In 2009, when we went on holiday in the Philippines, my son’s sensitivity to sand puzzled me. He was only one year old then. He was screaming as his feet touched the sandy beach of Laiya, Batangas. We tried to let him sit and cover his legs with sand so he can get used to it..Even before that he hated his hand getting sticky or dirty…This was before he was diagnosed with Autism. Only then during his assessment, we have discovered his sensory issues. It was heartbreaking since my husband and I love the beach. How can something beautiful cause our child pain…
When he was diagnosed before he turned three, we started early intervention. One of them is his tactile sensitivity. As advised by the occupational therapist, we let him touch textured materials or items. One of them is sand. We bought a sand and water table and encourage him to touch and play with sand. We have also tried ‘moon sand’ which was a less messy on hands. I let him step on sand paper during tactile play. In summer time, we brought him to the beach a few times to introduce the connection of sand and the beach…
After 3 years when we went back to the Philippines, he was able to enjoy the beach and the sand. Something beautiful that caused him so much pain, now brings him joy.
Outside the box...Autism Adventures 