No Touch

My daughter has always been tactile defensive. She is very sensitive to touch. When she was younger, she would respond in two ways: screaming or freezing while hyper-flexing her body. Nine months ago we thought that she also might not feel pain since she would cry when she fell or would just freeze when another child would hit or scratch her.

Yesterday, while she was in the waiting room for therapy, another little boy approached her and touched her shoulder. He wanted her to play with him. For the first time ever, I heard her say, “No touch!” I couldn’t believe it. Instead of screaming or freezing, she used her words! The little boy did it a second time, and she said, “No touch me!” I then explained to him that she didn’t like people to touch her, but if he  used his words, she might go play with him. Then before he had a chance to ask her, my daughter’s therapist took her to the back.

While she was in therapy, I reflected on how far she has come in just the past nine months. I am so proud that she can finally respond to touch in a positive way by using her words. This is huge! I will count this day as a win!