She actually fell asleep without her headphones on tonight! No, I do not keep them on her all night. She falls asleep with them on and then I take them off. When I take them off her, it is do evident on how much they are a security blanket. In her sleep, her hands cover her ears as soon as i take them off.

We recently had an appointment with Courtney’s developmental pediatrician. When we walked into the office she commented on how cute her headphones are. I responded saying that they are a constant part of her and she in what I felt was a judgmental way responded that she wasn’t sure how she felt about that and in return asked if I was really ok with it. I was definitely put off by this. I did explain to her why she used them and how we are working on making her less dependent so she did back off on her initial judgment but needless to say, I was bothered by it.

We continue to work on her using them less but the process has been very slow. She has become so dependent on them. They help her with her noise sensitivity and her anxiety in general. As much as I would love her to wear them less, when they aren’t on her, she is covering her ears with her hands. If a set of headphones help with this anxiety, why not let her wear them? As much as I am more than ok with the headphones, it is nice to see her without them.