Daughter refuses to wear clothes now!

[myrose]

I forgot to mention that my daughter started to not want to wear some of her clothing. I did not think anything of it. She kept saying they were NOT comfortable.

These are clothes that she picked out and wore all the time so I am confused. She is now down to only wearing two pairs of her pants and 3 t-shirts.

The on and off with her socks in the mornings until they feel just right is driving me insane. It seems to be continuing to get worse.

This came on all of a sudden when it started but it was never this bad. What is going on now?????????????????

Can't believe I fogot to mention how bad this is becoming. Our mornings are becoming a nightmare for us. As is the tics weren't enough!

 

How does this happen all of a sudden?????? And I can tell she is really not just being a brat or not liking her clothes....this is a real sincere issue for her. She said to me today that she loves all of her shorts and wished so much they were comfortable but they are not. She used to wear these clothes all the time!

[faith]

myrose,

welcome to my world

what you describe is exactly what I go through with my son. Yup, two pairs of pants and in our case, three or four "hoodies", and I fight every morning cause he'll keep trying to put the same thing on as yesterday. Won't wear any pants with buttons, no jeans, likes only hanes socks and keeps rummaging through his drawer for the ones with the "red" thread on the toe........and don't get me started on the Nike baseball hat backwards!!

 

I guess this fits in the category of sensory and ocd, all pretty much part of the syndrome. Luckily his teacher is up on this and recognizes his issues as part of his tic syndrome, because he has issues at school that slow him down with completing work in timely fashion, too much "particularness" and pefectionism, doesn't know how to hurry up, he can't. .... I don't know if it was all of a sudden, but I'd say more the last two years (second and third grade). Wow, thanks for reminding me I have way more problems than I thought!

 

Faith

[Chemar]

myrose

 

this sounds like the Sensory Integration Dysfunction (aka Sensory Processing Disorder) that many of our kids have

 

my son cuts all labels out of clothes and turns socks inside out because of the seams and he will only wear soft fabrics, all 100% cotton etc etc etc

 

we had occupational therapy for him when he was younger that really helped the SID a lot

 

the book "The Out of Sync Child" also taught me a lot about SID

http://www.out-of-sync-child.com/

 

for my son the SID and OCD often blend

[CSP]

myrose, and faith,

 

Just a little encouragement, my husband had these issues when he was young, and he has outgrown them all!

 

He did what Chemar said her son does.

 

C.P.

[myrose]

WOW WOW is all I have to say. how does this just start to happen like that?? That is what I do not understand. I have to wash her jeans everyday now becasue only two feel okay.

I found a internet site that has special clothing for this. Things like seamless socks and such. The clothes line says.."coming soon" but the socks are available now.

Think I may try these. The seam in the socks is what bothers her.

Gee ya know after all the reading I have been doing on tics I always come across autism in some way or another.

Now I feel that tics and autism are all in the same....some mild...some severe....

All the symptoms are the same in alot of things I read about autism. Now this Sensory thing....The clothes site I came across happens to also be for Autism kids.

I sure hope nothing else comes our way.....not until we can at least address at least one of the others issues first.

 

I never even heard of tics before my daughter had them. No it seems like they all over along with Autism. What is really going on here?

Its scary...all I can say....

[peglem]

I just wanted to add that my daughter becomes hypersensitive to clothing, sound and light when she is yeasty...something to think about.

[oceanperiwinkle]

I forgot to mention that my daughter started to not want to wear some of her clothing. I did not think anything of it. She kept saying they were NOT comfortable.

These are clothes that she picked out and wore all the time so I am confused. She is now down to only wearing two pairs of her pants and 3 t-shirts.

The on and off with her socks in the mornings until they feel just right is driving me insane. It seems to be continuing to get worse.

This came on all of a sudden when it started but it was never this bad. What is going on now?????????????????

Can't believe I fogot to mention how bad this is becoming. Our mornings are becoming a nightmare for us. As is the tics weren't enough!

 

How does this happen all of a sudden?????? And I can tell she is really not just being a brat or not liking her clothes....this is a real sincere issue for her. She said to me today that she loves all of her shorts and wished so much they were comfortable but they are not. She used to wear these clothes all the time!

 

 

I feel your pain. Clothing sensitivity was actually the first symptom that my daughter exhibited...followed in subsequent years with ocd/tic issues. I have found that distraction while dressing works best for us. Talking to her about something, watching TV (if that doesn't bother her), etc. while dressing. Also, sticking to a routine every morning helps her feel more in control. Our routine this school year, involves "warming" her clothes in the dryer before dressing. She loves the way the warmth feels and I think it helps her to fixate on something other than how "uncomfortable" her clothes are. Best of luck!

[CSP]

OP,

 

Thats funny... I did that for my kids when they were young. Now that you say that... I would also scratch their backs and rub their arms. It was my way of waking them up gentle. They were always in a good mood, and never gave me a hard time getting dressed or coming down for breakfast. I was just being a nice mom and wife, (they did not have issues back then) because my husband had to drive them 45min to school, and I didn't want any fighting in the car for him.

 

My kids still smile when I take the time to do that now even though they are older.

 

C.P.

[dut]

Our daughter did this too.. we had maybe 2 tops and 2 pairs of trousers... we're finally getting back into some more clothes. The only socks she would wear were diabetic socks or rather socks for diabetics :-) no seams at all, got them on the internet.

[michele]

I agree it sounds like sensory integration dysfunction to me too. It is interesting most of our kids seem to have this. My son used to have alot of issues getting dressed. Socks and tennis shoes really bug him. He really likes Crocs now. He always wore the same red athletic shorts last summer! Now he is much better with clothing materials. I know loud sounds (not ones he makes)and certain smells also can get him upset. Loud radio and hot mint gum smell and lipstick smell. He doesn't like me to use my purse to put his things in because he thinks it smells like these things. Another issue he has is with bumps and scrapes. He seems to have more pain sensors and really gets upsets when someone bumps into him or he gets a small cut. He always thinks people run into him on purpose and overreacts.

 

Our OT uses a brush to his skin at the beginning of our sessions and stretches and massages his joints before we begin. It must help to relax the body. He seems to like it. Also she says alot of spinning is needed for these kids. They use fabric swings. That they really crave it. My son loves to swing and could do it all day! Always loved motion even as a baby. It helps to know others are dealing with similar issues. Thanks.

 

Michele

myrose

 

this sounds like the Sensory Integration Dysfunction (aka Sensory Processing Disorder) that many of our kids have

 

my son cuts all labels out of clothes and turns socks inside out because of the seams and he will only wear soft fabrics, all 100% cotton etc etc etc

 

we had occupational therapy for him when he was younger that really helped the SID a lot

 

the book "The Out of Sync Child" also taught me a lot about SID

http://www.out-of-sync-child.com/

 

for my son the SID and OCD often blend

[ad_ccl]

my son had this too - used to drive me crazy - things just did not feel right - sleeves too long, too short - they had to be just right - shirts had to be tucked in and not wiggle at the waist - if he was a little sick things would be worse - shoes had to be tight - labels all off - good news is it is a thing of the past - he still will sometimes ask for labels to be cut out - but he does not complain about clothes at all anymore - it was the worst around 5/6 - before the PANDAS. He is now almost 10. It got better and better then now seems a thing of the past. I stopped fighting with him once I realized he truly felt out of his skin - I took him shopping to buy clothes - and even then sometimes once home they did not feel right - I let him just wear the same stuff if it felt good. No one notices and if they do who cares - lots of kids have a favorite shirt/pants.

[annag]

Myrose,

I was curious, how old is your daughter? My daughter got noticable tics for the first time when she turned 12 years old.

Thank you.

Anna

[softclothing]

I forgot to mention that my daughter started to not want to wear some of her clothing. I did not think anything of it. She kept saying they were NOT comfortable.

These are clothes that she picked out and wore all the time so I am confused. She is now down to only wearing two pairs of her pants and 3 t-shirts.

The on and off with her socks in the mornings until they feel just right is driving me insane. It seems to be continuing to get worse.

This came on all of a sudden when it started but it was never this bad. What is going on now?????????????????

Can't believe I fogot to mention how bad this is becoming. Our mornings are becoming a nightmare for us. As is the tics weren't enough!

 

How does this happen all of a sudden?????? And I can tell she is really not just being a brat or not liking her clothes....this is a real sincere issue for her. She said to me today that she loves all of her shorts and wished so much they were comfortable but they are not. She used to wear these clothes all the time!

 

Hi,

 

I am a special ed teacher and I am in the process of developing a seamless sock collection for children with sensory sensitivity and tactile defensiveness (often a symptom of Autism, ADHD, Aspergers, and Sensory Processing Disorder). About 97% of those surveyed in our clothing survey highlighted socks as the most difficult part of dressing their sensory sensitive children. Please help us tailor our sock collection to meet your individual needs by answering the following questions (takes 2-5 minutes), and forwarding this survey to your networks.

 

Click of copy/paste Here to take the survey:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=LhjR...ZncCovUig_3d_3d

 

Thank you!

 

Love,

 

Soft

[Dedee]

How familiar that all sounds. It could have been my son at one time. It started for us at age five when the explosive OCD started. It would get better with the rest of the symptoms. His psychiatrist believed it was a part of his ocd but also said he did have some tactile stimulus issues, but this seemed extreme so she felt it was more in line with ocd. Well whatever it was it got better when we started his SSRI. That was seven years ago and I am happy to say that we not longer have that problem and he no longer takes an SSRI. We do joke a bit that he has to "bond" with his clothes for a while before he will wear them. It just takes him a while to warm up. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know there is hope and you are not crazy or alone. Good Luck!

 

Dedee

[Calicat]

My daughter is another one to add to your list. As I'm reading these posts, I'm going, "yep, yep, her too". Most trouble with socks. Fave clothes she would prefer to wear a lot. Tags cut out of almost everything (a consignment shop told me not to do it becaue it lowers the resale value of the clothes, but she HAS to have them out or they drive her nuts). When she was 1, 2, 3, and 4, loud noises such as being in a large crowd of people, upset her.

 

Overall, she has the sensory issues on the mild side, but they're there.

 

What someone said about smells (mint gum, lipstick, etc) I can totally relate to myself. I believe I have a moderate chemical sensitivity, and there are many smells that will make me feel sick or give me an instant "headache" (not pain so much, kind of a pressure-dizziness). I think the chemical sensitivity and sensory issues can overlap too, because my daughter seems to get itchy easily from certain things... some detergents I think, not sure what else is causing it.

 

Interesting discussion.