Comments on: Quiet children with High Sensitivity: helping them by exploring ideas in depth

By: Michael Jones

Michael Jones — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 17:23:59 +0000

Yes Amy,
I think there is a complex relationship between sensitivity and youngsters’ responses, and this gets polarised in secondary school. I am often contacted by parents of teenagers with a diagnosis of autism and selective mutism. I wonder if their ‘selective mutism’ is in fact a very understandable response to not understanding language and communication, and/or being unable to make themselves understood quickly enough. This may lead to reactions of panic anmd ‘lock down’ which are then interpreted by the adults as ‘selective mutism’.

The teenagers would not have this reaction at home with their close family, because they have grown up with them and everyone has an intuitive understanding about how to communicate with each other. Also topics of conversation tend to be quite predictable and about everyday life, so communication can be quite ‘safe’. Also if you screw up on making yourself understood at home, it is a lot less problematic than if this happens in school.
Any thoughts?
Michael

By: Amy Eleftheriades

Amy Eleftheriades — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 22:30:55 +0000

Hi all.

A very interesting topic Michael – it’s good it’s being discussed! 🙂 If I may add my thoughts?

I agree, it’s important to find solutions for the individual, however I think the links between ASD and HS need to be considered to help create awareness – whether they are genuine links or misdiagnosis.

I often work with children who have a diagnosis of ASD or Asperger’s Syndrome and present as being able to pick up on some very subtle cues and non-verbal communication.

Often staff quite rightly approach social interaction issues by teaching the young person about feelings. In reality the child has already understood and processed the emotion of the other person but may not have the ability to manage or communicate their own reaction to this information. Their behaviour sometimes presents as rude or uncaring but this, I believe, can be a self preservation technique to hide the frustration and anger at themselves. eg if they sense someone is disappointed in their work or they have not achieved an unrealistic target that they have set themselves.

The reason I think it’s important to raise awareness is that the diagnosis of ASD may cause confusion in the analysis of need and appropriate support and being aware that there could be complex issues involved will encourage us to look at the person in front of us rather than rely on a textbook response. Amy

By: Barbara Allen-Williams

Barbara Allen-Williams — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 13:15:03 +0000

This question about any relationship between highly sensitive children and autism comes up a lot and I often address it when training professionals. There are some key points which can help to clarify this question: one is that the nervous system of a HSC is highly organised, it is not a disorder – whereas autism is a disorder needing treatment or care to limit the disabling effects, particularly in social settings and essential relationships. Secondly, and related to this, HSCs are extremely good at picking up on social cues, reading faces, sensing atmospheres and responding to them. Their emotional intelligence is innately high, unless its development is stunted by unhelpful exoeriences or expectations. Children with autism often struggle a great deal with social cues and relating to emotion, even those with mild autism. Their ability to stand in anothers shoes or imagine, is difficult. Thirdly, the blood flow to the brain of HSCs tends to be more to the right brain, they are good at being creative in a variety of ways and in extrapolating and making links and creative leaps. Sadly, an overwhelmed or overstimulated HSC can sometimes appear autistic since they may withdraw or fail to respond while they wait for things to feel safe and comfortable. This can happen even if the child is an extravert, since they can be overstimulated and also need reflective space just like introverted HSCs.

By: Michael Jones

Michael Jones — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 11:53:04 +0000

HI Elly
I know that there is a huge discussion about ‘Who is autistic and who isn’t? What does ‘mild autism’ look like? What is the interface between autism and other conditions?’
From my point of view (and I suspect yours ) we need to get on with finding out what works for individual children and teenagers. However from the parents’ and schools’ points of view it is essential to get the right ‘label’. This helps parents’ and children’s emotional development, and hopefully will lead to appropriate resourcing.
There is a great DVD from Jessica Kingsley Publishers called ‘Autism and me’ by a young man called Rory Hoy. He has a diagnosis of autism, and he made a film about himself. I interviewed him for Special Children magazine, and visited the school where he worked in the media department, and found out about his success as a DJ. It was fascinating and very inspiring.
Michael

By: Elly Foster

Elly Foster — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 10:40:04 +0000

Hi Michael, This is such an interesting topic to me. Over the years I have supported many children who fall into the ‘autistic’ bracket. I wonder if you know how the people diagnosing children tell autism apart from HSP? Are children being misdiagnosed? Look forward to your next blog. Elly

By: Michael Jones

Michael Jones — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 10:10:03 +0000

I would say most definitely that children with High Sensitivity are not autistic. However many children with autism do have these heightened sensitivities as well. The strategies for helping children with High Sensitivity would certainly be helpful for children with autism (and possibly vice versa).
Michael

By: Clare Schmieder

Clare Schmieder — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 09:05:59 +0000

I’m very glad to see the development of understanding of HSP in Early Years discussions. It’s a good use of your high profile and status Michael. Well done!

By: Tina Warnock

Tina Warnock — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 07:54:54 +0000

Hi Michael,
It’s interesting that some of the behaviours of highly sensitive children could be compared to that of mildly autistic children, who also often have heightened senses – do you have any comments or insights about that?
Thanks
Tina