Has anyone ever heard of Hypersensitivity Disorder in Children?

Question

Doctor told me today that he believes my daughter has hypersensitivity disorder, not bi polar like I thought. If anyone has had children with this what is it and are there treatments?

this is all mental, her mood are eratic. Its not food related

Answer 1

I have not heard of Hypersensitivity Disorder, but my daughter has Sensory Intergration Dysfuncion - I wonder if they are similar.
With her she is hyper sensitive to the the physical world around her. It all drains her physically - then she has melt downs.
Two of her main triggers were noise (the noise of a fly buzzing in the room would bother her, the school bus ride and gym class were extra hard for her) and flouresent lights.
Tags in clothes, seams in socks, and the feel of the material of her clothes are all concerns too.
We took her to occupational therapy and they were extremely helpful.

You mentioned that you are worried about your daughter being
Bi-polar. I had those same concerns about my daughter.
Her moods were way out of proportion.
We knew ever since she was little that she did not respond the way other kids did.
I cannot tell you how many times I heard
"If that were my kid I would (fill in the blank - there were many different options suggested)
OR
If you were only more consitent (they knew nothing of our family schedule)
OR
You need to provide her with more stimulation
OR
She is just being stubborn - you need to take more control
OR
You are being too controling - she is just wanting to have some say in her world
Many people who do not live with children like this think they are experts on what we are doing wrong and telling us how to handle our children.

We took her to the pediatrician and found out she had allergies, we took her to the therapist for "anger issues", we took her to an occupational therapist because she had Sensory Intergration Dysfunction (SID see above for defintion).

She was in the 4th grade and was a straight A student as far as grades went.
Social skills were another matter entirely.
She spinning out of control.

We had many pieces of the puzzle, but did not get the whole picture until she was 10 years old.
We took her to her therapists office but had a PHD who specialized in children test her.
It was supposed to be a 3 hour test.
3&1/2 hours later they came out (she thought it was great - it was play time all the way and she was the main focus!).
The results were the result.
By that I mean they were not specifically testing for any one thing.
It could have been ADHD, Asperger's, Autism, Bi-polar, depression, dsylexia, or any one of a number of things.
Her results were Asperger's Syndrom (which by the way in rare in girls)..
Asperger's is on the Autism Spectrum Disorder Scale (a.k.a. the scale).
Many Asperger's people are initally mis-diagnosed as Bi-Polar that is why it is very important to have a person who is VERY familiar with mental health issues (your family docotor is not this person) do the diagnosis.

There is a reason the symbol for Autism is a puzzle piece.
We had all the little pieces diagnosed - but not the big picture.
One in every 166 children has Autism.
It is not all "Rain Man" and sitting by yourself in corners rocking back and forth.
Her therapist missed it.
Her pediatrician missed it (although to be fair - they only get to see each kid for 15 - 20 minutes and they are not mental health experts).
Her teachers missed.
Her occupational therapist missed it (although again to be fair - she did diagnose the S.I.D.).

What you can do is call the school district and ask them to come and do an evaluation (You don't mention how old your daughter is - but that does not matter it can be diagnosed as early as 2 years old).
The school district has specialists who know what they are looking at (be it any of the above "issues").
These people are professionals - not just teachers with a couple of psych classes on the side.
They have the hours and hours it takes to get a proper diagnosis.
You already paying for these services with your tax money.
We did not know that we could request an evaluation, the request does not have to come from anyone at the school.

Our lives have been totally changed since we found out what we are dealing with.
Is every day a honeymoon?
Heaven's no.
But now we have coping mechanisms in place.
We undertand that she is wired differently and it will take different stratagies than what we are used to.
AND - she is so much better for knowing.
What she told me after we found out - now I know that it's not because I wasn't trying hard enough or that I wasn't good enough, it's just because I'm wired differently.
Good luck, I'll be thinking of you.


Lisa450 would you please contact me?

My daughter is 11 years old and needs to know that there is a good future for her. Because we don't know anyone else with Asperger's it is hard for her.
I NEVER give out my email address so I hope you re-read these answers and get this.
[e-mail]
Take care

Answer 2

Hypersensitivity Disorder In Children

Answer 3

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Has anyone ever heard of Hypersensitivity Disorder in Children?
Doctor told me today that he believes my daughter has hypersensitivity disorder, not bi polar like I thought. If anyone has had children with this what is it and are there treatments?

Answer 4

If I'm reading your question correctly, I have this myself. For me, it's part of Asperger Syndrome.

Loud noises, certain smells, the touch of cloth that isn't cotton, the flicker of flourescent lights or colors that are too bright... any of that will annoy me to the point of tears--and I'm 23. Events that are unexpected, disapointing, or frustrating have the same effect; I have less control of my emotions (and less knowledge of what they are and how to use them) than most people. Right now I'm going to counseling a couple of times a month, in order to learn how to deal with overwhelming feelings.

When I was a child, I had frequent temper tantrums, because things like that were just "too much to take". My mom had trouble getting me washed and brushing my hair because those things felt literally painful to me. (Don't worry--I learned to take showers. The feeling of being dirty is just as annoying.)

At this point, there isn't any cure, but your daughter can learn to deal with her hypersensitivity. If she has tantrums like I did, the best thing to do is just leave her alone until she's calmed down; then when you're both calm, figure out why she overreacted to something and how you can help her cope. Remember that, to her, it IS intensely upsetting, even though it wouldn't be to you. Telling her that she's "just having PMS" or "just overreacting" doesn't help. Her feelings are valid; they are just different from yours.

For me, a great help has always been having a space where no one will bother me, where it's quiet and the colors and lights aren't over-bright. Having my own room is good; but when I can't do that (I'm in college and sometimes need to share an apartment with a roommate), I hang blankets from the top bunk to the bottom bunk of a bunk bed, forming a little room in which I can read or think, isolated from the outside world.

I don't know about specific treatments; I never had any, since my AS was diagnosed only after I left home. Still, the best thing ever done for me is easy to do for your daughter: Provide a consistent, predictable environment; let her know what to expect. Let her know she can depend on you. That does a world of good, whatever treatments you try.

Good luck. Incidentally, chances are, your daughter, as I do, has special skills that will offset her sensitivity to sensory input and emotion. I'm not sure what her abilities are, but I'm very good at science and, once I figure out how not to be frustrated when I mess up a calculus problem, I'll be a pretty good researcher.

Answer 5

I think the second picture day became standard back when I was in school. My mom rarely got two sets of pictures though. ... Kids change so much from Fall to Spring! I am glad they offer a second picture day at my daughter's school. I have seen the keychains and stuff. They're nice, but I will not be buying them. I do however go ahead and save up my money to get the pictures twice a year. It's nice that in our school, they at least let you see the second set of pictures before you buy them. So you can judge for yourself whether or not they are worth the price. My daughter's second pictures were wonderful this year! The same was true for Kindergarten. lol, she kind of went through an "awkward" looking phase for part of Kindergarten and they captured it. I just have one semi-complaint about the second picture day at our school. Perhaps it is because we are in a relatively low income area so the sales aren't as good. But in the last few years before my daughter started, they had the best spring pictures! The kind of backgrounds and props you would expect at the mall or something. ... But they haven't done that these last three years and it's a disappointment. Good to hear that you have two photographers in the family and do not need this second picture day. I am the "photographer" where I work, but I don't quite meet the quality the school pictures person's camera & special lighting can. And it is cheaper than going to walmart and being tempted to buy $200 worth of pictures. So I appreciate it.

Answer 6

I've heard of so many disorders preconceived by so many supposed specialists for so many different reasons that I actually wanna throw up.
Most times the child is just reacting to the stimuli surrounding them. It's not the same as it used to be. Do you play a lot of background music? Is the t.v. on a lot? Are you busy doing housework when you should be spending time with the child? Is the dad a drinker or smoker or drug user? Are you? Do you and your spouse argue in front of the child? Do you incorporate quality family time and have spirituality in your life? Is the child on any medications? Is there a lot of noise in your neighbourhood?

Depending on how you answer those questions, there are many others, might give you a clue as to where you might need to make changes in your life that will help make these 'phantom disorders' dissipate or disappear altogether. Kids get so much negative stimuli these days that we're not often aware of it.
Remember, children's minds are like sponges and EVERYTHING that they see and hear can affect them in different ways. So if you detect anything negative or unnecessary in your child's life(especially t.v.), then get rid of it. And remember, children NEED rules and structure to keep them not only physically safe, but mentally safe as well.
God Bless and thanks for reading.

Answer 7

Children can not be diagnosed with Bi-polar. Bi-polar symptoms do not onset until the teenage years at the earliest.
Your doctor should have gone over it with you when he suggested that is what he thinks is going on. Hypersensitivity disorder is exactly what it sounds like. The child is overly sensitive to things around her. Loud noises can cause a certain reaction, as can almost anything. You have to learn what affects your chlid and how she will react.

Answer 8

More children have HD than one would think.
It can take many forms, one is a hyper-sense to seams in clothes,lace,socks, etc.,
Some are unable to filter out stimuli and melt into tears at the least thing.
Teaching her breathing and even guided meditation will help.
Eventually, she has to learn how to control it and you can help by giving her some tools to work with.
Hard part is that you have to be in control when she is unable to control herself. Face-to-Face, Eye Contact, then directions in a tone that lets her know you are not asking her to do this, she is GOING to do these exercises for her best interest.
Discuss it with her first so she will know why she needs to learn to do these exercises. Yoga is also very helpful because it is calming.

Answer 9

uff...you may have to run off if you find a child like this...but ...this kids..are genious...sence and they will run your life...its all depend on how you conduct your child and if both parents are cooperating...along...with no fight...and by the way...make sure...there are not to many sibling trying to run this child life...give more space and care and like tranquility to this child...or this child. so and search for professional..health...carefull...the cure can be worst that the desiese...but you need lots of care...sometime this may also happen when,,i may tell you more...but best of all...a lot of tranquility..peace...

Answer 10

Yes, try the dr. Finegold diet on her> It works great!