Are You a Sensory Seeker?

Some people are Sensory Sensitive, or Sensory Avoiders. I'm the other side of the spectrum. I crave Sensory Input and activity.

Leave it to my daughter to educate me.

I’m at a new phase in my life, with grand littles and grownup adulting children. And I love watching them all navigate this wonderous world. Because we all do it differently, and that fascinates me.

A few weeks ago, my daughter said, “You must be a sensory seeker.”

Instantly, I replied, “Yes! Aren’t you?”

“No! I can’t ride in the car with you. You have all the windows and the sunroof open. The radio is blaring. And you drive so fast…”

Wait. What?

So for the last few weeks, I’ve been chewing on this idea and devouring all the articles I can find on it. What is a Sensory Seeker and why isn’t my daughter one too? Did I over do it raising her to cause her to avoid sensory input? Who else do I know like me? Which of my friends are like my daughter?

I learned that Sensory Seeking vs. Sensory Sensitive is one of the human trait spectrums. A Seeker likes sensory input from all five senses. They love hugs, and touching and are willing to taste new foods. Some like to chew. They like music and dancing. They love to move their bodies and have a high tolerance for pain.

Decades ago, my son nicknamed me T-mobile. My friends describe me as an energizer bunny. I am a Sensory Seeker.

My daughter, on the other hand, keeps the music volume low. She enjoys quiet places, calm activities. She’s not adventurous when it comes to food and is cautious about going outside the box. She likes naps and blackout curtains. She’s on the Sensory Sensitive side of the spectrum.

I love the increasing number of resources parents have for raising their children. I raised mine in the nineties before the internet exploded. I know I didn’t do anything wrong. We used the tools we had, right? I adjusted my parenting for each of my children. They turned out beautifully. But if I’d been able to put a label on their different personalities, I might have done things differently.

I cheer my daughter on.

And I learned something! Cool. Now I have another resource for developing and writing my characters.

Are you a Sensory Seeker or a Sensor Avoider? Which photo do you like best?

My writer brain is in high gear now, wondering how I can use these traits in new characters. The novel I’m revising is from the primary point of view of a fifteen year old girl. In the previous version, I told the story with a close third person pov. This time, I’m writing it first person. I’m making sure Daphne feels, touches, tastes and hears everything. Since she’s young, she wants to be like—and liked by—her Sensory Seeking friends. However, she is Sensory Sensitive. And like all 15 year-olds, she is learning who she is.