What you are describing is called tactile sensitivity. I am 35 y/o and have had it my entire life. My son is 7 and has it as well. My 3 yr. Old daughter has a very heightened sense of smell. We have a history of neurological disorders in my family and it is attributed to that. I cannot walk barefoot on any surface. I never take my shoes and/or socks off. My feet and hands are hyper sensitive to textures as well. It can also be related to ocd. Does this help any? Zoloft has worked well for my ocd but only took the edge off of my tactile issues. I just learned to compensate for it by wearing socks,or keeping my hands in my pockets so I don't tough the wrong texture, etc. Are you under a drs. Care?

Blulyneguy is correct it's tactile sensitivity.........And not just for add, adha, ocd etc...............It's quite common in all neurological disorders...............Along with the other senses............These too can be heightened to the point of leaving the sufferer in severe pain...........Visual sensitivity can make you look at things sideways/squint eyes..........Taste sensitivity can make you unable to eat certain textures of food and foods with a stronger taste........................Heightened hearing can make it extremely difficult and painful to go anywhere..........I knew a child who would scream in pain whenever a plane flew over her house(the parents couldn't even hear this plane)

as for the tactile sensitivity.............My son had it...............Hated being touched.............Autism..............Ve ry common...............What worked for us was a total nutritional turnaround...............Most people couldn't even to begin to afford the treatment that I did for my son............But you can change many eating habits on your own without intervention for the expensive experts........................It all depends on how badly you really want to heal

You just described my 3 year old daughter. She has very acute hearing and smell. She cries at loud noises (even though they are not really loud and smells things we can't or very minimally). The eye thing.....Hmmmm. I never made the connection. See my post entitled "poking sensation in eyes". I really never thought about it that way. Thanks for the insight! :d

Actually I did see your post on "poking sensation in eyes" ..............And it really made me think, my boy as previously stated has autism, used to press his eyes with his fingers..........As he is for the most part nonverbal, he cannot express to me what is happening to him............And generally is seen as one of the many "quirks" of autism.............This "poking" and many of the other stims of autism have gone away..........Which I give credit to our nutritional intervention...............It was through medical tests where we found out what in his body he was deficient in and what he had excess of.............In particular metals...................He's still on the treatment however due to the cost and I feel that he has plateaued, I am cutting back somewhat...............But still very interested in the detoxification of the body...............Due to some genetic quirk/shots(many in the alternative field believe that autism may have been caused by the childhood shots....Ie the mercury in the shots)..............

.............When you mentioned the "poking" it made sense that perhaps he was feeling this way at the time too................I've been..........Pardon the pun, been keeping my eye open for the clue or to somehow pin point the particular vitamin/mineral/amino acid etc that is helpful in reducing this sensation..............

I will continue to seek the answer for my eye trouble. I appreciate your response. I'm wondering if it is a "typical" sign of autism though. I am not autistic (nor are my children) but just wonder if somehow, it can be attributed to some "spectrum" category. My son has tourettes and my 3 year old daughter shows signs daily. I sure hope we can find a way to kill this monster. It can be overpowering. I am still thankful that they are healthy.Just rambling now....Thanks again!

I'm not autistic nor is anyone other than my son in the whole family..............Nor am I trying to make anyone think they are autistic....................What i'd like to see is more people.............Pardon the extremely overused phrase................."think outside the box"...............I'm an old dog at this and over the years i've seen many connections to other "disorders"........................We are all human beings, agreed?...............We all have the possibility of something being altered in us, whether environmentally or genetically? Why is it such a radical thought to think that maybe just maybe if we repair the damage done by nature or outside forces.............With nutritional therapy? Sure we all run to the medical docs when something goes wrong...........It's natural.........To want immediate relief.........And instant results..............Unfortunately we put too much faith in doctors.............They are afterall trained in medicine and medicine alone.................It's only when a medically trained doctor such as the late dr bernard rimland has a disabled child............Who he himself becomes frustrated with the limitations of the medical system do they reach for other alternatives......................"lets see, i've used all the medicine and theories of the day and my child is still frantic, in pain and getting worse every day".................Through total frustration with their .O.W.N childs lack of progress they become open to new ideas........................This is where the parents come in........................Dr. Rimland had started the .American .Autism .Society.................They reported to him immeasurably success with megavitamin therapy...............It's only after receiving these reports that the good dr decided to do controlled studies (22), which determined a good portion of the autistic patients had very good to good progress on this treatment(at the time I believe they were just studying the b6 and magnesium....60s)........................W hat am I trying to say?........................If you have an unhealthy organism it's best not to mask or cover up the symptoms with medicine but to help it repair itself.............No it's not as simple as taking your daily multi vitamin(but still better than nothing)..............Research each individual symptoms.........Everything.........Lack of nail growth...Dull hair........Cracks in the corners of the mouth............Lousy bms...Hyperactivity........Everything..... ........You can play detective yourself..................

..............And by the way..................Hypersenstitive hearing is often associated with magnesium deficiency...................And b6(along with the other b vitamins) complement the magnesium................Funny how things work out, eh?

I again appreciate the info. Will pursue the answer for my kids. I hope you didn't think I was slamming your kid. I certainly have the insight to be sensitive to all disorders. I was just saying that "autism spectrum" disorders seem to be the new catch all for kids. I do know that my son (and i) have ts and a.D.D but no autism traits. Just for some reason we have hyper sensitivity to certain things. Again, thanks and best wishes.

Absolutely no offense taken...................I suppose my last post seems a little too pushy...................I've come to the conclusion..... When people post desparate questions.......Are in fact are looking for compassion and understanding............................N ot answers.

Not sure what you mean by "catch all" but it did take the "experts" some time to come up with the criteria for the different sets of autism(in the past it was considered schizophrenia)..................Labelling? Yea, they're quick to label..............But to me it doesn't matter what you call it............Whatever it is...........It's someone who needs help...........Whether nutritionally, education wise.......Daily living skills, job skills etc

i have no doubt you are sensitive to others............Tourettes and add are a difficult dx to live with..................People for the most part are not too understanding

Here in the states any child who exhibits behavior that is not *typical* they seem to say they have *autism spectrum disorder*. It is a kind of "we don't know, but on page 21 of the autism book it says...."
with ts and a.D.D. They are not too quick to diagnose. Especially ts. Only took me 30 years to get diagnosed. Luckily, I did my homework and got help for my son at the first signs. As for compassion- I think you're right. I come here looking for some insight more than answers. Deep down, I seem to know my brain is wacky but can't quite grasp why. Best of luck and i'll look for more of your posts for info.
Thanks,
jerry