CAPD definitely sounds like a possibility, amazedmom.

Not to confuse the issue, but just to throw something else out there (that could confuse the issue lol!)... my dd11 used to have the same issues with noises being too loud and not being able to filter out background noises - in kindergarten she couldn't hear her teacher talk because of what she heard as a very noisy classroom (teacher said it wasn't noisy at all). She also was terrified of going into new places - any place she hadn't been before... it seemed to me like it was worse when we were going into crowded public places, large rooms, things like that - so I really thought it was related to hearing in some way and to her sensitivity to noises. She went through listening therapy when she was 5 years old, and that seemed to help.... but ultimately what helped her the most was... vision therapy - she had extreme double vision and lack of peripheral vision as well as difficulty tracking. We had *no clue* about any of that - but in addition to what you wrote about noises/hearing, one other thing sounds very much like my dd at that age - avoiding eye contact. I had to ask her (repeatedly) to look *at* me when I was talking to her and trying to make eye contact. I think there are a lot of different reasons for that avoidance of eye contact, but fwiw for our dd it was because she couldn't see up close and it was too hard to try to focus on our face.

Re remembering names... my ds13 was also like this in early elementary school... still is to a certain degree, but for him, the key was that he just wasn't that interested in remembering anyone's name. He could remember his best friend's name and the names of his sister's best friends, but other kids just weren't that meaningful or interesting to him at that age. That sounds like he had some type of disorder re social relationships - he didn't, he was well-liked and functioned a-ok socially... he just wasn't that interested in other children's names. Once he was in middle school *and* in a much more intellectually stimulating school environment he started remembering the names of the other kids. It's weird, it's quirky, it's whatever. He has no memory issues - he has a really amazing memory. So for him, I think it was all about interest level.

I think it's cute that your dd is playing getting ready for winter - I'm playing pretending it's spring today lol!

Best wishes,

polarbear