My Autism Insights

The approach of March in the colder parts of the U.S. can bring with it some wacky behavior in all of us  because of a general ‘enough winter’ attitude coupled with a hint of spring fever.  For individuals with special needs, who are often more sensitive than the average person to seasonal shifts, it can be a particularly trying time.  Gus seems to be in dire need of strenuous physical activity, but it’s still too cold for him to want to spend much time outside.

So we went on a little adventure today.  I found a stationary bike that is the perfect size for the house AND for everyone to be able to use, for a bargain on craigslist.  We went to pick it up, taking a lovely scenic drive over a treacherous mountain pass.  We won’t discuss my paranoia - I had several escape scenarios in case we happened to stumble upon a suburban Jason.)  So now, Gus can get his large motor muscles all worked out (he’s loving all the sensory input) and he can play his Pokemon game at the same time.  It’s a win-win situation all around.

Have you gotten any particularly sweet deals on equipment for your special needs child?

P.S. Sorry for the blurry photo - he was moving and I was trying to catch him in a relatively stable position. I didn’t do so well!

“Stimming” or self-stimulating behavior is a very common quirk among autistic children.   Gus is no different.  As we were eating dinner last night, I noticed something that he does all the time, especially when eating, and that I usually tune out: he hums.  It’s not the only stimming behavior he has, and honestly one of the least disruptive for me, but for the first time in a long time I paid attention to it and started thinking about stimming in general.

Stimming is often a means of self-soothing and/or a means of getting a sensory need met.  Some common behaviors that are often mentioned in the media are hand-flapping, spinning, or crashing into things.  Humming can be another.  I think, for Gus, when he’s tired and less able to filter out noises that disturb him, the humming seems to act as a white noise.  He also carries on an endless chatter at times, and I think this is another stimming behavior that doesn’t quiet the noises around him, but helps to quiet some of his internal noise.

Many times, these behaviors are discouraged and in some cases all but forced out of the individual, and as I was listening to Gus’s little ‘food tune,’  I had to ask myself: why?  I suppose if we were in public, it might annoy someone, but at the same time, he might get annoyed by people talking too loudly, but I can’t tell them to stop.  I can certainly understand the need to teach him appropriate times and places for certain behaviors, but I don’t see how just stamping them out completely is useful to him.  Sure he can’t talk to himself in class, but when he’s home, why not?

Should we remove these behaviors or simply provide alternate means of soothing/sensory input at certain times and just let our kids be at other times?  I know my own answer to that - I’m perfectly fine with the ‘food tune,’ but what do you think?

For more information on sensory seeking behavior, see my post on Proprioception and Sensory Integration.

Happy Winter Solstice!  In keeping with our family tradition, we got up early this morning and went outside to greet the sun.  From now on the days will start to gradually lengthen - what’s not to celebrate?  As we trekked through calf-deep snow (knee deep for poor MM) I realized what a sensory wonderland it was for Gus!

I’ve read that kids with ADHD and many on the autism spectrum do particularly well when they can spend some time out in nature.  I’ve found this to be true for Gus (Asperger’s and borderline ADHD).  I did some videotaping and tried to experience the moment from his perspective.  I’m not expert at video-making yet, but here’s a brief glimpse of our trip to the lake this morning:

• Trudging through the snow allowed Gus to use his large muscles providing proprioceptive sensory input and also strengthening the weaker core muscles.
• Being bundled in several layers of warm clothing gave him some deep pressure (squeezing) which tends to be calming for him.
• At one point, Gus lay down in the snow which also provided deep pressure with the added bonus of a snow angel thrown in with the deal.
• Early morning, cold, snowy day - very quiet and heavenly for a child with noise sensitivity.
• The rushing wind created a white noise that added to the soothing feel, especially when listening to it through a jacket hood.

On the way back, we decided to take the long scenic route, and I noticed that Gus was exuberant and loving the morning, but not in the manic way we typically see when he’s racing through the house.  That was a gift in itself!

Speaking of gifts, the kids were allowed to open a couple of gifts last night and this morning.  Celebrating both Solstice/Yule and Christmas helps to mitigate some of the craziness of Christmas day.  They get less overwhelmed by too much ’stuff’ and can take the time to enjoy their presents a little at a time.  He loved the mini Hot Wheels set and the new Leapster game; the MP3 player didn’t go over as well as I thought.  Perhaps when he learns to use it, he’ll warm up a little to it.

So that was our morning.  How does your special sensory needs child do with outdoor/nature time?

I recently learned that it is Sensory Processing Disorder Awareness Month.  SPD (and this is the extremely simplified version of an explanation) is usually seen when the individual has trouble processing information received through the senses and often results in over-sensitivity or under-sensitivity to environmental input, or in problems in the vestibular (movement) or proprioceptive(positional) senses.  In recognition of the awareness month, I’ve decided to link to some of my past posts relating to the topic and to a few other blogs.

On the use of music in helping with symptoms and Auditory Integration Therapy: Try a Little Music.

On proprioception: Proprioception and Sensory Integration.

Wilbarger Technique.

SPD/SID and sleep issues: Summer, Sleep and Sensory Integration

And a couple of other bloggers I’ve seen discussing the topic:

Good Fountain

Special Needs Blog

Eamon’s Journey Thru Autism

Anyone else blogging on SPD, please let me know and I’ll add your link!

I recently learned that it is Sensory Processing Disorder Awareness Month, so in recognition of that I’ve decided to link to some of my past posts relating to the topic.

On the use of music in helping with symptoms and Auditory Integration Therapy: Try a Little Music.

On proprioception: Proprioception and Sensory Integration.

Wilbarger Technique.

SPD/SID and sleep issues: Summer, Sleep and Sensory Integration

And a couple of other bloggers I’ve seen discussing the topic:

Good Fountain

Special Needs Blog

Eamon’s Journey Thru Autism

Anyone else blogging on SPD, please let me know and I’ll add your link!

I recently learned that it is Sensory Processing Disorder Awareness Month, so in recognition of that I’ve decided to link to some of my past posts relating to the topic.

On the use of music in helping with symptoms and Auditory Integration Therapy: Try a Little Music.

On proprioception: Proprioception and Sensory Integration.

Wilbarger Technique.

SPD/SID and sleep issues: Summer, Sleep and Sensory Integration

And a couple of other bloggers I’ve seen discussing the topic:

Good Fountain

Special Needs Blog

Eamon’s Journey Thru Autism

Anyone else blogging on SPD, please let me know and I’ll add your link!

Today I’ve got one big thing to be thankful for: I finally feel like I’m on the same page, or at least in the same chapter, as Gus’s school staff.  We had a long chat last night at open school night, and the question of medication is not an issue for the time being and I think I can stop feeling so pressured about there being an agenda.  If there is, I don’t think it’s the one I was worrying about.  Everyone’s really thinking out of the box and they’re trying everything possible to help him achieve his considerable potential.  And that’s not to say he’s doing poorly at all.  Aside from having such a busy brain, he’s holding his own with much older kids.  Yes, we need to find ways to help him focus at least long enough to finish a task - so that’s the goal.  If anyone has any tricks for building focus (aside from martial arts and yoga) ideas are welcome.

So far we’ve tried: special cushions, a balance stool, bouncy ball chair, rewards, separate space to minimize distractions, and periods of movement throughout the day.

We’re going to try music, and I may suggest trying to use resistance bands in some way.

So, feel free to comment with your thankfulness and any thoughts you might have!  Have a great day!

 A few weeks ago a friend commented that she didn’t see what the Wilbarger Technique- a specific brushing and joint compression technique - was supposed to do.  I couldn’t really explain it myself, at least not in plain English.  But I think I may have it now.

Picture the brain that has some proprioceptive oversensitivity as a sort of high-strung mother hen.  The parts of the body are her chicks.  Our hen, in addition to being a little high-strung is also not so great at keeping track of those chicks.  Now they tend to stay pretty close to her, but she doesn’t seem to always know that.  So she spends a lot of energy trying to figure out where those guys are!  When she gets worked up, so do the chicks.

But what if we help her out by doing a sort of head count every couple of hours?  Once she knows where her chicks are, she’s happy, she can relax a little and get on with the rest of her henly business (whatever that is).

My best understanding of the protocol is that it helps the body ‘check in’ with itself.  Once the brain knows where everything is, it can calm down and focus better on the other myriad tasks it needs to attend to.

During the winter, instead of using a single fiber-filled comforter, I’ve learned to layer blankets on my son’s bed. This has the effect of keeping him warm and providing a nice amount of weight to provide soothing sensory input. But in the summer, when it’s too warm for anything, how can that sensory need be met?

I have another friend who had a similar issue with her teenage son who would also insist on wearing long pants and sleeves. But there’s a big difference when a seven year old sweats and when a teenage boy sweats. Yet still need some sort of weights in order to sleep well.

You could always run the air conditioning (if you have it - my son does not and will not have an AC in his room) and then pile on the blankets, but with energy costs on a rapid rise, that may not be the smartest thing to do. So there must be something that is heavy enough, yet lightweight enough. Here are my two ideas:

1) A Mexican yoga blanket - These don’t offer the perfect solution, but they certainly help. They tend to be weighty, but still breathe so are not extremely hot. They are also not very expensive. We use ceiling fans, so the combination of ceiling fan and three-pound blanket is not bad.

2) Tight tucking - Sometimes deep, squeezing pressure can be a good substitute for weight, but if a child is particularly squirmy (like Gus), a top sheet sized to the bed may not stay tucked in very well. I purchased top sheets for Gus that were a size larger than his bed. That way, they can be tucked all the way under the mattress and he stays nice and snug.

Those are the two things I’ve tried, and they have worked reasonably well. I am working on another idea to take some lightweight fabric (or sheets) and fill them in strategic spots to provide weight, but I have yet to figure out the logistics.

How do you cope with sensory integration challenges during the summer?

Proprioception is the body’s way of understanding what it’s doing and where it is.  It’s how the body knows the arm is indeed raised upward when trying to get the teacher’s attention.  Aside from body positioning, it provides feedback about inner workings of the muscles (are they flexed or relaxed, stretching or contracting) and tendons.  When the proprioceptive sensory system is out of balance, it can present in a variety of ways such as: clumsiness, seeking pressure (wrapping the body in tight materials), difficulty applying pressure or applying too much pressure (think handwriting), or constant movement.  This list is not exhaustive, and the important thing to remember is that with proprioception, the body is seeking information about itself.  Imagine what it might be like if you weren’t sure where the different parts of your body were or what they were doing at any given time.

I’ve had one such experience, and I’m sure it pales by comparison, but it’s as close as I can get.  When I was in labor with Gus, I had an epidural (an anesthetic administered into the spine that numbed the lower half of my body).  I was able to withstand the contractions because I could not feel a blessed thing.  At one point, as my husband was eating a meatball hero and my sister-in-law was chatting with me, my leg suddenly kicked up in the air and then slammed back to the bed.  It was one of the freakiest things to ever happen in my body and was amusing and disconcerting at once.  I could be amused because I was aware of the cause, but if it had just happened randomly I think I would have been upset.  Now if I had been a child and my body seemed to be just doing its own thing, not listening to me, and was creating no limit of confusion for me, I think I would have been a bit distressed. 

Gus has some proprioceptive issues so I keep things at home to help him.  We have some heavy exercise mats (not the sticky kind like yoga mats, but heavy foam) that he likes to either roll himself up in (squeezing sensation) or sandwiches himself between.  In his room we have a bean-bag chair, which is often useful when he’s out of sorts.  We’ve got a small trampoline (although he still prefers jumping on the sofa) and I regularly use the Wilbarger brushing/joint compression protocol several times a day.  While he still has difficulty in this area, I can say that his body had adapted and learned to cope.  Does he still race through the house crashing into things?  Yes.  But with the right tools, sometimes, he’ll just roll himself into the exercise mats like a big hot dog.  And one day, I just know he’ll stop hanging from the curtains.  What do you mean that’s just a boy thing and will only get worse???