Tactile Defensiveness.

[Sal_steve 10]

Hello all, just wondering if anyone has any experiences of a child with tactile defensiveness. Our son is now 13 months and cannot stand the touch of almost anything. He will occasionally grab toys but drops them once he has them as he doesn't like the feel of them on his hands. He won't let you hold his hands at all. The specialists have said he is tactile defensive....something myself and my fiance had never heard of prior to us having our son. He has other problems however this seems to really be holding him back as he won't push up when on his belly (thereore he won't crawl) nor will he hold onto sofa to balance himself.

 

We have got specialists who are great but if anyone has any experiences/tips or ideas it would be a great help.

 

Thanks for taking the time

[espadrille 10]

It is probably too early to look at this but many kids who dont like being touched (unless it is on their own terms) are affected by other syndromes such as autism.

I personally dont like to be in close proximity to people. I only want to touch them if I feel comfortable. A child who is defensive when touched could be affected by many things.

 

What did the report say when you got the diagnosis of tactile defensiveness?

[medusa 16]

It sounds like you're having a tough time with your son, however much you may adore him!

 

This may appear to be a bit of a strange suggestion, but have you tried putting him in gloves that he can't get off? If his hands are covered in fabric of a type that he can bear (or learn to bear) then he won't be touching other things when he tries to move about. The gloves would also perform the function of potentially desensitising his hands to the sensation of touch.

 

I must stress at this point that I have no expertise in this field with children. It's purely my extrapolation of a technique used with animals and me as test subjects, so please check it with specialists as a potential helping hand.

 

I have seen this technique used to great effect with dogs and cats that struggle with being too nervous to function. I have no idea who did the original experiment, but it was done with very well fitted supportive body suits with animals, and stopped them fretting because of the constant feedback from the suits. There's a period of nerves and upset for the first few minutes after the suit is fitted but then an overall relaxation much more than the original state before applying the suit.

 

I've also got nerve damage in my right shoulder which means that my right arm and hand are over sensitive on occasions, meaning that I can't bear having anything touching or moving on my arm and hand. Wearing a tight and supportive neoprene sleeve and wrist brace which doesn't move relative to the surface of my arm helps to desensitise my arm and to make all sorts of contact and movement less painful. You can always tell a really bad day when my arm's all covered in pressure garments.

 

I apologise if this sounds a bit random and off the wall. I know it doesn't do anything to address why he's reacting in this way, but the lateral thinking approach may do something for the physical outcome.

 

Good luck in finding something which will help him and you out with this.

[lauragriff 10]

Hi sal Steve. I've been googling tactile defensiveness and came upon this post, I was wondering how your son is now, 4 yrs down the line? My son is 15 months old and is very sensitive to touch and said to be tactile defensive he wouldn't touch anything at all. he is sensitive to all touch even deep pressure ... I can't seem to find any info on children who don't like any touch but he will cuddle me, is fine with any clothes on etc. it's very strange? I was wondering if you had any tips that you found helped your child? We are currently doing brushing and deep pressure which he absolutely hates. Would love to hear your story. Hoping to hear from you