"Remarkable" Hyper-sensitivities Diminish for 4-Year-Old Boy

Submitted by N.K., Mother and Occupational Therapist

Adam is my four-year-old son who was adopted at 18 days old.   We began working with the neurodevelopmental movements because he saw me working with his sister and wanted to participate. He loved helping me with practice and though he has always demonstrated some sensory differences they did not interfere with his functioning so I began the movements not expecting anything to change. 

Adam has always been a poor sleeper and had difficulty settling at night or upon waking. When he became upset he was unable to calm himself and would cry for extended periods of time. We found that he was not capable to calming without adult assistance. He would also cover his ears with some loud noises and would scream, cry and run to me if my husband got out a drill.   Even recently he would be inconsolable until it was put away. He was also a tactile input seeker and always had his hands in my hair or touching things. He, like many boys, was a mover and crasher but didn’t appear to be doing it at a level that was concerning to me.  At this point we only do the rhythmic movements, the animal moves and wheelbarrow walking.   We are not as consistent with these because of my daughters needs but I have still observed positive changes. I have noticed that he is able to settle most nights without difficulty and will sleep through 80% of the time.   We went a few weeks without doing any rhythmic movement and noticed that he was waking more often in the night so it is felt that there is a correlation. What is most remarkable was the fact that he was able to “help” use the drill that instilled such terror in him to help build a toy boat. My husband and I have used the drill on several occasions with Adam casually saying “that’s loud” with no emotional reaction or needing to be held. Additionally, he no longer needs the added tactile input from putting his hands in my hair when he is being held. At this point we only see auditory sensitivity or crashing behavior if he is overtired or has eaten poorly.

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