My son just got used to loud noises and people touching him. It took a few years of school before he tolerated the noise and general crowdedness/chaos of that environment. The doctor he went to see when he was 3 said that sometimes very intelligent children exhibit signs of sensory processing disorder b/c they have heightened senses. My son still notices noises, smells, etc and talks about them but they he seems much less sensitive to them now 4 yrs later.

I agree with 14:41 that it could be lots of things - or nothing. For DS1 it turned out to be ADHD/LD. For DS2 it's apraxia/MERLD. We participate in a lot of studies in order to get multiple evaluations/perspectives at no cost to us. KKI and NIH have the most I've seen in this area.

With DS 1: nothing because it went away. With DS 2: ADHD and other things we are still trying to get a handle on.

What you describe could be related to so many things. I know lots of kids with autism with sensitivities like this. I would go for a second opinion maybe at childrens or Kennedy krieger.

Also, I know it sounds odd but if your kid is freaked out by the noise of public bathrooms, I would try ear plugs or head phones for those times when you're out of the house and there is no other option.

Op here, just some more info-we are a mess genetically so I am trying to get early interventions-ADHD, bipolar, all kinds of addictions and learning disorders in our extended families so I am expecting more to come in the future

ADHD.

It sounds like you've gotten off lucky. Yes, there are some of us who got a lesser diagnosis in the beginning and it ended up being worse, but that's not always the case. I'm so happy for you that his disorder didn't progress in the other direction.

We were told by a psych that DC has a sensory disorder. It's pretty obvious, he runs screaming from bathrooms when the hand dryer comes on, flushes, etc. runs screaming from any loud noises (metro is too loud even).
I have seen a person post on here a lot about this just being a "soft landing diagnosis" and that things come out later.
I have sort of been waiting for the other shoe to drop so to speak. It's been 2 years, all I am seeing is some motor issues, but dc has adjusted well to school and has lots of friends, etc
what am I supposed to be looking for?