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    #202393 09/30/14 08:31 AM
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    DS7 is dyspraxic and has an IEP. He may have inattentive ADHD. He has some ASD like traits that are probably related to the dyspraxia (things like toe walking at times, hands waving around while talking, etc). I've never really noticed any sensory issues with him,and if he does have them they are related to being under-sensitive, like not knowing that food is getting smeared all over his face when he eats. Several months ago we noticed that he gets unreasonably irritated when people chew gum. He came home from school complaining that he had a really hard time in art class because there were kids chewing gum and he had to close his eyes and plug his ears the entire time. I asked what the art teacher did, and he said nothing. I emailed his classroom teacher and IEP manager asking if kids are allowed to chew gum in school because this is getting to be a real problem for DS and he is unable to focus if there is anyone even close to him chewing gum. They are saying that generally it's not allowed but it may be in some kids' IEPs. This school is the "ASD hub" so there are a lot of kids on the spectrum there. IEP manager said that they use earplugs or headphones for kids having problems with noise and they can try that with DS. But it's also the sight of kids chewing gum that drives him batty, not just noise. It completely grosses him out. If a kid is chewing and he can verify that it's something other than gum, then he's Ok with it. Anyone have any suggestions? I asked if the OT can somehow desensitize him to this and didn't really get a reply about that. OT sees him once or twice per week. Also, does this sound like a normal "gifted" hypersensitivy or does it sound more along the lines of sensory processing disorder? It's JUST gum...it's not like he has a long list of things that are intolerable. Overall he's very laid back about everything.

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    How about moving either the other kid or your DS so that the kid is out of sight?

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    I suggested this--we'll see what they say. I don't think it's just one kid. I'm imagining DS being surrounded by kids smacking gum--it's probably like a torture chamber. But he's probably over-exaggerating.

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    I feel your DS' pain.

    There is a particular SPD-related thing that this sounds an awful lot like...

    mine started about the same age. Now, I have hyper-sensorial phenomena/awareness in a number of dimensions (auditory is just one)-- but clicking, tapping, crunching, rustling, crinkling, chewing-- it's hellish* and yes that IS the word that I use.

    This might be the onset of something called Misophonia. Just something to be aware of, as it isn't exactly the same as hyperacusis (though I have that as well, I think). I do NOT actually find earplugs/sound isolation to be as effective for me personally as an effective masking of the noise.

    In some situations, however, earplugs (or just a cotton ball that you can quickly pull a couple of bits off of from a pocket) can make things tolerable. Use of headphones may not always be acceptable.

    smile

    * go ahead, ASK ME how much I liked doing my subject GRE in an icy room with three other people-- one a gum SMACKER, one with a flaming head cold and a box of tissues and cough drops, and the other one of those fidgety people, equipped with a damned clicky-clicky retractable eraser?? One of the worst sensory memories of my entire life.


    Schrödinger's cat walks into a bar. And doesn't.
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    ooooh - me, too. I did my LSAT with the proctors chewing gum, whispering and - for some incomprehensible reason - tearing up page after page of paper. I ALMOST called and canceled my score, but didn't because there was no re-test before applications were due.

    And it's still with me. I almost had to leave a fun airplane-airport event this weekend because they were broadcasting tower communications very, very loudly and the static and weird clicking sounds were sending me over the edge. I do have to remind myself about this when my son and/or husband are losing their cookies over their own particular sensitivities. We are a fun family, aren't we?

    Guilty admission - I am a pen clicker. But I try not to ever have a clickable pen for that very reason!

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    Ok, I will try researching this. Gawd...I don't think I can deal with yet another disorder. And this one mystifies me. He used to get irritated with us at the table and yell saying we were chewing with our mouths open, making too much noise, etc. He has chilled a bit (or at least has stopped griping because we kept telling him it was rude...it's ruder to yell at someone than it is to chew loudly and Geez, just get over it!) but now it seems to be transferring over to gum chewing and school work.

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    I looked up hyperacusis and it says it can be caused by ear/brain damage. When DS had his brain injury/skull fractures, it was right on his right ear. He had one fracture in front of his ear and another (bigger) one right behind. I wonder if that's somehow related. And it's odd how it's just chewing/gum that annoys him so much not other random sounds.

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    Originally Posted by suevv
    ooooh - me, too. I did my LSAT with the proctors chewing gum, whispering and - for some incomprehensible reason - tearing up page after page of paper.

    I'm laughing because that cacophony is exactly what I experienced in my fourth year international trade theory final. I actually went up to the proctors, explained how much noise they were making, and asked them to step out of the building if they needed to continue talking, as this was a FINAL EXAM! I must have looked a bit wild-eyed, because they heeded my request.


    What is to give light must endure burning.
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    Blushing. I'm afraid -I- was that fidgety person when I took the GREs. One of the other testers actually asked the proctor to tell me to stop wiggling.

    But I say that it was just because there was too much dead time. wink


    ...pronounced like the long vowel and first letter of the alphabet...
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    I thought that it was EXTREMELY odd that teachers told students that they could bring GUM to chew during the school's state tests last year. Um, seriously? I cautioned DD that she'd better not disturb others with it (because the very idea of ENCOURAGING gum-chewing DURING an exam, just sounds like a very, very bad idea).

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