Contributed by: Terry Matlen, ACSW
Little is written about ADHD and
hypersensitivities, yet those of us who are touched by
ADHD as adults or who are parenting ADHD kids know full well how it
can affect us and those we love. Children with ADHD are notorious
for being picky eaters. They complain about textures, food smells
or having food touching on their plate. They often hate pants with
snug waist bands, shirts with tags, socks with seams...and the list
goes on.
Since distractibility is a cornerstone symptom of
ADHD, being overly sensitive to ones' environment only adds to the
problem. There's often the difficulty of filtering out noise,
smells, etc., which leads to an increase in the
distractibility.
According to Temple University researcher Kristie
Koenig, Ph.D, OTR/L: "Many children with ADHD also suffer from
sensory processing disorder, a neurological underpinning that
contributes to their ability to pay attention or focus." She and
her colleagues authored a research study titled, "Comparative
Outcomes of Children with ADHD: Treatment Versus Delayed Treatment
Control Condition. In it, they explored whether ADHD related
problems would decrease if underlying sensory and neurological
issues were treated with occupational therapy. They note that
children with ADHD "either withdraw from or seek out sensory
stimulation like movement, sound, light and touch. This translates
into troublesome behaviors at school and home."
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