Tight clothes, dirty sheets, and lights when attempting to sleep all irritate me. Princess and the Pea is the perfect description of someone with SPD.

I was never the best at sports, but I was able to compensate for my lack of physical skill with strategy and figuring out the opposing players weaknesses. I could square dance and do Hebrew dances (that give sensory input through holding onto others), but line dances were impossible for me. Otherwise, I have to dance completely freeform and I look like a fool. Thankfully I have no pride and don't care how I look when dancing.

Ice skating was tough for me. I learned enough to skate around a ring slowly without falling. I can't stop without hitting a wall. There are turtles that skate faster than me. I even took lessons, but my body just wouldn't let me do much more than skate forward and a little bit of turning at a curve if I was careful. My teacher didn't understand how after the first weeks lessons I actually got WORSE over the next 8 weeks of lessons. I didn't understand either until much later in life. My Hypokalemic Periodic Paralysis is cold sensitive and the more I use my muscles the more they tire out. The combo led to skating fail.

Driving has been a challenge for me. I know how. I can drive well, but... 1) I run the risk of falling "asleep" behind the wheel. 2) My muscles cramp up and twist my body into positions that make it difficult for me to see properly while driving. 3) If the car stops suddenly, I run the risk of hitting the wheel with my head. 4) I can only drive for about 15 minutes before the problems start getting too nasty to drive. 5) Stop and Go traffic guarentees I will have problems with my body for hours if not days later.

So I no longer drive much. I can count on two hands the number of times I have driven in the last 5 years.

On clothing. I can't handle Polyester, Synthetics, Wool, and a few other materials. Cotton is the only truly safe one for me. It has to be 100% cotton no blends. My skin is so sensitive that I can tell the exact composition of a material just by touching it. I will be in a lot of pain from it though, so it is not a trick I do to entertain people.

On testing. See an Occupational Therapist that specializes in SPD. Call them first and make sure they treat adults with SPD before you see them. Otherwise you are just wasting your time.