My ADHD son hates the feel of paper | ADHD Information

My son hates the feel of paper. He struggles with reading comprehension due to his lack of focus and in combination with that does not like the feel of paper.  He pulls his sleeves over his hands so he does not have to touch it.  Anyone else with this problem?

My son has sensory intergration which I believe is what your are describing. I don't deal with the same type as you, mine son has a self regulation problem. He also, I believe, is speech delayed because of the tongue, teeth sensation in his mouth.

Some children don't like the feeling of certain fabrics of clothing, food texture, don't want to get their hands dirty, etc. These are some of the many sensory integration dysfunction characteristics.

My son hated getting his hair washed, even brushing his teeth. As he has gotten older, he is outgrowing these things, even the self regulation.

My son sees an OT who actually teaches children methods to deal with it. I give my son deep pressure to relax him, he loves bear hug squeezes!

I wonder if you would possibly qualify for services through your son's school? have you had him evaluated? Your son may qualify for services, as well as helping him to focus. He is probably easily distracted, that is such an ADHD sign as well.

I will add that my son has made significant gains since begining medication 2 years ago!

regards!!

 

Well said Bethann.  My ds too has Sensory Intergration problems.  He can't stand to get glue on his hands at school, he HATED the feeling of certain clothing and ran around naked the first couple years of his life.  He hated light touch, when a teacher would come up and lightly touch his arm or head would send him into turmoil.

We had an excellent OT at school that started a brushing program to try and get his body used to the different textures and feeling of things. She suggested that we get sensory bins to use at  home.  Some had beans and rice in them.  Others had different textured noodles, some had aquarium gravel.  Each had a different weight and texture.  Over time we heard less of the ouches we used to hear.

Now thinking back my son didn't like the feeling of his arm resting on the desk so he would write with his elbows pointed out so that he didn't have to rest his arm on the desk or paper.  OT helped alot with that.

She also recommended two great books the Out of Sync Child and Activities for the Out of Sync Child.

If you have any other questions feel free to private message me.

Dear mother of 5,

I don't know wether you mentioned how old your son is but  I also have a 10 yr. old son with SPD(among other disorders) and you need to be an advocate for him once he reaches school age.  We live in CT now but orginally came from NY, and in both states he was able to get OT services up until the age of 8 because of fine motor issues but the Board of ED would not continue OT services solely for SPD.  The rational I was given by the OT was that they are only responsible for providing services for disabilities that are impeding with the learning process.  Well, did I give her an earful.  You see, I long ago found out that as benign as a sensitivity issue seems at a young age only gets worse as the child ages.  For instance, your son doesn't like to touch paper.. well when he needs to do his school work in 2nd grade, and he hasn't be de-sensistized, He will be so obsessed with the gross out of the touch that all other learning going on around him will be blocked out.  I hope this helps, It did when it was explained to me.  Please make sure that his current OT(if he has one) is doing Sensory Integration Therapy with him. Good Luck!

You may be able to get an OT to help you with desensitizing your son to the feel of paper. I bet your son may have other sensory integrations issues, too. You can google sensory integration dysfunction and there is a book called "The Out-of-Sync Child" that is very good.Thank you!!  I myself hate the feel of newspaper, but not enough for it to impact my life significantly.  Every time I mentioned my son's hate for the feel of paper, I got blank stares, people not hearing of it, etc...  I tried telling teachers I thought it was impacting his reading.  Not one person gave me the name of a disorder or recommended an OT.  Wow.  My son is 10 yrs old and I have worked with teacher after teacher since first grade - not one gave me ADHD info or Sensory Integration info (I did not even know it had a name).  I did hear the word tactile defensive but not one person told me what to do.  I feel a sense of relief (that there is a name for this) and sadness that this could have been worked on earlier.   A psychologist friend said she thought he may be ADHD so we went to the DR. this summer and he is now on meds.  Hope they help with it all.  My son does not want me talking about any of this to his teachers.  He does not want to be different.

OMG!  I have never heard another parent say they had a child with an adversion to paper.  My DD (11) does, but with her, it's the smell.

She will not be in the same room w/ a newspaper.  Doesn't like magazines, text books, paper napkins, paper towels, etc.  She does have a few other sensory issues as well, mostly clothing....sock seams, hates to wear jeans, etc.

I always knew she had a few sensory issues, Psychologist says it may be effecting her more than we realize and has recommended we take her in for an OT Eval.  I need to get working on that because it certainly isn't going away!

mamabear...has this effected her performance in school?  I wouldn't be surprised if it has.Unfortunately alot of general ed teachers today do not know much about
mental health issues. Besides which even some OT's (especially the ones in
the schools) discredit the fact that sensory problems have any impact on the
learning process. You need to advocate for your child and push the issue. If
your son's dr. gives you a dx of SID then you may have more leverage with
the school, but don't hold your breath. You might have to find an OT
outside the school who specializes in Sensory Integration therapy. Either
way, I would definately start the process now. Good Luck and keep me
posted as to your progress. Feel free to pick my brain, Lord knows you
wouldn't be the first time. Thats whats great about this site

I hope you can now get some OT for him and help him overcome.  He still may have sensitivites but he will be able to cope better.  My son has Sensory Processing Disorder (sensory integraton dysfunction) so I definitely feel your frustration.

I also have sensory issues.  Believe it or not, I also don't like the feel of paper.  My biggest issue with it is when my hands are dry.  I have to apply lotion almost all the time if I know I am going to be dealing with paper.  I am wondering if you could try it with your son, it's worth a try.  The paper "irritates" my skin.  I don't have a rash or allergic reaction it just kind of makes it  hurt.  I know this must sound really strange but it is like the paper takes my moisture- that is why I have to apply lotion first.

 

I also have sensory issues with my feet.  I wear socks almost 24/7 because I can't stand certain textures touching them- I don't even like my toes touching each other when they are in my shoes.  I also have to apply lotion to my feet very frequently.  Weird but true!

my son's teachers have worked with him on these issues at school and has helped him overcome some of these problems. he never liked the feeling of things like paint and they had a time getting him to fingerpaint but they succeeded. he is overcoming some of this with time.

Mamabear you are correct that the joint compressions and the brushing does work for tacile defensiveness.  My 6 year old now wears clothes and socks and shoes! after strating the brushing program and joint compression.  He had an understated sense of smell and they didn't have much they could do for the smell.  My ds also had problems with noise.  Not even loud noise to the normal person just noise.  He couldn't be home if I Vaccumed or used the hair dryer.  The big problem at school was flushing the commerical toliets.  It would just send him into a tizzy.  Also events in they gym, open house will a lot of people talking.  There is a new therapy called listening therapy that can help with this.  It is very new and most schools in our area didn't have it yet, but some of the outside OT's had access to the cd's used for it.  SPD can effect the behavior at home our out in social situations.  We have learned what our ds's limit is and know when to take him him. 

Well I am already on it.  I spoke with his DR today.  She is not very familiar, but is willing to get educated and be an advocate for my son.   I called the school- the OT is not in today, but I did leave a brief message and talked to the school counselor - who had never heard of it, but also seems willing to learn.  I have tried lotions etc... we will keep working for solutions. 

Thank you for all your wonderful advice.  You guys are a wealth of knowlege when the professionals fall short.

 

Well, so much for the lotion idea.  That is great his Dr. is going to try to help instead of passing the buck.  I hope you find soem solutions soon.

[QUOTE=myangel0131]mamabear...has this effected her performance in school?  I wouldn't be surprised if it has.[/QUOTE]

I don't know....Not really I don't think.  What I have always told her (since preschool) is she doesn't have to read the paper, look at a magazine, etc. at HOME if she doesn't want to, but eventually, there will come a time when she has to touch/work with paper for an Art class, read the newspaper for a current events class at school, etc., and that I WILL EXPECT her to do it.  I told her she can ask to wash her hands afterward (and I always make sure her teacher's are aware of her issues), but that she was expected to do her work, even if it involves paper.

The clothing issues, which are newer and becoming more intense, are what has the Psychologist concerned enough to  recommend the OT Eval. for SPD.  She explained if DD hates to wear shoes and socks (but of course has to at school), can't stand to wear a pair of jeans (but of course that came about AFTER I bought her 4 new pair for school this year), can't stand the smell of paper (a classroom is filled with textbooks and other kinds of paper), doesn't like to be around a lot of chaotic noise (indoor recess this time of year), etc., that all of this could really have a lot to do with her behavior at home.  She explained that she could be spending her day just being so overwhelmed and ready to crawl out of her skin because of everything around her that is so uncomfortable, that she looses it when she finally gets home and can let loose.  She holds it together beautifully at school, but is just moody and nasty at home. 

I work in special ed., so I'm a little bit familiar with school based OT.  I know that joint compressions and brushing and stuff like that might help her with her "feel right" clothing issues, but I don't have a clue what they could possibly do to help her overcome her "smell" issues?  I guess I won't know until I take her for the Eval., so I better make that phone call.  Any therapy we do will have to be private.  The school won't give her any OT (they wouldn't even test her) because you can't receive it as a stand alone service and they say her disorders (TS, ADHD, and some OC symptoms) aren't effecting her academic ability, so she does not have an IEP or 504.  I disagree with their findings, but for now.......  We aren't fighting it.  I think it will become more evident in another year or two as she advances in school.