Sensory sensitive children experience the world intensely through their senses and have difficulty filtering environmental stimuli. This sensory sensitivity leads to emotional sensitivity, as they are easily overwhelmed by their strong reactions to sights, sounds, textures, and other stimuli. Raising a sensory sensitive child requires understanding that they experience the world differently, supporting their sensitivities without shaming them, and helping them build resilience through allowing struggles and the emergence of their autonomous self.

1. The Sensory Sensitive
Child
or attempting to understand the inherent state of being uncomfortable
(applied Attachment Theory) Devon Wolfe

2. Sensory sensitivity creates
Emotional sensitivity
Greater sensory
receptivity means less
filtering of environmental
“noise” which is: tactile,
olfactory, auditory,
visual, cognitive,
digestive, respiratory,
circulatory, neural, and
any combinations of
these
The Sensory Sensitive child is:
! Easily stirred up or affected
! Easily overwhelmed
! Has big emotions, cannot
relax
! Difficult to understand
! Defended against depending
on others
! Resists proximity with others
! Relies on counter will
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3. What would it be like if we were missing our
“skin” to the world?
There will be lots of tears. But the child will work hard to avoid tears and
adults spoil the adaptive process by seeking to avoid upsetting the child .

4. 6 challenges to consider
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1. The goal is resilience not toughness so the child needs
self-understanding and self-discipline not normal
consequences and expectations
2. Support not shame by treating sensitivities as the object
of attention apart from one’s personality
3. Look for signs of defenses in silence or counter will
4. Expect the child to be noisy - go with their attempts to
match “outside noise” with “inner noise”
5. Allow children to struggle while building your
judgment about when they will become overwhelmed
6. Resilience is only possible through authentic emergence

5. Emergence is central to
resilience (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990)
Emergence requires energetic free-will found in the relaxed imagination
of optimal concentration on a challenging task. This creates self-esteem.

6. References
! Neufeld, G. (2010). The vulnerability factor [Video
seminar]. www.neufeldinstitute.com
! Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The psychology of
optimal experience. New York: Harper & Row
Publishers Inc.
! Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1997). Finding flow: The
psychology of engagement with everyday life. New York:
HarperCollins Publishers Inc.