Josie's Sensory Issues

[slickcat79]

Not sure what sensory issues she may have but is it just me or does she not look like the other duggar kids? Did any of them ever have the curly fro like she has, and its not just that but her facial features are different. I do not know much about preemies but is that typical?

I think she looks a bit like Justin and Jackson. Josiah and Jinger also have curly hair. Some premies have a certain "spider monkey" look to them, but you'd think at almost 3 years old Josie would have outgrown the premie look for the most part.

[wild little fox]

My first thought was if they were seeking therapy for Josie, everyone would know it. On the other hand since they have downplayed Josie's conditions to justify having more children.

[luv2run]

Out of 5 children, 4 of mine have had sensory issues.

My son with autism being the most severe. That being

said, their sensory issues all improved when their speech did. I watched the video and did notice how

Josie held her ears. Honestly the kid screaming drove me nuts too so I don't blame her. The things that bothered them sensory wise were louder things...like

large trucks, alarms, fire drills, etc. The only one

who was bothered by everyday noises was my son on the spectrum. I don't know much about preemies so I can't add much there.

My kids would stick their fingers in their ears and cry until

they had the launguage to say it was too loud, they didn't like it, or they wanted someone to make it stop.

I had my 5th evaluated early at 18 months when I saw

she didn't seem to like how loud the car door was when

it slammed, and she wasn't really talking. She has apraxia and is signing now and using some words. And the door doesn't seem to bother her like it used too. Now that she can communicate more than before.

[luv2run]

Early intervention is key!

[FreeJosie]

I really worry for poor little Josie - hence my username!

[Joan of Snarc]

Love your username!

[Jinderella]

Not sure what sensory issues she may have but is it just me or does she not look like the other duggar kids? Did any of them ever have the curly fro like she has, and its not just that but her facial features are different. I do not know much about preemies but is that typical?

I remember an episode were Michelle was preparing Josie for some kind of show and she had to go trough a lot of trouble to make Josie's hair look curly. A lot of products went into it and she really had to shake the hair a lot. I think Josie's hair is to thin to grow long, and curly is the only shorter option feminim enough.

I do recognize the sensory issues, my son has them too. It explains some of her odd behavior at hospitals. I've seen a lot of children's behavior in hospitals, my son has leukemia, and she is much more upset and afraid then what I see in other children who endured a lot. I don't see autism, but I don't see completely normal either. Something about her isn't right.

[tankgirl]

A friend has a daughter born the same month as Joise but she baked an extra two weeks, so also fairly early. She has the same preemie features too, even now. I don't live local so can't compare the two otherwise, but the features I can say, take a while to change.

I think she looks a bit like Justin and Jackson. Josiah and Jinger also have curly hair. Some premies have a certain "spider monkey" look to them, but you'd think at almost 3 years old Josie would have outgrown the premie look for the most part.

[Full enough quiver]

Who wouldn't have sensory issues living in that house? She's probably the only normal one!

[chickie]

I think she looks a bit like Justin and Jackson. Josiah and Jinger also have curly hair. Some premies have a certain "spider monkey" look to them, but you'd think at almost 3 years old Josie would have outgrown the premie look for the most part.

Jinger perms her hair. It's not naturally curly. They show her getting her hair permed at home in one of the earlier episodes. I think it's in "Cheaper by the Duggars." Most of the older girls seem to have stopped doing home perms with the exception of Jinger.

[slickcat79]

Jinger perms her hair. It's not naturally curly. They show her getting her hair permed at home in one of the earlier episodes. I think it's in "Cheaper by the Duggars." Most of the older girls seem to have stopped doing home perms with the exception of Jinger.

Oh right, it's Jessa whose hair is natural. I knew one of the J'slaves had naturally curly hair but I forgot which one.

[persuas1ve]

I think part of the reason Josie still doesn't look "normal" is that she is very tiny. Every time I see her, she is shorter and obviously thinner than Mac. I realize a micropreemie is probably going to have some growing issues, but I wonder if Josie has some feeding issues or other problems.

[Big_Miffy]

I'm a preemie mom, partly started following the Duggar family because of Josie. Granted I don't have a micro preemie but my daughter did have a bit of a nicu stay with some scary moments. We had to have evaluations/therapy because she wasn't hitting certain milestones. Now she's 10 months old and doing great but it is a lot of work every day. I know that raising children is a lot of work no matter what gestational age they are born at but I can't imagine having that many children and being able to give them the attention they need/deserve.

From watching Josie it really seems as though she could benefit from therapy. It's a shame that the family doesn't show it/talk about it because it could somewhat educate the public.

Just by seeing Josie's appearance and actions I can only assume that she isn't 100% on track developmentally.

[mpheels]

I just watched the clip online. Josie looked like a combination of tired, bored, and annoyed. To me, the ear covering looked like she was fidgeting. She definitely has lingering problems, but I don't think the ear covering in this particular clip is a sign of them.

[Lady]

I did laugh about when she covered her ears...when Jim Bob was talking. I would too. :D

[crazyforkate]

Kids do get frightened by loud noises sometimes even when they don't have sensory issues, and I bet that studio was loud and confusing for a little kid. Still - even if it doesn't necessarily point to anything, it's a sign of the Holy Couple's famewhoring taking priority over the kids. They should know what Josie can handle, and plan their media life accordingly (as well as for the other kids). At this point, they probably don't know her middle name.

[twin2]

If you look at the clip on the bottom the People page Boob is holding her and she's covering her ears, exactly the same as she did today. I wonder if its more a self comfort thing.

Her behavior sounds perfectly normal to me. If I had to listen to DimBulb yammer all day I'd probably cover my ears all the time too.

[Minerva]

I could see the Duggars not bothering with therapy for Josie in order to avoid thinking about how reckless "trusting God" has become and because the only thing that matters to them is whether her uterus works when she grows up.

However, I could also see Jim Bob realizing that the more normal she seems, the better it will be for his brand, and having her secretly go to therapy. Jim Bob is an idiot, but he knows what image his family is required to project. There's also the fact that, even if Josie's future husband takes care of all things financial (as I'm sure Davy does for Priscilla), running a busy household is fairly complex stuff. If, at any point during Josie's hospitalization, a doctor sat JB and Michelle down and told them what potential wifely duty-compromising complications she could end up with if she didn't have therapy, that might have scared them into getting her therapy. It's pretty obvious that the Duggars only trust God when it's convenient.

[Miggy]

Josie did have gommets in when she was little and Michelle has admitted she has problems with ear infections due to narrow eustachion tubes.

I would be curious to know whether Josie still has issues with lactose. My son has problems with ear infections and sensitivity to loud noises. One of the first questions we were asked was whether he had issues with dairy. Our doctor explained that as well as causing gastro-intestional problems, those who are lactose intolerant often have ear problems. Taking our son off dairy helped tremendously but if even a trace of dairy slips into his diet, ear problems flair up straight away. I can't imagine Josie's diet is monitered particularly closely.

[PennySycamore]

All the micropreemies I have known have larger craniums, prominent foreheads, and their faces are small. I don't know if that is the reality but its my perception.

That is reality. Micropremies typically have dolichocephalic heads (long, skinny heads) which is due to them spending the last trimester of pregnancy lying on a bed in an incubator in the NICU rather than being surrounded by amniotic fluid in utero. They eventually grow out of it.

[PennySycamore]

Jinger perms her hair. It's not naturally curly. They show her getting her hair permed at home in one of the earlier episodes. I think it's in "Cheaper by the Duggars." Most of the older girls seem to have stopped doing home perms with the exception of Jinger.

Good grief! Shades of a Toni home perm ad I saw about 50 years ago.

[AVENues]

I dunno. I hated loud noise as a child as well. I quit tap because it hurt my ears. Pretty sure I'm not autistic. Also wasn't a preemie. I don't think it is something to worry about right now.

I loathe loud noises because I have hyperacusis. High pitched, loud noises make me sick. First nervous, then nauseous, then, worst case scenario, it makes me throw up. (And I used to be married to someone who used to communicate via shrieking all the time with everyone...)

Firstly, I highly suspect that she is Autistic.

Secondly, I think her "parents" are both in denial about her health, AND at the same time they keep her out of sight as much as possible to avoid questions about her health issues and having to face them.

Thirdly... I'm horribly disappointed that they still won't shut down that freak show. When is enough enough?!

[cjsmom]

We can't tell if a child is autistic from a few TV show segments.

The behaviours Josie displays (the rocking, the hands over ears) could be because she was bored or tired or had just had a blanket-training session prior to the show. They could also be due to sensory overload, either with a sensory processing disorder or just plain a-lot-going-on-in-one-day. How long was Michael fussing and crying for? After a couple hours, even the most patient pre-schooler would have had enough!

The behaviours could also be due to a lack of speech-language skills, cognitive impairments, or autism. There are just too many possibilities to consider. I hope JB is secretly getting her therapy off-camera. She looks like she could need it.

[nelliebelle1197]

All the micropreemies I have known have larger craniums, prominent foreheads, and their faces are small. I don't know if that is the reality but its my perception.

My daughter was born at 26 weeks and weighed 1 pound and 8 ounces. I think it is just your perception. She is two now and pretty much perfect. She was sent home before her 2/19/11 due date (she was born 11/5/10). All preemies are not the same, but she has none of the features you discuss and none of the other babies and toddlers I saw in the hospital and at our annual NICU reunions stand out in that way.

[tuckerphez]

I think about all the therapies that Samuel Pope went through: speech, physical, occupational, etc, multiple times a week for over 2 years. He might still be having them. Granted, he did have problems with his vocal cords that Josie didn't have, but he seems to have made fantastic progress even in other areas with physical therapy.

Josie was born at the same gestational age in the same hospital and we've never seen her go to a single appointment with a therapist. It's certainly possible that she has zero problems related to her prematurity, but the odds of that are really low. I can't tell if the Duggars genuinely don't notice any problems with Josie, they are in denial about potential problems, or they're just really mired in a god-will-provide mentality and are expecting her to magically catch up.

My thoughts exactly.

I'm always struck by the way Sarah Pope knows every last detail about Samuel's development, current health status, etc. And then I wonder if Josie has similar problems and if so, who's paying attention to her development? Her parents? Unlikely. A sister-mom? Maybe, but they have to look after all of the other kids and I doubt they would have have the time to take her to therapy.