Q: Please give me an example of how sensory preference in children impact their behaviors.

A: By way of example, this is an anecdote from my childhood. Autumn had suddenly turned to winter. Out came winter clothing. “Stinky, stinky, stinky,” cried my younger brother as his clothes were released from their moth-ball infested prison of bags in trunks. He resisted pulling on leggings and a hooded jacket. The odor of moth balls didn’t particularly bother me. My brain cringed if a moth ball failed to release itself from my clothing and I accidently sat or stepped on it. Oh my! The sound of crunch seemed to hit every nerve! Not sound, sobs, nor odors seemed to bother our mother. How we looked, did. She would calmly continue stuffing us into winter clothing saying, “Well, we wouldn’t want you to go out in public with moth holes in your clothes, would we?” My brother for one certainly didn’t care. Clearly, he was more invested in how things smelled. And if he became ill? Oh my! Then, he was beyond sensitive to how everything smelled. There is now some anecdotal evidence to suggest that at least for kinesthetics, smell may be the first sense to be impacted when the individual feels unwell.