Sensory/tactile defensiveness

    
      Re: Sensory/tactile defensiveness
    


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Posted by CCF Neuro MD on July 24, 1997 at 17:30:49:

In Reply to: Sensory/tactile defensiveness posted by Sue on June 24, 1997 at 17:31:44:

: My friend, Lynn has a 5 year old daughter with sensory defensiveness.  Her biggest problem is with wearing clothes!  When she finds something that is comfortable she won't wear anything else, and she won't let her mother wash it.  Are there any web sites or support groups this mother can refer to?
  Sue
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Sue,
     It would be quite unusual for a child to carry a diagnosis only of tactile/sensory defensiveness in isolation.  Most typically this type of trait is seen in children who have other features of pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) or other disorders in the spectrum of autism.  These other traits may be very mild or quite severe and debilitating.
In recent years, some psychologists and therapists (physical and occupational) have begun to diagnose tactile defensiveness more readily and some do provide therapies aimed specifically at addressing these issues.  Most medical doctors including neurologists still feel that all the evidence is not in yet, and we retain a healthy skepticism towards the diagnosis as well as some of the therapies aimed
at addressing these problems.
All that said, your best source of information regarding support groups or other help in your area probably are the autism-related societies.
Autism Society of America- www.autism-society.org/
Center for Study of Autism- www.autism.org/
Autism Research Institute- [phone]
Good Luck.