Sensory Overload

Dominic has "outgrown," some of his sensory issues, but not all. At church, he is usually okay with a man singing, but if a woman with a high-pitched voice is singing, he will plug his ears. I often wonder what that must feel like to him. I wish he was able to tell me. This past Saturday, since Dominic was in dire need of some nice dress shorts, we headed to Sears, because their clothes seem to fit him well. As we stepped into the boy's dressing room, there was a "ding-dong," chime that caught both Dominic and I off-guard. It was really loud, even to me.  Every time we went in and out of the dressing room, this is what he would do:

The picture is kind of blurry, because he was practically sprinting out of the dressing room. He would continue to plug his ears until I reassured him it was fine.

By about the third time we headed back to the dressing room, he was done, he kept saying, "time to go home, time to go home." I had to promise him McDonald's french fries when we were done, to get him to cooperate with me. Believe me, I have tried multiple times to buy clothes for him in the hopes of them fitting and I almost always end up returning them because they don't fit.  Dominic is not a big fan of trying on clothes in a dressing room to begin with, but you throw in the loud "ding-dong," chime it certainly adds a whole layer of extra stress that we certainly don't need. Using a public restroom with Dominic can be an adventure in itself. The self-flushing toilets and the automatic hand dryers are the WORST. Sensory "overload," at its finest. You can't really not use a public restroom if you are out and about. Dominic calls any kind of bug a "bee." If he sees a fly or gnat in our house, he will go running upstairs into our bedroom and slam the door until we reassure him we have taken care of the matter. I'm thinking the sound of a bug must sound a like a chainsaw in his "world." We can't keep Dominic in a protective "bubble." He has to be able to explore everything this "world," has to offer him.