Is my gifted son highly sensitive or does he have a sensory processing disorder? The OT that saw him when he was seven said it was a sensory processing disorder but I just see his differences as being highly sensitive. He noticed everything, including clothing tags, sounds that I could tune out would bother him--but not to the point that he would have behavior issues.
Is his anxiety a mental disorder or the result of a gifted kid knowing too much about very difficult reality. My son doesn't want to hear the watered-down, sugar-coated version of anything. My husband always said our son had "a death grip on reality." My son likes to plan things, to be prepared (isn't this a scout motto?) and part of being prepared is to accurately assess the situation. His recent diagnosis has him thinking about how it will affect his ability to get a job that pays well and whether or not he should try to hide his disability when looking for a job. He is only 14 but he is planning ahead, like he always does and looking for more information in order to change his plans if necessary. One of his primary care physicians suggested that he see a doctor to possibly get medication for his anxiety after he asked her too many questions. He always felt that he had been misdiagnosed and his doctors had been giving him the same cliche' advice that they give everyone and he said he knew he wasn't like everyone else. The suggestion that our asking too many questions was an anxiety problem did not shut us up. We kept asking and finally got a correct diagnosis.
He had been diagnosed with a developmental coordination disorder when he was not clumsy because he had a few symptoms of DCD. They applied Occam's razor instead of looking for an accurate diagnosis.
Because he taught himself to read and spell and could name words that were verbally spelled out for him at 2 1/2, words that he had not seen before, people in my family wanted to label him with Asperger Syndrome. He does not have it. He used to have older friends but the scoliosis brace he had to wear from age 11 to 14 kept him from doing things with other kids. A physical disability can be very socially isolating when you live in a small town with a nice football field, but no library. When every social event for kids involves the ability to do physical things it is almost impossible to be involved socially.
