You've read the previous 3 responses and you are either saying to yourself, Yeah, they are right. It's not all that bad. Or you are saying, but you don't know MY son! It's much worse than you think.
If you were saying the 2nd response, I may be able to help. If not, ignore me! Many kids have some developmental issues related to genetics or the way they were brought up. For example, sensory defensiveness can run in families, or a child could have sensory integration issues from not spending enough time on his back as an infant - conventional wisdom today is to carry your baby around as much as possible to keep him safe.
INo matter what the cause, take a look at him today and ask:
How is his sense of hearing - does he hear better than most people (can hear whispering in the next room, the noise from fans bother him, etc)(hypersensitive) or is his hearing fine, yet he mixes up sounds in words (aminal for animal)(hyposensitive)?
How is his sense of seeing - does the light from the sun bother him when he goes outside(hypersensitive)? Does he get agitated when there is too much to look at like at the mall?(hypersensitive) Or does he not notice visual things like colors? (hyposensitive)
How is his sense of taste? You established that he is hypersensitive to taste, and therefore is a picky eater - all foods have lots of taste, so he doesn't want to try new things; they might taste too much.
How is his sense of smell? Does he hate the smell of normal things - like your cooking of hamburgers (hypersensitive)? Or does he crave the smell of things, and constantly smells candles, spices, lotions, etc(hyposensitive)?
How is his sense of touch? He is particular about is clothes - does he hate seams in his socks and tags on his shirts? (hypersensitive)? Or does he like to have things to touch, and to touch him - like you rubbing his back or head, him rubbing his leg (hyposensitive)?
There are two other senses - vestibular and proprioceptive.
Is his sense of balance off (vestibular)? Have him stand on both feet, close together, and close his eyes. Can he stay standing without jumping or opening his eyes for over 10 seconds? If not, his vestibular sense is off.
Proprioceptive sense has to do with knowing your place in space due to feeling your muscles and joints. If it is off, he may squeeze very hard when hugging, and can't get out of bed without stretching.
Many of us have one or two senses that are off. If a person has most of the senses off, it is not comfortable to live like this. Your senses are assaulting you all day long, and it is hard to concentrate. It makes a person irritable.
Most occupational therapists know how to give a sensory diet, and you can read more about this in "The Out of Sync Child Has Fun". However, the sensory diet works for just a few hours, and many children with this issue get labled as ADD/ADHD. To overcome it, he needs to revisit a stage in infancy and "integrate his Spinal Galant primitive reflex". This is the stage in which infants spend time on their backs, and their brains develop many abilities. The list is below, and if you see your son having two or more strong symptoms, he probably has a retained Spinal Galant:
• Fidgeting
• Bedwetting
• Poor concentration
• Poor short term memory
• Sensory integration problems
• Near focusing problems
• Difficulty with reading
Since he is still very young, it may be difficult to see how he will do with reading and concentration, but you may have a sense of where he is at.
If you would like more information about this, feel free to send me a private message, or google spinal galant primitive reflex.
I wish you the best of luck with your son!!
K. Johnson, MS Ed