Sensory Avery

I joke that while in the womb Avery picked what he wanted and left the rest for Miles.  No one has to tell me that all children are different but sensory need is one of the things that sets my children apart.  I don't think that Avery will ever be diagnosed with something like Sensory Processing Disorder because he has learned to cope with most of his sensory issues and they don't affect his everyday life like children who are diagnosed with SPD.

Avery could be classified as an "avoider" when it comes to sensory needs.  His avoider tendencies have always stood out to me --- maybe because I don't fit that.  When Miles' therapists where pointing out Miles seeking sensory input, I never really noticed because I related to what Miles was doing.  I could not relate to Avery's avoidance of sensory input. 


The first thing I noticed about baby Avery was that he did not want his face covered with a blanket.  This meant not even over his infant carrier.  Since he was born in October and the cold months were just starting, you had better believe that  we heard multiple comments about covering our baby.  I first thought maybe he just got too hot, or wanted to see the world.  Then one day I went out to lunch with my best friend's dad.  He worked near my house and he wanted to see Avery.  When I dropped him back off at work Avery was sleeping.  I started driving again and Avery started screaming like something was murdering him.  I was almost home so I did not pull over.  When I got home I found Avery's blanket was placed over the car seat and over his face.  Now it was not right on his face, but he was under the blanket.

Because Avery did not like to have his head covered I ended up bottle feeding him along with breast feeding him.  It also worked out because he was a pretty hungry baby!  If we were not at home I would most likely bottle feed because I wanted to cover up in public and Avery would not nurse under a blanket... no matter how hungry he was.  Also to back track I forgot to mention that Avery did not enjoy being swaddled for more than a few minutes.

To go in progression of age I will talk about Avery's crawling.  I did not think about this as sensory avoidance until recently.  Avery for the most part did not crawl.   I have some videos where he is sort of scooting but he is trying to avoid putting his knees on the ground. Both knees were never on the ground at the same time.  He also did not like 'tummy time' as an infant.

Until he could walk he also did not like being in the grass.  Once he could walk he did not care.

Recently I checked off a SPD screening checklist for both kids.  Not to make this post long I will briefly state the other things I marked off for Avery on the list. Some of the thing Avery will tolerate now, for example brushing, washing and cutting his hair.  It used to take 3 trips to the hair place and sometimes it would still end up not finished.  Somewhere I have a picture. 

Avery is not really a cuddly kid.  It is not that he is not affectionate but he prefers not to cuddle for long periods of time... UNLESS YOU ARE HIS NANA!  He could cuddle with Nana all day, I have always been a little jealous.

Avery has become a little more tolerant of messy play and getting his hands messy.  I think now that he can go wash his hands himself I just don't hear the complaint anymore.  He would even freak out if Miles was messy too, but I think he is used to that.  This is also why he avoids sauce of most kinds unless it is cheese or chocolate.

The one place where Avery is a seeker and not an avoider is the fact that he has to jump on EVERYTHING and still at ave 5.5 needs to put things in his mouth. 

After Avery got too big to sit in a bucket swing he does not like swinging.  He wants to but he does not.  He does not like to be tipped upside-down, unless he does it to himself on the couch and has rarely been a risk taker.

Avery gets startled by loud sounds. Before he got used to his Uncle Phil, just Phil's loud laugh would make him cry.  Avery covers his ears when he is scared.  He is more afraid of a loud sound than seeing something scary.  If the sound is unexpected, not even loud it can freak him out.  He still does not like the sound of fireworks or thunder.  

A few other things I marked off for Avery are: needs directions repeated often, says 'what?' frequently, has difficulty locating items among other items.

That is my Avery and how he avoids sensory.