The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Spectrum: Sensory

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Good.

I have more to share with you :)

Last time, I talked about different ways you can handle situations in a classroom setting with an Autistic person. Now, I want to touch on something...

Hah...that's funny. "Touch on something"...

Let's talk about sensory (insert cool reverb here)!

"Sensory integration disorder or dysfunction (SID) is a neurological disorder that results from the brain's inability to integrate certain information received from the body's ve basic sensory systems. These sensory systems are responsible for detecting sights, sounds, smell, tastes, temperatures, pain, and the position and movements of the body." { Stolen from thefreedictionary.com

The way I describe to most people my sensory sensitivities is like this...we all, as human beings, have 5 senses (minus the deaf, blind, etc. obviously). 

Touch...

Sight...

Hearing...

Taste...

Smell...

And there's that one kid in that Bruce Willis movie who sees dead people. Good for him. The rest of us generally have 5.
Fun fact: We actually are born with MORE than 5...but I'm just going to cover the ones most of us are aware of :)

For someone with Autism, these 5 senses are amplified, or they are under the level of normality. Hyper and Hypo sensitivity.

One of the BIGGEST characteristics of someone on the autism spectrum is to have sensory processing (or integration) disorder. ***

***Note, once again...this is not speaking for EVERYONE on the spectrum. It is very common, however, to have some kind of sensory sensitivity or processing problem with autism.

If it isn't actually diagnosed, more than likely, people with Autism generally have difficulty, on some level, with sensory.

Here are some examples of sensory problems I have had (or still do), and what people should be aware of for dealing with people on the spectrum (because, from what I have seen, people with autism tend to feel similarly about certain sensory triggers)

TOUCH:

When I was younger, touch was a big deal for me. I hated being lightly touched. I either needed to be squeezed tightly in a hug, or generally not touched at all. I wasn't a cuddly child, and I hated having my hair brushed. For someone with autism, it can feel similar to an electrical shock, or a bee sting, or a paper cut...anything on that scale that is a sharp and often uncomfortable touch. I also liked being thrown to the ground. The pressure from falling and landing on the ground like a belly flop was REALLY soothing for me. My mother joked that she wondered  if people thought she was abusing me when I was younger, because she would literally push me to the ground and I would ask for it over and over again. The rapidness of it and the adrenaline rush felt good for someone who felt like they could explode at any second. Often, I felt all kinds of pent up tension inside of myself and often I would not know how to handle this build up of anger...

My parents had all kinds of tools they used for me when I was younger. I had a treasure chest filled with rice that I would touch, I slept in a hammock for a while (that was fun :)), I was in the pool A LOT (hours and hours and hours...I think being autistic made me a good swimmer!), all kinds of different things. I needed things to touch because every part of my body felt ultra sensitive. 

Today, I'm not as sensitive about touch...I enjoy hugs, I can handle people touching my shoulder when they talk to me, etc...if you read my blog post about being a werewolf, you'll understand that I am sensitive to it when I am tired. I tell my husband that the best thing to do for me when I am upset is to give me a big, tight hug where it seems like for anyone else it would be painful, or to just not touch me. If you were to brush a feather on me when I was tired or upset, I would feel literally like punching a wall it hurts that badly. Many people feel similarly if they are on the spectrum...

For the record...when I give birth some day, I WILL demand an epidural. I'm not toughing it out. 

Drug me up.

Things as a parent or person encountering a person with autism should know about touch:

 Ask. Ask ask ask ASK ask. If you find that there is some reason you absolutely need to touch us, it's better to be safe than sorry. Again, not everyone on the spectrum has an issue with touch, but it's appreciated when you keep that in mind! (This doesn't really go for me much except if I seem visibly upset or shut down...then your touch may be unwelcome.) If you have a sensory difficult child and need to touch them, firm is better than soft generally...don't be nice about it. The firmness of your hand on ours can feel comforting.

We like to feel secure and tight in small spaces (If any of you know Temple Grandin, google her. She talks all about this as an autistic person who studies animals...it's fascinating). If we are being tucked into bed, we like the feeling of a cocoon...tightly wound up, our whole bodies feeling hugged around. Sleeping in a hammock was actually really nice...it just didn't work well with the walls in my parents house. Think about this for your child, or if you have a hard time sleeping and you are an autistic person.

Just because we don't reciprocate physical touch does not mean we do not love you. I know many parents who feel like they aren't connected to their child because they don't enjoy their touch. Even though we might not like the way you show your affection doesn't mean we don't have any for you. It's important to keep that in mind...I know that neuro-typical people often have physical touch be a part of how they express that they care, but that doesn't mean it is the only way. We like you all the same if you try to understand the ways we show we care that may not be in your way :)

And now I have "Let's Get Physical" stuck in my head...

moving on...

SIGHT:

SO many people with autism are visual learners. As a friend of mine put it the other day, we miss the things you see, but you also miss the things we see. Although we can seem like we are oblivious to a lot of things, we actually have very heightened visual senses. I find that I see a lot of minor details that most people would normally overlook in certain situations. I notice many things...I find myself constantly looking around a room, seeing everyone in the room's faces, the cracks in the walls, whats out the window, counting the moles on people, etc. I feel like I can see everything without even trying that hard. People might find it rude when I don't always make eye contact...but a lot of the time, I have a better time retaining what you are saying when I don't look at you in the eye...I am an odd-ball for sure :)

I think sight is my strongest (and favorite) sense...I have a really good eye for color, (again) I notice things most people don't, I'm REALLY good at puzzles, I always pass those "mind trick" drawings, etc. I think the down side to my strong sight is that I have a really hard time being outside in the sun for long periods of time without sunglasses on...good thing they look fabulous on me :)

Sight is one of those things that, if I am tired, if combined with other senses, can be hard to deal with. If you are at a really loud concert with smoke machines and bright lights...it can get super overwhelming.
I am also VERY easily distracted...it can be hard to get a person with Autism's attention because we are so busy mentally soaking in everything in a room that we forget about what you might necessarily want.
People on the spectrum have a hard time keeping track of things...I find myself losing things CONSTANTLY. I have to work very hard to keep track of things among my "organized chaos".
There is also difficulty with spacial relationships...I have a hard time parking my car sometimes because I get anxious about hitting the car next to me, even though I may have "plenty of space".

Things as a parent or person encountering a person with autism should know about sight:

Here's the deal: Eye contact is a socially acceptable behavior in American culture. It is a sign of respect, and it shows that you are engaged in conversation. However, like I have said before...

We don't speak your neuro-typical language!

We modify behaviors to make YOU feel more comfortable...

I feel kind of strongly about this, and I know people won't necessarily agree with me. I feel like eye contact when speaking with someone isn't the most important skill to develop. I, personally, have worked very hard to change this behavior for myself because it is a big part of theater and it builds a connection with my scene partner. However, I don't see why people get so bent out of shape about eye contact...there are so many other things you could be focusing on with your child to help them relate to other people, making eye contact isn't the end all of end all. Look at some Asian cultures...a lot of them have a hard time finding jobs in America because eye contact isn't part of their culture. In fact, making eye contact with someone who is superior than you is considered rude. Employers feel offended and then that Asian person doesn't get the job, even if they were the most qualified. It's crap. We as an American culture should try and have a better understanding of communication, verbal and non-verbal. Again, just because we "special people" don't look you in the eye all the time doesn't mean we don't care. In fact, it could mean for some of us that we do care and that we are trying to tune in our auditory senses to hear what you are saying, and cannot do that at the same time as you are speaking. It's ok. Our culture has this thing about being offended all the time...

Get over it. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tn2EhGK5ok

Now, I'm not saying that someone with Autism NEVER has to make eye contact...it can be a good teaching tool. But you don't have to nail it into our heads how important it is to look at your eyes...we get it. Saying it over and over again doesn't help and it doesn't help us see the point in doing so. There are worse things we could be doing, let's be honest. Some of you don't have very interesting eyes anyway ;)

Other than that...just keep in mind the things I said above about brightness, losing things and whatever. Again, if you have the ability to look into occupational therapy, I would highly consider it. Desensitizing senses can make life SO much easier for us (again, not for YOU, but for US).

Still with me?

Need a vodka break?

Stop it. It's 1 in the afternoon. 

Let's keep going!

HEARING:

I hear everything or I hear nothing. I can hear a conversation clear as day in another room, or you can be trying to get my attention while I'm sitting right next you and I literally can't hear you. It's much better now than it was when I was younger...trust me. Hearing is one of the biggest hurdles I have tried to overcome, and many people like myself still are trying to overcome. My parents thought I might be deaf before I was diagnosed...I wasn't responding to my name and I also didn't really speak till age 4 (now you can't really get me to shut up!) Remember my blog about the fireworks? It's like that with any kind of sudden, loud noise...I tend to freak out a little. I only do a little on a normal day, but the werewolf thing can happen when I am tired, and it becomes a much bigger deal than it really needs to be. I feel like I can walk into a room and hear all the details of every conversation, I memorize songs by listening to them once...hearing can be quite fun. Or a big pain in the ass. Being given instructions or notes about things can be ridiculously hard for me...if I look at you funny after you have given me a list of tasks, just know it probably went way over my head and that I either need it repeated or I need to go write it down. I've gotten better at advocating for this sort of thing, but it can be hard to remember in the moment. Surprisingly, I have a really easy time articulating my thoughts or ideas, and a lot of people on the spectrum struggle with this. However, I think I may have undiagnosed dyslexia when reading things out loud for the first time (why did I go into acting again...?). It's like hearing the sound of my own voice catches me off guard when I am also trying to process the information I just read. Too many things going on at once. I hate hate HATE when multiple people try talking to me at once. I literally cannot process everything all of you are trying to tell me at once, and it gives me a great amount of frustration. Hearing is awesome and awful all at the same time. Unfortunately, sometimes one of the only things to help myself when I am frustrated and tired is to swear, it's therapeutic. The crispness of cuss words literally feel like I am popping bubble wrap...it's soothing.

A little advice...

-When giving instructions to someone with Autism, if you can, write it down. The combination of you telling the tasks to us AND showing them can help us process it better. 

-Try not to have multiple people speaking at us at one time. Most likely, it won't stick, and it drives most of us nuts more than it helps. 

-Be mindful of loud, sudden noises...we can't always help feeling overwhelmed by it, and things happen, but if you can, remember it.

-Calling our names from across a room isn't the *best* way to get our attention...in fact, for many of us, that is one of the first signs in getting our diagnosis. Come closer, we don't bite...hard.

-If someone can't articulate a thought or an idea verbally, see if they will write it out. That can help them process their thoughts.

TASTE:

There are some foods in my life that I have maybe tried once or twice that I will never eat again in my entire life. Did it taste bad? Not necessarily. More often than not, someone with Autism will have a hard time eating certain foods because of the texture. Hypo side of this: I would eat weird things and not realize that it was bad...like the one time I ate a slug when I was little and it had no effect on me what-so-ever. Luckily, I grew out of a lot of my texture sensitivities...seriously. I've come far. I was the kid that literally ate nothing but Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches the early parts of my life. Up until the age of 19 or 20 I literally didn't eat vegetables. Now, I've found stuff that I like that is good for me. It can be really hard to explain why texture is a big deal...it literally feels like eatting nails when some things have a weird texture to them. Now, I don't walk around looking at foods and going "that looks weird, or is bumpy, so I won't eat it" (to be honest...somethings I haven't tried because they are kind of strange looking). But, you never know unless you try. I've had to learn that my whole life...not just with food, but with everything! The best thing a parent can do for a child with Autism is to guide them to try new things...food seems like such a basic idea to do this, but it really is a big deal. If I hadn't had my husband getting me to eat new things, I wouldn't have found some of my new favorite foods! We don't have to like everything, but if you give us options, eventually we will find something we like. Parents: you don't have to settle and stay comfortable with the same foods...find what works, and then see if you can build off of what you find is good. Finding foods your child likes is good...but there are so many possibilities you might not have even thought of. If they are having a hard time getting a balanced meal, look into what options you can find. Lack of veggies? Try veggie juice to get the right servings. We don't need to eat like the rest of the world to get what we need out of life...try and find what works. A big part of the whole taste thing is age...many autistic people grow out of their taste sensitivities, like all humans do with age, it's just more of an extreme for us.

SO...

Don't knock it till you try it :)

SMELL:

To put it simply, Autistic people with sensory integration disorder...

-have difficulty discriminating unpleasant odors

-are unable to identify smells from scratch 'n sniff stickers

-don't notice odors that others usually complain about

-fail to notice or ignores unpleasant odors

-make excessive use of smelling when introduced to objects, people, or places

Some of us need a little help :) Keep us away from poisonous things, obviously. But if we like things you don't, or vise versa...not judging. Ok? Thank you.

It's kind of cool how I can smell a lot of things...but it can get overwhelming. I am really good at differentiating similar smells.

So, I know this was super long, but I hope you got a lot out of it...

I think I have harnessed  my Autistic tendancies into a super power...

Turn bad things into good. Don't dwell...accept.

<3 Maddie

:)