My gifted child is supersensitive to many things - some that stand out are super sensitivity to noise, textures of food and busy-ness around him (cannot function well with noisy and active people around him). He also has strong feelings of guilt and responsibility to the suffering people and animals in the world, a heightened sense of injustice, feelings of surprise when he encounters a "rule breaker" amongst his peers (rules are meant to be followed!), has a constant need for comfort from a parent that the world is not an unfair and unjust place and that both good and bad coexist. He is 9 years old and has always been different from all his friends in the above ways.
For e.g., he could not sleep last night at all because there was a night bird chirping outside and he could supposedly hear it all night long through a closed and dual paned window and black out curtains. Though I highly sympathize with him, I am also wondering how such kids will thrive when they head out into the world, live in shared apartments and dorm rooms etc where there is little control on the level of noise and other irritants. I am concerned enough that I would like to start finding ways and means to help him cope with oversensitivities starting now so that he can adjust better when he is off to college. I would really appreciate any BTDT advice, tips, book referrals from other parents with similar kids. TIA.
