What does it feel like to be a sensory avoider? This description should give you a clue that the world feels a little overwhelming most of the time.
Being hyper-sensitive they feel more intensely, they may see, hear, smell or taste things you don't observe.
Sensory input can even be physically painful and when overloaded an autistic or someone with sensory processing disorder can either go into meltdown or shutdown.
Even the idea or expectation of being asked to eat certain foods, or interact in challenging environments can trigger overwhelm, fear, and anxiety.
I and two of my kids have these traits, I once explained it, in my worst years, as living in a perpetual heavy metal rock concert. In my younger single years, I would have to sometimes get off a crowded bus and visit a friend's house that was strategically located nearby or a quiet park.
I would wear earplugs into Walmart, or at the mall find a bathroom stall. Once in the stall I would close my eyes, cover my ears and breathe deeply till I could muster up the courage to walk back out into sights, smells, noises of the crowds.
As a child certain texture made me want to scream and shudder in revulsion. I actually had recurring nightmares about cheap foam material.
Nowadays these problems are pretty mild or nonexistent due to taking Daily Essential Nutrients.
So, you have that child that has endured a hellish day at school of assemblies. Kids were screaming in the lunchroom, and they were unable to finish the exam because they could hear the kid next to them chewing gum, while the fluorescent light tubes overhead made a humming sound.
Shaking in tears, exhausted your child comes to you for help. Your home or their room needs to be a refuge from the storm surrounding them. Their minds may be full of unspoken fears and anxieties, can they come to you to hear words of peace?
For a very long time, I struggled with verbal communication. Words just never came out how it played in my mind. I was very sensitive to the pain I saw around me. I learned at an early age, thanks to my mother who gave me my first massage, that one could communicate through their hands.
If you struggle and don't know what the right thing to say is, you can always express your love through your hands.
Be the calm....be the grounding......be the refuge......that your child so desperately needs. You got this!
Enjoy!