• Does your child cringe when you stroke his face?
• Must he have all the labels cut out of his clothing before he will wear them?
• Does your child refuse to wear certain fabrics, such as wool because it is scratchy?
• Does your child refuse to touch anything sticky, slimy, or dirty with his hands?
• Does washing or brushing your child's hair result in a major battle?
• Does your child hate to have his feet touched?

What is Touch Sensitivity?

Touch also serves a protective function. It is through tactile discomfort or pain that we realize that things like fire are dangerous. Painful or unpleasant touch experiences tell us to prepare for a physical threat that might require a need to run away or retaliate.

In some people this tactile sensory system is not functioning properly. These people experience pain or distress from touch sensations that other people find non-threatening or even pleasant. These people have sensory integration disorder known as tactile defensiveness or touch sensitivity.

Children with touch sensitivity are often in the state of "red alert". Many of the sensations that we take as meaningless, they view as a physical threat. Children with touch sensitivity also experience tactile sensations differently than others. Something that we experience as smooth can seem to them painful. The result is that often their behavior is affected. Casual contact can cause what others view as extreme and inappropriate reactions. These children may whine cling lash out or run away as a result of normal things in their environment.

Sensory motor integration deficits need not affect a child's learning ability, but his resulting reaction often does. Because the child is frequently on the defense, he can be emotionally insecure and extremely distractible. This is one of the things that differentiate touch sensitivity from ADHD. ADHD children have difficulty sustaining attention, but they are not more easily distracted than other children. Small stimuli that would not affect an ADHD child who is engaged in an activity, may cause disturb a touch sensitive child.

To give you an idea of how these children experience the world, imagine the feeling you have when someone scrapes his nails along a blackboard, or the feeling you have when you cut your nails too short. This is how a touch sensitive child might experience a warm caress. There is a difference, however. When you cut your nails too short, it bothers you for a while, but the discomfort goes away. If a child is touch sensitive, the discomfort never goes away.

The child may not be able to wear his dress pants because the feel of wool is too uncomfortable to bear. He may not be able to concentrate in school because he is enduring the hardness of the chair or the rush of air blowing on him from the ventilation system. He may be quick to lash out when another child bumps him, because of the perceived attack by the other child. He may be unable to make friends because of the fear of being bumped prevents him from interacting in a normal fashion.

Adults with a sensory integration disorder may have problems in their relationships with their spouses. Normal daily contact may disturb them, and they may avoid physical contact with their spouses even when such contact is appropriate. This desire not to be touched can have a seriously negative impact on a marriage.

What You Might See

Reacts strongly to sensations that most people don't notice.

• Tries to avoid tactile experiences.
• Gets distracted because of the things that are touching him are bothering him.
• Insists on having certain textures of clothing.
• Makes you cut all the tags and labels out of his clothing.
• Won't eat certain foods because of their texture.
• Craves certain sensations the he finds calming, like rocking or firm pressure.
• Fights irrationally when you are combing or shampooing his hair, cutting his fingernails, or brushing his teeth.