When my son was younger he hated having water splashed in his face but loved warm baths where he could control the temperature. He liked to be clean and smell good, yet he would often have a messy face whenever he ate. He seemed to be up moving all the time, yet with all that exercise he still seemed to have weaker than average muscle strength. He loved being with other kids but preferred watching them in sports activities because he couldn't keep up with them physically. He was always too hot or too cold. He seemed more sensitive than other kids in so many ways yet he didn't have meltdowns except occasionally at home, but I was always worried that if he didn't have a safe place to unwind after something like a scout event where he had to deal with the heat or cold, dirt, bugs, pain from walking or headaches that he might have a meltdown and he would be terribly embarrassed. He was very sensitive about what other people thought about him, yet he would clown around using self deprecating humor and he could be very funny.
He is better able to deal with some sensitivities now that he is 11. For example, we recently took his big seven-month-old labrador puppy to get spayed and he had to take care of her in the back seat of the car for the 30 minute drive home. I had towels all over the back seat--everywhere except where he was sitting. Fifteen minutes into our drive home, the puppy had to throw up and she threw up all over my son. He kept yelling at me to do something and I told him he would have to deal with it until I could pull over. My son who is sensitive to smells and everything else had to sit with dog vomit on his clothing for fifteen minutes but still had the presence of mind to get his iPhone and check to make sure his dog was okay and that the yellow color of the vomit was not a symptom of something serious that might require taking her back to the vet.
