developmental disabilities...

[Guest guest]

I'm not a doctor and have a limited knowledge of the things you

discussed, but I'll offer an opinion, and take that for whatever it's

worth

I assume AIT is auditory integration therapy? When I was around 13, my

mom, in a desperate ploy to find a solution for me, took me to have

this therapy. The way it was explained to me, it was retraining my

ears. The woman who administered the treatment had an adopted daughter

who suffered some strange condition, perhaps similar to your son's.

The theray had cured her for all intents and purposes, and I recall

her saying it was like her daughter had had a constant roaring sound

in her ears. The therapy got rid of this.

Even then, I was sure this had nothing to do with me. My intolerance

of sounds is a psychological issue. Even if it has a physiological

-cause-, the symptoms are psychological. Based on what you have said

regarding your son, I think the causes of his issues are different. It

doesn't surprise me that he may be acting and reacting similar to how

we do. Whatever he is suffering is no doubt causing him immense stress

and anxiety and his method of coping could be similar. It just seems

to me that your son has a great deal more going on, especially

considering that the Auditory integration therapy (if that is indeed

what AIT meant) worked for him. It did nothing for me, and rationally,

there was no way it COULD do anything for me.

There are people with a hypersensitivy to certain frequencies, and

sounds, and this sensitivity has a direct physiological cause, and can

cause illness. What you said about your son's sudden intolerance of

school and being able to trace it to a real source seems to support

the idea that your son may have those sorts of sensitivities. And

practically and technically speaking, intolerance to something like a

low frequency hum, or what have you, is not the same as intolerance of

gum cracking, heels clicking, crunching ice, sibilance, and the

variety of other things that a single sufferer of 4s or misphonia, or

what have you, may be intolerant of.

I'm only an expert on my own condition and how it works for me, and

even then I have a lot to learn. So like I said, take this for what

it's worth, I hope it helps a little.

Remember what we're describing here is really just a group of symptoms

we all have in common, none of us have been able to identify the

malfunction. Clearly, your son may share in some of these symptoms and

in the behavior he uses to cope with it, but the things you described

go so far beyond anything I have experienced, and seem to be of a

different nature.

One last note. It's hard to imagine having super-sensory abilities

(and I don't mean something good, like Superman ). I mean I hear

very well, but can you imagine the thousands of sounds, frequencies,

noises, and other things that exist beyond the scope of the normal

human's ability to detect? What if there were a malfunction in a

person's physiology that enabled them to detect these frequencies in

some way? It'd be enough to drive a person mad, I think. Or at the

very least, it might be debilitating in the way you describe. Once in

a while I have gotten a sensory overload that leaves me feeling

incapacitated, frozen for all intents and purposes. Does this make sense?

Good luck with your son!

> > >

> > > When we were in a restaurant a couple of years ago, the waitress

> > knocked the

> > > tip saucer off the counter and it smashed on the floor. I

> witnessed

> > this,

> > > and according to my partner, the second the saucer was pushed off

> > the edge I

> > > immediately covered my ears. The other people we were with reached

> > out to

> > > grab it, to stop it from falling (without success) whereas I had

> > this very

> > > immediate reaction to cover my ears. Do any of you do that?

> > >

> > > My partner found this extremely interesting (I can't say I even

> remember

> > > doing it!) and has mentioned it a couple of times since. It seems

> as

> > though

> > > people like us are in constant defensive mode, which is why I

> quite

> > like the

> > > term " sensory defensiveness " which is what I was diagnosed with a

> > few years

> > > back. I feel like that term suits me, though the named condition

> doesn't

> > > necessarily cover everything - from what I've read, it doesn't

> cover

> > these

> > > softer sounds like breathing and eating. It really is more about

> the

> > louder,

> > > more abrupt sounds, and also other senses: tastes, smells,

> sensations

> > > (touch) and also visual stimuli, plus a strong aversion to a large

> > number of

> > > words, sayings, behaviours, etc. I guess you could say I'm just an

> > extremely

> > > intolerant person.

> > >

> > > All of my senses are affected to some extent, but my sense of

> hearing is

> > > particularly affected, and I can honestly say that if you took

> away

> > my noise

> > > problems, I would barely worry about the others. I guess I'm just

> > aware of

> > > them having completed a study into sensory defensiveness and

> realising I

> > > have a lot of sensory issues, not just ones with sound.

> > >

> > > If the scope of sensory defensiveness (already an established

> named

> > > condition in the UK, especially in children) were extended to

> cover soft

> > > sounds then I would have a name for what I am afflicted with, but

> at the

> > > moment there are various named conditions, each with bits that

> apply

> > to me

> > > and bits that don't, so it's hard to convey to other people

> exactly what

> > > sort of problems I have. 4S covers my soft sound triggers, whereas

> > sensory

> > > defensiveness causes the loud ones, and there are various

> conditions

> > which

> > > could account for my intensely painful reactions to, for example,

> a

> > crowded

> > > shopping centre or a smoky pub.

> > >

> > > I wish I could figure this all out. There are so many grey areas,

> > and very

> > > few people seem willing to listen to us. :-(

> > >

> > > xxx Bonnie

> > >

> >

>