Yeah. Good Times.: "All Kids Do That" Part 16: Sensory Issues

xmlns:og='http://ogp.me/ns#' Yeah. Good Times.: "All Kids Do That" Part 16: Sensory Issues

Sunday, March 25, 2012

"All Kids Do That" Part 16: Sensory Issues

See the tab above for more information about this series.

Today we have Sherilin who blogs at Laughing My Abs Off. Her daughter also has a blog, and she wrote about this, too, calling it The Year of Stupid Pants, complete with illustrations!

All kids do that.... right? all kids hate certain clothes. i've had so many parents tell me how opinionated their kids were about their clothes, but i think they're not on the same page as my family is. for us, it's not about an opinion, it's about survival.

brooke can't stand to be rubbed or scratched by her clothes. squeezing is fine, but all tags must be cut out. there can be no decals or stitching that can be felt on the insides of shirts. because stitching equals death to her nerve endings.

if she has underwear on her body that rides up her butt cheek even the tiniest bit, she insists that it's a wedgie and she will jam her hand straight into her butt while squirming and shrieking and making the most hideous faces. it doesn't matter where we are or who's looking. i have to buy panties for her that cost $6 per pair and i consider it money well spent because finally she has something covering her butt that doesn't drive her insane and continually embarrass us.

we had two years where she couldn't wear jeans because they all touched her wrong. she could not bear the feeling of the thick, stiffness of jeans. she liked how they looked and wanted to wear them, but we went to store after store after store and tried on about a hundred pairs of jeans, each session ending in hysterical tears because they all felt wrong or gave her wedgies. i even tried altering some myself in hopes of something being satisfactory, but it didn't work. we did finally find a hand-me-down pair that she could wear and i was very, very sad when she outgrew them.

i tried to force her to wear certain things because i thought maybe it was just a matter of her trying to control her wardrobe. but the end result was a girl who was writhing and moaning and couldn't even walk properly because of the pain that her clothing was causing her.

i've given up. she's nine and i let her wear anything she wants to, even if it doesn't match or looks odd. she's not trying to make a fashion statement (usually) she's just trying to get through her days without being tortured by her clothes.

not all kids are like that.... right?

Comments (23)

Logging you in...

Dashboard | Edit profile | Logout

Logged in as

0 Vote up Vote down

Mama Meerkat · 678 weeks ago

Ha, maybe not all kids, but I'm like that! I still cannot stand tags, lace, jeans, or anything itchy, pokey, or too tight. Mini Meerkat is the same. She hates tags too. Thank goodness for tagless clothes, which did not exist when I was a kid.
My recent post Special Needs Ryan Gosling

0 Vote up Vote down

SandraSue · 678 weeks ago

My son went from his clothing choices being about sensory issues (sweat pants, shirts without tags, socks without seams) to it being a matter of color. Go figure. He decided everything had to be black. Do you know how difficult it is to find black underwear for a kid?
My recent post The Mix

3 replies · active 589 weeks ago

0 Vote up Vote down

@ItsBridgetsWord · 678 weeks ago

Hanes boys boxer briefs. Covered waistband, dark solid colors. Even in sizes for my skinny boy.

0 Vote up Vote down

SandraSue · 678 weeks ago

Luckily he's grown now, but he was unable to tolerate the boxer-briefs as a kid. They had to be the regular old-fashioned briefs, and they didn't come in anything but white and super-heroes for kids. I would occasionally find a dark colored pair only to return the next time to the same store to find that they no longer carried them. It's still difficult to find regular old fashioned briefs in black, even for adults. I tried at Christmas and was unable to find any. Like I said, luckily he's an adult and it's now his issue, not mine ;)

Thank you though for your kind suggestion.

My recent post The Mix

0 Vote up Vote down

MarissaT · 589 weeks ago

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=bla...

0 Vote up Vote down

Jim Reeve · 678 weeks ago

That's cool. My son does the same things when it comes to his clothes. He hates to wear socks to bed. Also at school, the students wear uniforms and sometimes they have "dress down" day. But on those days, Jacob still prefers to wear his uniform. So he wears his uniform, it's just not worth the meltdown.

0 Vote up Vote down

Mayor Gia · 678 weeks ago

Oooof, how frustrating for BOTH of you! What about jeggings or those pajama jeans thing? (Not to give unwanted advice...)
My recent post POP QUIZ: Boyfriend or Burrito?

1 reply · active 678 weeks ago

0 Vote up Vote down

sherilinr · 678 weeks ago

she has and wears a lot of leggings and it was nice when the jeggings became an option so that they sort of looked like jeans, but were less scratchy.
i'm open to advice, but most doesn't work. i would have put her in a loin cloth if it hadn't been inappropriate.
My recent post limericks

0 Vote up Vote down

Julia · 678 weeks ago

I don't know if you have them in the states but Tencel jeans were awesome when I was a kid..damn fluctuating fashion trends. I can remember having an argument with Mum about why we couldnt buy them anymore.. they're denim but really really soft - not sure if there's more cotton in them or something.
Just an interesting fact - sensory processing dysfunction occurs in 17-18% of the typical population (and 98% of people on the spectrum)

0 Vote up Vote down

@ItsBridgetsWord · 678 weeks ago

I have the only kid who's sensory issues were so bad, the award winning sensory intergration camp sent him into a regression so bad it took years to recover. We count holding down food as a major victory here. No GI issues, he's just got such high SPD, that eating is difficult.

0 Vote up Vote down

Barbara · 678 weeks ago

(Where is the award winning sensory integration camp?) Sensory input does not treat 'SPD'.

JoyMama @ElvisSightings & I co-authored a post titled Stim Sense a while back. Might be worth a look.
My recent post Building Skills for Life

0 Vote up Vote down

Patty · 678 weeks ago

I'm with you on this one! My son's clothing issues aren't as bad as they could be, but still. He hasn't worn denim in probably close to 6 years (he's 8) and he's very picky about his shirts. I still have no idea of what his criteria are for picking them.

He has even bigger sensory issues with food and textures, though. Seriously HUGE issues.
My recent post Ryan Gosling--the water edition

0 Vote up Vote down

Becky · 678 weeks ago

Tell me more about these $6.00 panties. If it can end the butt digging, I want to know about them.
My recent post Hair Pulling Anxiety...No REALLY.

2 replies · active 678 weeks ago

0 Vote up Vote down

sherilinr · 678 weeks ago

the tweenie bopper store "justice" sells several different cuts and we've found that the boy cut bottoms have stopped the butt digging. and they do have pretty decent sales as well as 40% off coupons periodically. but they're worth every penny, however much i end up paying for them. they don't slide around, they stay low on the rear, and they don't have so much material that they wad up anywhere or come out the top of pants.
My recent post limericks

0 Vote up Vote down

Becky · 678 weeks ago

I'm so going to have to check those out. Thanks!
My recent post I Wish I had Some Funny Anecdote, But I Don't.

0 Vote up Vote down

Amanda · 678 weeks ago

My oldest used to go through every single piece of clothing he owned before school. We started making him get dressed at night. Not sure why it wasn't an issue at night, but it was in the morning, but it worked and was a simple enough solution. Then our only battle was socks and shoes. I love the fleece lined Crocs except for the coldest of days. Sure, they're fugly, but when you've fought the clothing battles, it's all about function.
My recent post Murphy

2 replies · active 678 weeks ago

0 Vote up Vote down

sherilinr · 678 weeks ago

we've had great luck with crocs too, but she's pretty spastic with walking and running sometimes, so they tend to trip her. but at least they don't hurt or chafe at all.
My recent post limericks

0 Vote up Vote down

karen · 678 weeks ago

oh man. Don't even get me started on footwear, and the transition from BOOTS to SHOES to SANDALS. Nightmare. Must find these fleece lined crocs...
My recent post I'M BACK, BUDDIES!!!

0 Vote up Vote down

karen · 678 weeks ago

Sherilin: wonderful post. I totally relate to all of this. You and I have had the convo about how SOCKS ARE DESIGNED BY SATAN, and drive our kids crazy. I have drawers full of pants that are crisp and new and have been rejected almost immediately. Jack wears a lot of pants that are in a cozier track pants material and I don't give a shit anymore, and wish he'd just wear jeans or some more "proper" pant for school.

One of the best things I discovered is second-hand clothes--especially pants. Some other kid already wore them in, spent many hours playing in them, and turned them from stiff new clothes to soft, worn clothes. I've had great luck with the pants I've found in these stores for Jack----when I've found just the right pair, that is.

As he gets older, it gets harder and harder to find pants with a simple elastic waist, and not button up pants. He doesn't like the button up ones. He also will NOT wear any pants with the built in elastic, adjustable belt.

My recent post I'M BACK, BUDDIES!!!

0 Vote up Vote down

@maandpafilms · 678 weeks ago

I know lots of kids like that. Even adults. Better to be comfortable than beautiful. And I'm sure your daughter is both anyway.

+1 Vote up Vote down

lifesaboutadream 2p · 676 weeks ago

It's funny how each child is different....our son will ONLY wear jeans and long sleeve shirts, regardless of the time of year. Everyday. Socks have to be Gymboree's socks (I think the way they are tapered in the middle at the arch of the foot appeals to him). I've enjoyed reading your posts...somehow I got here via SPD Blogger Network. :)

0 Vote up Vote down

Diane · 623 weeks ago

My son is 17 now - when he was 5 (diagnosed PDD already) I videotaped him trying to get dressed one day because I couldn't freaking believe what he was doing - screaming - ripping all his clothes off - NOTHING worked. I didn't know about his sensory issues with clothing then, but through the next 12 years I sure did learn! He has NEVER worn jeans after age 2. If polyester wasn't invented I would be in the grave. Everything has to be polyester. No lines or anything inside the shirts that touch his skin. Socks - I have around 100 pairs - no exaggeration - he can't stand to wear them twice. Underwear - that is our current hunt - just spent $93 on underwear - silky-polyester type boxers - nope, none of them worked. I'm off on the hunt again - takes about 1-2 months to get the right ones. Pants- have to be pull-ons- mostly polyester - basketball type pants work but NO stripes down the sides where you can feel the seam inside. Shirts - thank God for Target. Found a style that works - bought every color.

0 Vote up Vote down

Diane · 623 weeks ago

CONTINUATION- One problem there last year - they changed the material on the shirts - I almost hyperventilated in the store. I brought them home, he tried them on and asked me why I bought the wrong shirts. They looked the same, but he could "feel" they weren't the same. UGH! But, thankfully, this year, Target has gone back to the old material - YEAH! 12+years of this - it's a never-ending battle. My son would wear the same outfit for two weeks if I let him - seriously. But, since he is a teenager, he can get stinky. The teachers at school said that his peers would say something and then he would change. Nope. He doesn't care. UGH!

Post a new comment

Comment as a Guest, or login:

Submit Comment

Subscribe to

Comments by IntenseDebate

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)