(11-13-2010, 11:51 PM)mawkinberd Wrote: LOL Definitely nice to meet another bird. 
Actually, they don't cancel one another out. Most people tend in one direction or the other for different senses, but it is not unusual for people to swing wildly from one to another or to seek certain stimulation. Like, even though I'm super sensitive to sound, music of certain kinds help me tremendously. Or even though many fake or chemical scents drive me nuts, certain natural scents relax me greatly. Or even though my balance freaks me out and makes me terribly afraid of heights or uneven surfaces, I love to bounce on my therapy ball and crave rocking back and forth. It's a balance thing, I suppose.
Anyway, I'd love to know how that questionnaire goes. 
Keep us posted!
So I've been looking through the questionnaire, and am finding that a lot of what is mentioned i'm sort of in the middle on. For example, with clothes, I can't stand turtlenecks (feel like they're strangling me), and I can't wear socks with the seam at the very end (only ones where it's over the top of my toes). But other stuff that was mentioned...tags, stiffness, short/long pants doesn't bother me at all.
Then there were some things that are absolutely, 100% me:
have to fidget and "fiddle" with things all the time; change in your pocket, your keys, a pen/pencil, paper clip, rubber band, ANYTHING within reach
will often rock or sway body back and forth while seated or standing still
restless when sitting through a lecture, presentation, or movie (This is a big one...i can't sit comfortably in one position for any length of time...so by the time a movie/show/whatever is over i've had feet on the floor, each leg crossed over the other, legs stretched as much as possible, feet up on the seat in front of me if possible, sitting sideways, etc.)
prefer very bland foods, dislike anything spicy
love to sleep with multiple or heavy blankets on top of you
cracks knuckles often
becomes nauseated or gags from certain cooking, cleaning, perfume, public restroom, or bodily odors
hides or disappears when guests come over
notice and bothered by noises other people do not seem bothered by... clocks, refrigerators, fans, people talking, outdoor construction, etc. ("tick tock" clocks drive me insane!!)
lethargic, hard to get going, appears "lazy" and unmotivated
great difficulty settling body down for sleep or waking up in the morning (did you even hear the alarm that has been going off for 15 minutes?)
dislikes changes in plans or routines, needs structure
difficulty falling asleep or getting on a sleep schedule
distractible and unorganized
So I guess that's a pretty long list...but most of those would also go along w/ADD...fidgiting, easily distracted, hard to get going in the morning (hard to focus on individual aspects of getting ready routine so tend to stay in one place for a long time in the morning), difficulty falling asleep (again w/the ADD thing not letting my brain settle down.
There were a few surprise ones on there that totally describe me but I would've never even thought to mention them. For example:
difficulty merging into oncoming traffic on road, rotary, or highway
get disoriented and/or lost easily in stores, buildings, hiking, etc. (I have a terrible sense of direction...especially when I go in a building and then come back out...I end up forgetting which side of the street i'm on, or going the wrong way even though I'm sure it's right).
difficulty remembering or understanding what is said to you (In one ear and out the other!)
bumps into things frequently (I'm covered in bruises from cutting corners too tight while walking inside! lol)
cries easily, over things others usually don't, very "emotional" and "sensitive"
difficulty telling time on an analogue clock (Totally crazy to me that this is on there....This has been a struggle for me ever since elementary school when I first learned about them. I thought it was just me who couldn't get it! Thank god for digital watches!)
The more I think about this stuff, the more additional "quirks" I think of. For example when I was in college and lived in the dorms, I struggled to get any work done bc there was so much noise going on. However, the yelling and loud talking didn't bother me at all. Instead I couldn't stand it when people whispered bc I would seem to tune in to that more while easily ignoring the loud stuff. Or maybe I was just nosey and wanted to hear the secrets...lol
Anyway, this is starting to sound more and more like me. However in the intro to that questionaire it kept talking about getting help if the issues "significantly impact your life." It'd be nice to be able to sit still and not get distracted by my own skin, or to be more organized and able to sleep better, but i'm not sure if i can really say it's a significant impact. I've gotten used to dealing with all of it so it doesn't bother me too much, except every now and then. I am intriguied by what you said w/ADD ppl being helped by working on sensory issues. Finally getting on to ADD meds totally changed my life for the better (it took YEARS to get on them because I was regularly told that I was "too good of a student to be ADD." Really I was just stubborn and would eventually get my homework done even if it took all night, which it usually did). However I've still felt like there's something else going on in my head that I can't quite figure out. Something that makes my brain not work like others'. So I'm at least liking that when I read this stuff I don't feel quite as "strange" as I do most of the time. I don't typically say most of this stuff out loud bc it sounds weird even to me!
Sorry this is so long...just thinking "out loud." Thanks for your help!
