I am not too sure if this information is going to do anyone else any good but I can only speak from personal experience. I was born as the third child to two professionals and for the most part I and my sisters were always healthy. Being the third child I am sure my mother all too often thought I would be like my sisters but I wasn’t. From early on my mother complained to friends and family that I was a “fussy” and “needy” child, continuing on to let them all know how I wouldn’t wear socks, or I hate fleece clothing and how she could never put me into cute shoes and stockings with my Easter dress and she was frustrated. After about 5 or maybe even 6 years my mother gave in and allowed me to pick and chose what I wanted to wear. But it didn’t stop with clothes! As I grew to school age we found that the feel of paper under my hands while I write would get me both emotionally and physically upset, as time went on the list grew longer. After a few years my parents sought out help from occupational therapist and found out that not only did I have ADD they also thought I had tactile sensitivity disorder which in 1982 no one knew much about their disorder nor did they have any remedies and or solutions. After years of being an educator my father and I sat down to figure out what I could do to avoid such pain touches and objects.
For example:
I could not and to this day will not write with pencils (no kind and or version) I can’t even use the fake ones. The feel and sound of graphite on paper sends me through the roof. So my father asked teachers for special consideration to allow me to write with erasable pen which wasn’t always taken kindly by teachers. Its little tricks like this that allowed me to get through and to this day I still have several issues. My problems with touch are listed here so maybe other people will recognize this disorder and am hoping to be in touch with people who have the same issues.
Can’t write with pencil
Can’t touch cardboard, newspaper or regular paper
Glass (any glass that is old and not smooth to the touch)
Belts sock and shoes (although this has become easier as I got older)
The only touching I like is my hair, if you reach out to touch me on the arm and I am not prepared.
Lastly and most important, not until I was older did we find that I am WAY more sensitive to pain that most people. When I have my wisdom teeth extracted we learned that I am far too sensitive to pain and have little to no relief from pain such as post surgical pain.
Felt or construction paper
If anyone has any questions and or comments please let me know as I would love to learn more about this as the doctors have little if any information for me