touch Sensitivity

Sensitive skin is a topic near and dear to my heart — when I was little, I would break out in hives every time my mom changed laundry detergents! My skin is very sensitive when it comes to cleansers and scents. But that’s not the only kind of sensitive skin out there. Touch sensitivity is a kind of malfunction in the tactile sensory system. Sensations that might be meaningless background noise (like the feel of the seams in your shirt) might be uncomfortable or even painful to a person with touch sensitivity (also known as tactile defensiveness). A person with … Continue reading →

“Stop Touching Me!” Symptoms of Tactile Dysfunction

Our skin is covered with microscopic receptors that send information to our brains. This is our sense of touch, or tactile sense. We use our sense of touch to experience all kinds of things from itching, to tickling, pressure, hot and cold, pain, vibration, and movement. The “tactile sense” is necessary for all kinds of activities such as walking up steps, writing on a chalkboard, hugging someone, getting dressed, or testing water temperature. From infancy we require tactile stimulation to meet nearly all of our physical and emotional needs. We even need our tactile sense to develop good social skills. … Continue reading →

What is Your Child’s Sensitivity Profile?

When we have a better understanding of our child’s sensory reactivity levels, we can decode some of his or her puzzling behaviors. Many children with disabilities of all types struggle with sensory integration disorder (DSI), and have oversensitivity or undersensitivity to normal stimuli. By getting in tune with how your child manages the sensory input from his environment, you can improve your interactions. This knowledge can give teachers, therapists, and doctors a head start in relating to your son or daughter, and break down barriers to learning. By making careful observations while your child goes about her day, you can … Continue reading →

“My Child Won’t Let Me Touch Him.” The Avoidant Child

I’ll never forget that autism support group meeting. I had been hit with the overwhelming news that my son Kyle had a lifelong disability, and felt like I was being strangled by pain, disappointment, and fear. There were adults seated all around me—of every shape, size, and race, who had been traveling the same road that I was now setting foot upon. In some ways that was reassuring, but at the same time it was a club I didn’t want to join. “…he won’t allow me to touch him…” After some introductions and announcements, a soft-spoken, tired-looking mother stood up, … Continue reading →

Things to Know About Attachment Parenting

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Do you practice attachment parenting? This type of parenting has become somewhat controversial. Those that practice it seem happy with it. Those that don’t often choose to share their opinion that this parenting style will somehow harm children (years later). Ultimately, it is up to each parent to decide what parenting style works best for them and their kids. Attachment Parenting is a parenting style that has eight principles to it. Each parent has a lot of leeway in how they interpret those principles and how they put them into action. Prepare for pregnancy, birth, and parenting – Parents remove … Continue reading →

Special Needs Children and Obesity

I have heard a lot of talk about obesity in children. Advice to prevent that ranges from “feed your child better foods” to “turn off the video games”. Parents of kids who have certain special needs require more tools than those pieces of advice. Your child’s medications could be affecting his or her weight. Kids that are extremely overweight, or obese, face certain health risks. They may develop insulin resistance, hypertension, or type 2 diabetes. These kids could be experiencing sleep apnea, which means that they are unable to get restful sleep. Some children who are overweight will begin puberty … Continue reading →

A Middle-Grade Novel to Skip

There is a dearth of adoption stories, either fiction or non-fiction, for kids in between the picture book stage and the young-adult novel stage. So it’s doubly disappointing that the latest one I read perpetuates old stereotypes. Trophy Kid, or How I Was Adopted by the Rich and Famous is by Steve Atinsky. We hear a lot nowadays about celebrities adopting. Atinsky did have a creative idea to look at what a 13-year-old son of movie stars (one of whom is a political candidate) thinks of his adoption ten years later. Jozef Francis (Joe) was orphaned by the fighting in … Continue reading →

Occupational Therapy: Overview

Occupational therapy is similar in some ways to physical therapy, and different in others. According to the American Occupational Therapy Association, occupational therapy “enables people of all ages to live life to its fullest by helping them promote health and prevent—or live better with—illness, injury or disability.” (From the AOTA website.) Occupational therapy can help patients develop or regain the fine-motor skills that allow us to do everyday tasks like tying shoes, writing, and using utensils. Other goals of occupational therapy may be improving basic reasoning skills or compensating for a permanent loss of function. Who needs occupational therapy? Patients … Continue reading →

Thoughts of Another Adoptive Mother, Continued

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My last two blogs have been a review of Jana Wolff’s memoir Secret Thoughts of an Adoptive Mother and my reflections on my experiences and their similarities and differences with Wolff’s.Those reflections are continued here. I related to Wolff’s descriptions of her family—how happy they were and eager to include this new grandchild, but still recognizing something different. “Being adopted and being of color changed the way this baby was held and welcomed by his new extended family,” Wolff declares. “Ari was neither the first grandchild nor the first grandson, but he was touched with the gingerness of first-timers,” Wolff … Continue reading →