Neurodiverse Part 1: How we first realised our child was Neurodiverse

We discovered our child was neurodiverse during COVID-19 lockdown, a season that forced families to slow down and spend every hour together. With no school, no visitors, and nowhere to go, our home became the center of everything and that’s when we started noticing things we might otherwise have missed.

At the time, my son was three years old, and as a first-time mom, I tried my best to keep him engaged without relying on constant screen time. I planned simple activities like arts and crafts, thinking it would be fun and creative.

Instead, it became our first wake-up call.

I set up a small art station in the garage, paper, paint, the whole works. But when a tiny drop of paint touched his hand, he reacted in a way I didn’t understand at the time, he freaked out. This wasn’t a normal tantrum. He was completely overwhelmed, distressed, and unable to calm himself. It took a long time to bring him back to a sense of safety.

Later that same day, another moment stood out. He wanted to eat chips, but the moment the crumbs or seasoning touched his hands, he panicked again. He wanted the chips, just not the sensation of it on his skin. In the end, I fed him the chips myself.

What I Didn’t Know Then: Sensory Sensitivity:

What I didn’t understand back then was sensory sensitivity. Some children experience the world more intensely than others. Textures, sounds, smells, and even light touches can feel overwhelming to their nervous system. For a child with sensory processing differences, something as small as paint on a hand or crumbs on fingers can feel unbearable, not annoying, not uncomfortable, but genuinely distressing.

This isn’t bad behavior.

It’s the body saying, “This is too much for me.”

A Mother’s Intuition:

As a first-time mom, I didn’t have the words for what I was seeing, but I had intuition. I knew this wasn’t defiance or drama. Something was different and my child wasn’t choosing it.

A few days later, we had an online consultation with a pediatrician. After listening to our experiences, we were referred to an occupational therapist once COVID restrictions were lifted.

That referral changed everything: 

Lockdown, as difficult as it was, gave us the gift of observation. Being home 24/7 allowed us to notice patterns, triggers, and behaviors that eventually led us toward understanding our child better.

This was just the beginning of our journey one that would teach us about sensory needs, therapy, advocacy, patience, and acceptance.