Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Light sensitivity

Hi all.

DS6 has always been very sensitive to light. As a baby he would cry when I'd take him out on a sunny day. He has a very hard time looking at a camera when we take pictures because the flash bothers him. Flourescent lights make his eyes water. He has to wear sunglasses a lot, including at the dentist when they shine the light on him while cleaning his teeth. The other day at his end-of-year concert his eyes started to water when, he says, all the parents were taking pictures of their kids and their cameras were flashing.

I've read about sensory sensitivities in gifted children and particularly in visual-spatial children, but I usually just hear about kids who are particularly sensitive to sound or tactile stimuli (e.g., tags, scratchy fabrics). I'm just curious if any of your kids have visual sensitivies as well?

My daughter has visual sensitivities but not to the level you described. She is very sensitive to the sunlight and has to wear sunglasses when outside, but even this isn't as extreme as it use to be. She has never had issues with camera flashes or light bulbs in general.

Haven't noticed it to any degree in the kids or grandkids, but I am extremely sensitive to light. Sometimes I have to wear sunglasses inside, if the florescent lights are a certain kind. I remember being extremely miserable during recess at elementary school when I had to go outside at recess. The sunlight after being inside would give me terrible headaches.

My DD7 is sensitive to the sun and complains it gives her a headache at recess too.

I am very sensitive to light, as is DC16. I sometimes still get headaches from fluorescent lights and lots of flashes of light.

cricket3 - this is true. I have blue eyes, and DH & DC have really dark brown eyes. None of them are as sensitive as I am to light.

DS7 to the t. Dental check up is a nightmare for him and therefore for me as well I even took him to a pediatric ophthalmologist when he was little because he was so sensitive. The ophthalmologist told me that he did it to get my attention and gave me a parenting lesson. What a jerk.

We all have blue eyes but DS7 by far the most sensitive of us.