hide-n-(sensory)-seeking

I used to dread asking Zak to vacuum. It wasn't only that he tended to miss a lot. This I expect, and can tolerate as he learns. But rather it was the noise that drove us all up the wall. Not the sound of the vacuum, which is loud enough mind you. But the entire time that the thing was running, Zak would be singing or talking as loudly as he could in a chipmunk voice.  The entire time!! Then when summer hit. I noticed that he did the same thing when the mower was running as he cut the grass. Hmmmm... I at first had thought that, being the seeker he is, he was trying to fill some sensory need.  But as I observed him, I noticed more of a pattern. So then I recorded him and began to study his behavior closer. I then remembered something I had read and went back to look up more info on it. And found confirmation of my suspicions.  He is actually extremely oversensitive to very loud sounds and he was attempting to cope by trying to make enou...