Pediatric Occupational Therapy in Charlotte

I am hypersensitive to tactile input. As a tactilely hypersensitive child this meant that often playing dress-up was not as fun for me as for other kids because I would be easily distracted and deterred by the scratchiness of the cheap costumes that are typically used for dress-up clothes. I never liked to wear hats because they would press my hair down. I spent a lot of my time in older baggy clothing even though my girlfriends were wearing more feminine outfits. I hated to wear stockings, ruffles, tulle, zippers, new denim, or to walk on rough carpet. 

As a tactilely hypersensitive child I was always very aware of how close other people were to me. I would be worried about them touching my unexpectedly and it would distract me to the point of losing track of what to do in an activity if someone bumped into me or was too close to me. I was also distracted by my own clothing and shoes. 

Typically light touch is something that most people don’t like. A firm touch is more soothing and welcome. If a child is hypersensitive to touch you can imagine their difficulty interacting in a busy classroom or on the playground where it’s difficult to predict what they could bump into. 

A tactilely hyposensitive child may be seen seeking tactile input. They may be fidgety or constantly touching all variety of items in their environment. They may be less aware of different tactile inputs such as if their hair isn’t brushed straight, if their clothes are twisted, or if a sock is missing or inside out. These children may play more roughly or be less aware of injuries such as scrapes or bumps.