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Sensory Toys Tools 720

How to Recognize Tactile Defensiveness in Children

March 12, 2025 by jennifer 2 Comments

“Kids with tactile defensiveness have both behavioral and emotional responses that tend to be way out of proportion to the issue at hand.

They seem to react in pain to things that shouldn’t be painful. I have always described it as the nails-on-the-chalkboard feeling when I touch a button or when something tactile really bothers me. And it’s true.” – Alternative Learning

This post contains affiliate links.

How to Recognize Tactile Defensiveness in Children

CLICK HERE: How to Recognize Tactile Defensiveness in Children

Tactile Resources

  • Tactile Toys and Tools
  • The Tactile System
  • Numbers to 30 Tactile Tracing Number Formation Cards
Our Hearts' Desire: For Families Navigating the Journey of Sensory Processing Challenges

Our Hearts’ Desire: For Families Navigating the Journey of Sensory Processing Challenges

If you are involved in the life of a child with sensory processing challenges, Our Hearts’ Desire will serve as an invaluable resource throughout your journey.

It will help you understand sensory processing disorder in a developmental framework and will empower you with the information and resources you need to create the most supportive environment for your child.

This book offers useful tips for how to deal with a variety of family, school, and social issues; provides scripts and sample letters for communicating your child’s needs; and delivers numerous other tools to ease your struggles.

To purchase, click the image/link below!

Our Hearts' Desire: For Families Navigating the Journey of Sensory Processing ChallengesOur Hearts’ Desire: For Families Navigating the Journey of Sensory Processing ChallengesOur Hearts' Desire: For Families Navigating the Journey of Sensory Processing Challenges

 

Recommended Reading

  • Not Just Spirited: A Mom’s Sensational Journey with SPD
  • Emily’s Sister: A Family’s Journey With Dyspraxia and Sensory Processing Disorder
  • One Family’s Struggle With Sensory Processing Disorder
  • What is Sensory Processing Disorder Anyway?

Tactile Resources

  • Tactile Toys and Tools
  • The Tactile System
  • Numbers to 30 Tactile Tracing Number Formation Cards

Learn more about Sensory Processing Disorder:

The Out-of-Sync Child: Recognizing and Coping with Sensory Processing DifferencesThe Out-of-Sync Child: Recognizing and Coping with Sensory Processing DifferencesThe Out-of-Sync Child: Recognizing and Coping with Sensory Processing DifferencesRaising a Sensory Smart Child: The Definitive Handbook for Helping Your Child with Sensory Processing IssuesRaising a Sensory Smart Child: The Definitive Handbook for Helping Your Child with Sensory Processing IssuesRaising a Sensory Smart Child: The Definitive Handbook for Helping Your Child with Sensory Processing IssuesUnderstanding Your Child's Sensory Signals: A Practical Daily Use Handbook for Parents and TeachersUnderstanding Your Child’s Sensory Signals: A Practical Daily Use Handbook for Parents and TeachersUnderstanding Your Child's Sensory Signals: A Practical Daily Use Handbook for Parents and TeachersHelping Your Child with Sensory Regulation: Skills to Manage the Emotional and Behavioral Components of Your Child's Sensory Processing ChallengesHelping Your Child with Sensory Regulation: Skills to Manage the Emotional and Behavioral Components of Your Child’s Sensory Processing ChallengesHelping Your Child with Sensory Regulation: Skills to Manage the Emotional and Behavioral Components of Your Child's Sensory Processing Challenges

 

About the Authors:

Marci Laurel, MA, CCC-SLP, has been a speech/language pathologist for more than thirty years, specializing in sensory processing disorders related to communication. She currently works at the University of New Mexico Center for Development and Disability, where she provides assessment, consultation, and training related to children with autism spectrum disorder and their families.

Carla Williams, OT/L, has been an occupational therapist for twenty-seven years, specializing in treatment of children with sensory processing disorders. She is owner and director of KidPower Therapy Associates, a multidisciplinary therapy clinic serving the Albuquerque area.

They both tour nationally and internationally, lecturing on sensory processing challenges, and together, they have authored a book on this topic. Their collaborative work, Our Hearts’ Desire, is a highly practical guide that is also heartfelt and deeply rooted in Marci’s personal experiences as the parent of two grown sons who struggled with some of the issues described in the book.

Related

Filed Under: SPD Information Tagged With: tactile, tactile defensiveness, touch

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Comments

  1. Kara {ALLterNATIVElearning} says

    May 6, 2015 at 2:17 pm

    Thanks so much for sharing my experience with tactile defensiveness in our family!

    Reply
    • jennifer says

      May 6, 2015 at 6:57 pm

      Absolutely — Fabulous article! And your piece will get put in rotation on FB so it’ll pop up now again 🙂

      Reply

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