Understanding Your Highly Sensitive Child

Calm and Connected Podcast

Have you noticed your child doesn’t enjoy being at birthday parties? Do they struggle hearing loud noises? Does your child appear to not like the seams in their socks? Or have they felt overwhelmed by crowds and are very observant? Some people may read this list and think you’re describing the symptoms of Autism. They could be right but did you know it could also be the symptoms of high sensitivity? Today I speak with Maureen and how they have navigated learning about high sensitivity in her family.

The topics we cover in this episode are:

An introduction to Maureen and her two sons

What it means to be highly sensitive

What high sensitivity is not

How it can be misdiagnosed as something else

How to determine if my child is highly sensitive

What support to put around your family

How Maureen rests and relaxes

And remember, do not forget about yourself, take a few minutes for you and have a little fun!

About The Guest - Maureen

Maureen is an author, anxiety and high sensitivity advocate, and web designer. Her online journey began with a boy, a big challenge and a blog. Back in 2014, her 3-year-old son was diagnosed with Selective Mutism, a childhood anxiety disorder which took her whole family on a wild journey of learning so many things, including being introduced to the term high sensitivity and Dr. Aron’s book, the Highly Sensitive Child. Discovering this term was a game changer. It answered so many questions about her son’s behavior as well as her own. She discovered that not only was her son a highly sensitive child, but that she and her husband were also highly sensitive people. She started blogging about her family's journey and quickly realized she wasn't alone. Parents all over the world started following her and began asking questions like, Why does my son have trouble with loud noises? Why are birthday parties difficult for him? How come he can’t join in with a group of kids like other children can? Why is he so emotional? In 2017, she created thehighlysensitivechild.com to help other parents who were looking to better understand their children and in 2021 had her first traditionally published children's book released for highly sensitive kids- I Don't Like birthday Parties. She now continues to help parents raising highly sensitive children via her Facebook group, as well as her membership community.

Website- https://www.thehighlysensitivechild.com/

Parents of Highly Sensitive Children Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/140237519964291

Parenting Highly Sensitive Children FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100091859734934

X: https://twitter.com/sensitivekids1

Other resources: https://www.thehighlysensitivechild.com/

About The Host - Janine Halloran

Janine Halloran is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, an author, a speaker, an entrepreneur and a mom. As a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, Janine has been working primarily with children, adolescents, and their families for over 20 years. She is the Founder of 'Coping Skills for Kids', where she creates products and resources to help kids learn to cope with their feelings in safe and healthy ways. Janine also founded 'Encourage Play’ which dedicated to helping kids learn and practice social skills in the most natural way - through play!

If you're interested in learning more about how to teach kids coping skills, download your free Coping Skills Toolkit:

https://copingskillsforkids.com/newsletter

If you're interested in joining the Coping Skills Community Hub, an ever-expanding resource library and community of families and professionals teaching kids how to cope, learn more at https://copingskillsforkids.com/hub

If you'd like to purchase Janine's products, including the Coping Skills for Kids Workbook, Coping Skills for Teens Workbook, Social Skills for Kids Workbook, Coping Cue Cards, and more, visit https://store.copingskillsforkids.com or https://amazon.com/copingskillsforkids

Connect with Janine on Social Media

Instagram: @copingskillsforkids

Facebook: facebook.com/copingskillsforkids and facebook.com/encourageplay

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/JanineHalloranEncouragePlay