Too Loud, Too Soft
One of your first clues that your child has a sensory integration problem may be his reaction to loud noises. Maybe he screams and covers his ears when you vacuum. Maybe he's terrified beyond all comfort by the sound of an ambulance passing your house or a car alarm outside. Maybe his teacher reports that he behaved inappropriately during a fire drill or couldn't pay attention after that loud alarm went off. Maybe the sound of construction machinery, of jackhammers or big trucks backing up, seems not just distracting but painful to him.
Most kids are able to function when they hear a fire alarm, and they might run to the window in excitement when they hear an ambulance or police siren. An efficient auditory system filters out some of the noise so that it doesn't become overwhelming or painful. Reassuring information from the other senses — the sight of adults going about their business, the sound of a teacher giving instructions for a fire drill, the feeling that their bodies are moving normally, the lack of threatening smells or sights — modifies the alarming nature of the sound.
No Relief in Earshot
If your child is overly sensitive to auditory information, though, none of these comforts may be available to her. She may get the full blast of sound with no filtering, and her sensory system may not be able to process much else with all that input coming in. She may miss reassuring words or sights because her brain is too busy dealing with the sound, or she may have trouble processing the information from those other senses that would help tone down the auditory information.
For a child with sensory integration disorder, loud noises can cause a complete breakdown of the system and provoke a flight-or-fight response. Therapy and strategies to improve your child's sensory integration will gradually reduce his reactions to these scary sounds. But what do you do in the meantime, when you can't run the vacuum without a screaming tantrum?
Softening the Blow
One thing that helps is advance warning. For sounds that you know are coming, give your child some notice. Let her find a place far away from the noise, or put on headphones to provide some protection. Earplugs may also be an option, if the feel of them doesn't make her as uncomfortable as the noise.
If your child's teacher can give you advance notice of planned fire drills, talk through them with your child and give her some ideas of what to do. If there's no way to keep her behavior from being a problem during fire drills and your schedule is flexible, ask if you can keep her home on days when one is planned. This won't be an issue forever — with the help of therapy and age, your child will eventually be able to tolerate the alarm. In the meantime, sometimes avoidance is best.
When avoidance is impossible, you can still help by giving your child some strong, physical input to offset the overwhelming auditory onslaught. A hard hug might help. Pushing down on your child's shoulders might give some strong comforting input to muscles and joints. Rocking might be comforting. When the noise stops, try talking right to your child to tell her that everything is all right. Just understanding that her reaction is normal for her and not a behavior problem will help limit the extent of the trauma from the loud sound.
During calmer times, talk to your child about what noises bother her and why. Share with her some sounds and other sensations that particularly bother you. If you can discuss the ways frightening sensory experiences make you both feel, it will make your child feel less different and give you some ideas for helping.
Hear No Evil
While some children with sensory integration disorder react with fright or pain to loud sounds, others seem to miss them entirely. If your child is undersensitive to auditory information, he may miss softer sounds just as you'd expect, but he'll also let loud sounds pass him by without notice. You may be amazed to see him working peacefully in a loud and distracting room, or to find that an alarm clock loud enough to wake him is an impossible dream.
It's nice to not have a child who overreacts to every bell and whistle; the downside is that, just as your child can't hear noise made by others, he can't hear the noise he makes, either. He'll talk too loud, drum too hard, stomp too firmly, turn the volume all the way up, and have no idea why anybody would be bothered. Keep in mind, while deciding on a response to this behavior, that he thinks he's already being quiet.
