Hi, I'm new to the site. Just posted over in the Introductions forum. I've been learning about SPD through my son's diagnosis in Jan 2008. The more I read, the more I think, Hey that's me. And now I can add another! I would say I'm very empathetic. I've always thought my mom taught me to be that way, but maybe there's more than just environment at work. I've been wanting to adopt a child since I was a teenager (didn't want a child when I was a teen, just wanted to adopt a child in the future as an adult). My dream still hasn't come true since hubby thinks we'd be taking away from a couple who can't have children of our own. I tell him I want a 3-4-5 year old, not a newborn. Sigh.

I can't watch scary or gory movies at all. Even regular movies I sometimes have problems with. I still remember in college, they showed The Unbearable Lightness of Being on campus. I went with some friends. One of the characters gets his shoulder dislocated. I think I empathized so much with him that it made me faint. I was glad for the darkness. I don't think anyone but my friend right next to me realized what happened.

My husband has a genetic Protein-S deficiency. He has a greater likelihood for blood clots. One night a couple of months ago, he woke me up to say that he had terrible leg pain and worried that he had a blood clot. He wanted me to drive him to the ER. I'm not sure what it was, but I was struggling to not faint. He was so mad at me because he was trying to get moving but if I stood up, I was going to go straight down in a faint. He drove to the ER and I was in the passenger seat. Ugh.

As for tactile things, I haven't noticed too many issues. My only thing is that I prefer to not wear shoes. Either socks or just bare feet. I guess I've been that way since a baby. My mom always jokes that I would not only just take my shoes and socks off, but also the shoe laces (way back before Velcro!)--and put them all over the house. She'd have to hunt all over to find them all before being able to leave the house with me. Though I do love my sons' weighted blankets! I've been known to borrow them on occasion! And now that I think about it. I love going to the dentist when I need X-rays because then I get to sit there with the heavy lead apron on. I don't even mind having those things in my mouth if I get to wear the lead apron for a while. I wish I could wear it for the whole appt!

I definitely have auditory issues. There are certain sounds that make me want to jump out of my skin or pull my head off! One sound is my dog licking himself. If it's quiet in the house or if it's the middle of the night (it will wake me up from sleep!), I will do anything I can to get away from the sound or try to make him stop licking! Another sound is my older son making fake burp sounds. Not the loud belches, but the soft, barely audible, almost popping sound. He usually does it at night, if he's having trouble falling asleep. Hubby and I take turns sitting in the boys' room til they fall asleep (that's another story), so if I'm in the quiet room with him and he does it--drives me crazy. I've asked him to stop, but he says he can't, he just feels like he HAS to do it. So I plug my ears.

Anyway. This thread had caught my eye and just thought I'd join in. Sorry if it's off topic too much!