Expert: Catherine Ridenour - 8/31/2009

Question
My 3 1/2 year old granddaughter has been has always been very sound sensitive.  Particularly with one family member's laugh, she has always started crying inconsolably since she was just over a year old.  She often hides her face when she comes to family events, and also just closes her eyes for long periods of time.  Her speech is normal with her parents.  In fact, I think she has quite a good vocabulary. She rarely speaks to others. The noise of family events often have her suddenly crying or screaming.  She's been known to sit still for over 1-2 hours without looking at us.  After a while, she sometimes 'warms up' to other cousins, but rarely to adults.  Yesterday, she would scream out several times when others were talking, and said to her parents, "You're being too loud".  This doesn't seem like just normal shyness.  We are grandparents who have always lived in the same vicinity, so she does know us.  None of our other grandchildren have ever responded like this, and I am concerned about the possibility of autism.

Answer
Hi Dee,

It is possible that she has Asperger's syndrome. The key issue with this autistic spectrum disorder is social interaction. These children usually have very good vocabularies and talk well. Sometimes, they speak in a kind of stilted way, but not always. Excess sensitivity to sounds, bright light, clothing textures, food texture and taste are frequent symptoms. Social pressure, like family gatherings bring all this out.

She is clearly overwhelmed by large gatherings of people. Not only the noise level but the confusion level can cause her to withdraw. Many A.S. people have auditory processing problems when too much sound is present. Background overwhelms words and they cannot take it all in and make sense of it. So, they back away or act out (scream/cry) to try to cope.

If this is the case, expecting her to "just outgrow it" or learn to live with it is unrealistic and unkind. She should be allowed to keep what distance she needs and not be forced into interaction. She is not acting shy, she is in pain. If she is willing to try them, offer her some foam ear plugs to muffle the sound. If regular size are too big, cut them in half.

Have her tested if new problems begin to show up. Knowing, before she enters school, is a good thing.

Best wishes,
Catherine