DS and ear protection

[jenna]

I don't think this is normal 7 year old behavior.

[4speedy]

I have a 7 year old who often asks to wear headphones, both at home and at school. My son has been in OT since 2 years old for sensory processing disorder and was recently diagnosed with ADHD after a full scale, multi-factored evaluation.

My son has been ahead of the game for a while, because he seems to intuitively know what he needs to stay calm. He asks for head phones, rhythmic movement or whatever else it is he needs at the moment to keep himself under control. Your son sounds very much like my son and you are somewhat lucky that he is asking you for what he needs rather than just melting down.

What kinds of doctors told you your DS doesn't have adhd? You seem to have a gut feeling that something seems off. If I were you, I would trust my gut and seek out some additional testing.

[auntie]

Apr 25, 2016 13:26:08 GMT -5 sxia said:

family background: My brother has Aspergers. Or at least has had some therapists say he does. Also he used to say it fit him to a T and now doesn't.


There are some people on spectrum who seem to "outgrow" some of the features of ASD. Aspergers no longer exists as a spand alone dx in the DSM-5. It doesn't mean they are NT; they nearly always have residual mental health issues. 

My son just seems a little off sometimes. He overreacts to a lot of things. Has trouble listening and focusing, lots of impulse control issues. Took him to two doctors and they said he does not have Autism or ADHD (or at least if he does, he's masking it well.) Things are getting better, but I still think he may have social or behavioral issues.

What sort of qualifications did these doctors have? Were these developmental pediatricians? Psychiatrists? Clinical psychologists or just garden variety PCPs? What sort of scales and evaluations did they do to R/O ASD and ADHD? Was an observation done of your son at school? Were teachers questioned? 


DS's pedi once bet me DS didn't have ASD; sadly, he was wrong. DS was dxd by a psychologist just before he was 7 and a dev pedi a few months later. DS passed M-CHAT. It took a more comprehensive eval to get to the proper dxs including parent/teacher/student scales, ADOS and observations when the school did their evals a few years later when he started at public school. 

Last week, we went to a racetrack and a friend brought ear protection -- big headphones that cover the ears. He borrowed this from a friend and has been wearing them all over the house. (Nothing noisy is happening at the time.) He says they help him focus and he really likes wearing them. Is this normal 7 year old behavior, or maybe a possible auditory processing disorder?

That doesn't sound like an APD, it sounds more like a sensory processing issue. If he does have ASD, SPD is subsumed by that label.

Wearing ear protection outside of a place where it is necessary is not the behavior or a typically or well developing child. At 7, this can be stigmatizing out in the community or in school. If he struggles with normal loud noises, it would be better to take a desensitizing approach in order to have a more resilient kid who is able to enjoy more life has to offer. 

DS has ASD (Aspergers dx initially), ADHD and GAD. As a younger kid he had issues with loud and sudden noises- parades, sirens, fireworks. His tx plan included getting used to sensory issues that limited him- limited diet, an insistence on cotton clothing and the noise thing. The kid who could attend parades because of noise eventually ended up marching with the band. 

What kinds of things does he over-react to?