Highly Sensitive Children
What is high sensitivity?
Quite simply, it is an above-average sensitivity. It affects around 30% of the population, according to two 2018 international studies.
Is high sensitivity a mental or psychological disorder?
Not at all. Elaine Aron and all the researchers consider high sensitivity to be a temperament. So it's not a disorder, illness, disability or even fragility, but a specificity, a singularity, a particularity.
What are highly sensitive children like?
- They are bothered by loud noises, aggressive lights, shouting, virulent emotions, conflicts, injustices, violence...
- They are disturbed by changes in habits, routines and programmes.
- They lose their composure when they are observed, mocked or criticised.
- They need more time to learn a new task.
- They saturate and tire more quickly, so they need to take breaks more often and move around regularly.
- They can't tolerate excitants (coffee, tea, chocolate, sugar) and benefit from a healthy, easily digestible diet tailored to their tastes.
- Although they often have trouble falling asleep, they generally need more sleep than other children.
- They are empathetic, intuitive, imaginative, creative and enthusiastic...
How can inclusion be encouraged in the classroom?
The teacher explains that there are different forms of sensitivity in the classroom and that some children need more peace, time, rest, sensitivity and sincerity than others, that there is room for everyone, that all forms of sensitivity are respectable and that it is possible to get along well together to promote a good school climate.
Creating a refuge area (tent or soft carpet), where children can rest when they're tired or overwhelmed, is a great help to highly sensitive children and makes group life easier.
© Saverio Tomasella, Observatoire de la sensibilité, 2024.
Six families of highly sensitive children
There are as many types of high sensitivity as there are highly sensitive children. To simplify, we can notice six main families of highly sensitive children. None is better or preferable to another; there is no judgment or hierarchy. A child may also display some of the characteristics of several profiles, depending on the moment, the atmosphere and the people around him.
The cautious child
He or she stays away from groups, agitation and noise. They are calm, thoughtful and very observant. Discreet and independent, they speak little, except when confiding in someone they trust. Poet and dreamer, they are particularly lucid.
The funny child
Expressive and expansive, they like to be the center of attention and enjoy making their audience laugh. They have little tolerance for contradictions. They demand a lot of attention from their parents. The fact that they are both highly sensitive and quickly overwhelmed by the abundance of their feelings can push them to be rather self-centered, sometimes clumsy, or seeming to lack delicacy.
The fragile child
Scrupulous and very demanding of themselves, they need everything to be in order. They can be difficult to please, with a tendency to grumble. They are very sensitive to injustice or the suffering of others. They easily feel misunderstood or rejected. Sympathetic and touching, they are appreciated by their friends, who easily confide in them.
The protective child
Their high sensitivity is combined with powerful vital energy. They devote themselves body and soul to their best friend, or even to a child neglected by others. Zorro or knight in shining armor, they'll devote themselves to protect others. In the evening, exhausted, they settle down and fall asleep quickly.
The rational child
Willing, precise and meticulous, they seek accuracy and ask lots of questions. They like to talk to adults and may appear older than they really are. They mentalize a lot, focusing on the rational side of things, preferring abstraction and intellectualization.
The stressed child
They give the impression of being in frequent, even permanent opposition to other children or adults, whom they do not hesitate to contradict. They may also behave incongruously. This child is not deliberately provocative: if they are, it's an exaggerated reaction to the environment. In reality, they are facing a very high level of stress: their regulatory capacities (hormonal, cerebral, emotional and rational) have been exceeded. This mainly concerns abused and traumatised children.
© Saverio Tomasella, J’aide mon enfant hypersensible à s'épanouir, Leduc, 2018, and J'accompagne mon enfant ultrasensible, Leduc, 2024.
