In the first two sensory solutions posts I discussed the different types of sensory input and began to break down the different ones by category starting with visual senses first.
In this post I would like to discuss the sense of auditory as it relates to someone with sensory processing issues.
I feel like this topic is one of a very wide terrain. It will be a difficult task to cover every auditory type of issue one might be prone to with sensory processing issues, and autism. I will try to touch on all of the ones that I know about, and have heard of in this post.
From what I have seen auditory issues are the most frequent of all sensory issues to affect people on the spectrum in a way that really alters our life. I have found this to apply to those diagnosed with Asperger's to those with profound autism. We all tend to be able to relate to each other in the way of auditory stimuli wreaks havoc on our lives at times.
As with all sensory issues those auditory in nature can be hypo and hyper sensitive. With auditory issues I find that there is certain things that bother each person that would make them hyper, and hypo sensitive, as well as have what is known as Auditory Processing Disorder- which I will cover in greater detail later in this article.
Hypersensitivity to noise
What are some the things that can cause someone with auditory processing issues to be sensitive to noise?
* Children yelling/babies crying.
* Dogs barking.
* Horns and sirens
* Motors
* White noise- such as fans blowing, water running
* Chewing noises
* Breathing/snoring noises
* Any repetitive banging, ticking, or clicking
* Lots of people talking at once
* High pitched noises- some of which others seem to not even notice
* Toilets flushing
* Phones ringing
* Other people's music
* Voices in general can cause overload
* Any noise that is unexpected
* Any noise that is above the level of a quiet conversation has the potential to be too much for someone with an auditory processing issue.
What are some of the things that can cause hypo sensitivity to noise?
Showing posts with label sensory issues. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sensory issues. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Does Your Scalp Tingle Sometimes? Unraveling the ASMR mystery.
A few months ago I shared a link on my Facebook page about that special tingly feeling that one gets at certain times. It usually starts in the scalp, and moves down the body in response to specific stimuli. It's extremely pleasant. It reminds me of the warm, happy feeling I get from muscle relaxers times 100. Many of my friends responded to the post with a "I have that, too!" Most didn't know that it had a name. In fact it does- Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response I didn't think much of it at the time. I did put it on my mental list of 'things to research later' which is already years long.
Fast forward to a couple months ago when I was composing the blog post about General Anxiety Disorder. One of the things that I listed to help was meditation videos. I went to youtube to find some of the best examples of these that I could find for me readers, and BAM. I stumbled upon ASMR videos. This happy sensation that I get when I watch certain people talk, or hear certain noises, and most especially when I get a massage was easily accessible via hundreds (if not thousands) of videos online.
There is not much known about ASMR, and why it affects people the way it does. Even more surprising than that is not everybody can feel it. I always assumed everyone was able to have that sensation just like I was. There is still a lot of research being done about ASMR. Some say they're still trying to validate it, because scientifically it's still not really been verified. Much like synesthesia was years ago, there are still some people that deny it exists. I really am not sure how one verifies a feeling. If a ton of people report a physical sensation then I would have to say it does indeed exist. We're not assuming paranormal explanations for this phenomenon. It is simply like being ticklish. Either you are, or you're not. Either your nervous system is capable of this phenomenon, or it isn't. There is nothing hokey about it.
So what is ASMR specifically?
Fast forward to a couple months ago when I was composing the blog post about General Anxiety Disorder. One of the things that I listed to help was meditation videos. I went to youtube to find some of the best examples of these that I could find for me readers, and BAM. I stumbled upon ASMR videos. This happy sensation that I get when I watch certain people talk, or hear certain noises, and most especially when I get a massage was easily accessible via hundreds (if not thousands) of videos online.
There is not much known about ASMR, and why it affects people the way it does. Even more surprising than that is not everybody can feel it. I always assumed everyone was able to have that sensation just like I was. There is still a lot of research being done about ASMR. Some say they're still trying to validate it, because scientifically it's still not really been verified. Much like synesthesia was years ago, there are still some people that deny it exists. I really am not sure how one verifies a feeling. If a ton of people report a physical sensation then I would have to say it does indeed exist. We're not assuming paranormal explanations for this phenomenon. It is simply like being ticklish. Either you are, or you're not. Either your nervous system is capable of this phenomenon, or it isn't. There is nothing hokey about it.
So what is ASMR specifically?
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Organizing Toys for Kids With Visual Sensitivities
In my last post I talked about how much Bean's behavior has been changing, and how I am struggling to not only cope, but to find others that are going through the same thing.
Through chatting with a few others that reached out, I am back on my game now. I am still going to take him to the doctor (which is a mess of situation worthy of another post in, and of itself) but I am going to try some new things in the meantime. Some of those I detail in the comments section of the post, so I'm not gonna relay them here, too. However, one thing that occurred to me was that maybe it was time to do another de-cluttering of Bean's toys. He tends to get really overwhelmed easily when he has too many choices. I try to keep his amount of available toys to choose from neat, organized and at a minimum to help him. For some reason, it hardly ever occurs to him to dig through toy boxes to find his favorite items. If he can't find something in his line of vision to play with he will just not try, which renders him bored, and irritable. I am aware that the totality of the situation does not rest on the organization of his toys, but I do think it might help.
I thought to myself as I was preparing to do my usual cleaning routine that if my son does well with certain things in certain orders than maybe others might benefit from it, too, so here is my tutorial on how to help arrange play areas for children with visual sensitivities:
Through chatting with a few others that reached out, I am back on my game now. I am still going to take him to the doctor (which is a mess of situation worthy of another post in, and of itself) but I am going to try some new things in the meantime. Some of those I detail in the comments section of the post, so I'm not gonna relay them here, too. However, one thing that occurred to me was that maybe it was time to do another de-cluttering of Bean's toys. He tends to get really overwhelmed easily when he has too many choices. I try to keep his amount of available toys to choose from neat, organized and at a minimum to help him. For some reason, it hardly ever occurs to him to dig through toy boxes to find his favorite items. If he can't find something in his line of vision to play with he will just not try, which renders him bored, and irritable. I am aware that the totality of the situation does not rest on the organization of his toys, but I do think it might help.
I thought to myself as I was preparing to do my usual cleaning routine that if my son does well with certain things in certain orders than maybe others might benefit from it, too, so here is my tutorial on how to help arrange play areas for children with visual sensitivities:
.JPG) |
| First- Gather all toy boxes |
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Quiche- How I got My #Autistic Son To Eat Eggs
Today's frugal breakfast might possibly not be all that sensory friendly to a lot of kids with sensory issues, but it is the only way I have gotten my Bean to eat eggs, which is a big deal to me! I love quiche. I eat it almost everyday. It's quick to put together, but takes a little while to bake. I can put almost any odd and end leftover vegetable in there, and it tastes great. Got a tablespoon, or 3 of tomatoes, green chiles, green peppers, green beans, carrots, cabbage, squash, bacon, ham, sausage.(and so many more) leftover? Save it for breakfast. Sometimes, when I have just a small amount of any of those foods I put them into a sandwich bag, label, it and freeze it. Works for quick soups, or quiche.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Sensory Solutions Part 2- Visual
In this entry I will cover visual processing issues that those with Sensory Processing Disorder might face and some solutions to those problems.
Most autistics are hypersensitive to visual input. Too much color and clutter can result in overstimulation. When this happens to me personally, I feel dizzy and disoriented. I can't focus on anything. My brain can't process individual objects in an overstimulated state. If you were to ask me to find a specific object it would be difficult.
To help prevent visual overstimulation:
*Use subtle shades of color to paint, particularly in rooms like bedrooms, and classrooms. I particularly like bold colors, but I like it to be 'clean' colors with no interference of clutter on the walls or lots of other things to compete in the environment. Of course, this is just my own opinion.
*Limit things hung on the walls. Don't hang up wall to wall posters in a classroom for kids with ASD. Limit pictures, and shelves.
* Avoid excess clutter. This includes nick-nacs and other decorations. I like things to be well organized, labeled and hidden if possible. Having shelves with doors is a good example of hiding clutter.
* Incandescent lights are a must for some on the spectrum. The flicker of florescent can be too much.
*Strong sunglasses is also a must for some on the spectrum. My older son's eye doctor said that his eyes are physically unable to handle sunlight the same as others. He requires glasses, so the doctor recommended prescription sunglasses for times when he is outdoors for any length in time. This is also something my husband requires. Unless it is dark outside he absolutely has to have sunglasses on. Even inside of stores, or cloudy days.
*Hats can also be of some help to minimize light and overstimulation in environments where there is a lot of movement.
*Minimize movement. I personally get very overstimulated if there is a lot of movement going on around me. My kids running back and forth in a room, or lots of people around me at a busy store is just too much. Realize that this takes it's toll on Spectrumites and take into consideration that environments with lots of moving people will need to be limited in duration if you don't want a sensory induced meldtdown.
* Provide sectioned areas for school children if they need it. As a child I love, love, loved the little partitions we made during state assessments for our desks. They were just pieces of white card stock folded into sections so that it stood up on your desk like a cubicle. They were designed to keep your eyes to yourself during testing times, but they were delightful in keeping my area simple and pleasant visually.
*If sensory overstimulation is suspected, have a quiet dark area for the person to relax. For an adult this may be their room, or any area free of others. For a child, a little pop tent with blankets is a good example of a good destressing area. Something to block out light and a busy environment is necessary for visual overstimulation. My son often prefers just hiding under a blanket with his DS.
Strategies to help Understimulation:
Sometimes, a person on the spectrum may be hypo-sensitive to sights. I have often noticed that the more profoundly autistic people are the ones that have hypo-sensitive sensory systems, but this can vary from individual to individual, as well as be different on different days for the same person!
When someone needs more visual stimuli they may seek out lots of colorful toys, and wall hangings, ect... They may wave their hands and fingers in front of their face. Finger flicking in front of the eyes is very common. My son will seek out quick moving cartoons, like Spongebob.
Ways to help might include:
* Toys that light up.
*Colorful environments, walls, blankets, posters, lots of colorful toys
and picture books
* Bright quick paced computer games and cartoons
*puzzles, Where's Waldo type of books, and memory games
It is also important to make sure to get regular check ups at the eye doctor. Many kids with developmental disabilities are far sighted, meaning they can't see up close as well. This will also contribute to the visual stims that many will do. The eye doctor can check this even in nonverbal children using lenses and light from a small hand-held instrument, our optometrists can see how a child’s eyes respond to particular targets and test for nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism. You can sometimes see that a baby, or child is farsighted due to one eye that 'pulls in' when they try to focus. This is myopia, or lazy eye. My youngest son is myopic. This is also something to rule out when a child will not sit still or appear to attend when doing work that requires close up focus, like learning letters, numbers, and later reading and math.
Most autistics are hypersensitive to visual input. Too much color and clutter can result in overstimulation. When this happens to me personally, I feel dizzy and disoriented. I can't focus on anything. My brain can't process individual objects in an overstimulated state. If you were to ask me to find a specific object it would be difficult.
To help prevent visual overstimulation:
*Use subtle shades of color to paint, particularly in rooms like bedrooms, and classrooms. I particularly like bold colors, but I like it to be 'clean' colors with no interference of clutter on the walls or lots of other things to compete in the environment. Of course, this is just my own opinion.
*Limit things hung on the walls. Don't hang up wall to wall posters in a classroom for kids with ASD. Limit pictures, and shelves.
* Avoid excess clutter. This includes nick-nacs and other decorations. I like things to be well organized, labeled and hidden if possible. Having shelves with doors is a good example of hiding clutter.
* Incandescent lights are a must for some on the spectrum. The flicker of florescent can be too much.
*Strong sunglasses is also a must for some on the spectrum. My older son's eye doctor said that his eyes are physically unable to handle sunlight the same as others. He requires glasses, so the doctor recommended prescription sunglasses for times when he is outdoors for any length in time. This is also something my husband requires. Unless it is dark outside he absolutely has to have sunglasses on. Even inside of stores, or cloudy days.
*Hats can also be of some help to minimize light and overstimulation in environments where there is a lot of movement.
*Minimize movement. I personally get very overstimulated if there is a lot of movement going on around me. My kids running back and forth in a room, or lots of people around me at a busy store is just too much. Realize that this takes it's toll on Spectrumites and take into consideration that environments with lots of moving people will need to be limited in duration if you don't want a sensory induced meldtdown.
* Provide sectioned areas for school children if they need it. As a child I love, love, loved the little partitions we made during state assessments for our desks. They were just pieces of white card stock folded into sections so that it stood up on your desk like a cubicle. They were designed to keep your eyes to yourself during testing times, but they were delightful in keeping my area simple and pleasant visually.
*If sensory overstimulation is suspected, have a quiet dark area for the person to relax. For an adult this may be their room, or any area free of others. For a child, a little pop tent with blankets is a good example of a good destressing area. Something to block out light and a busy environment is necessary for visual overstimulation. My son often prefers just hiding under a blanket with his DS.
Strategies to help Understimulation:
Sometimes, a person on the spectrum may be hypo-sensitive to sights. I have often noticed that the more profoundly autistic people are the ones that have hypo-sensitive sensory systems, but this can vary from individual to individual, as well as be different on different days for the same person!
When someone needs more visual stimuli they may seek out lots of colorful toys, and wall hangings, ect... They may wave their hands and fingers in front of their face. Finger flicking in front of the eyes is very common. My son will seek out quick moving cartoons, like Spongebob.
Ways to help might include:
* Toys that light up.
and picture books
* Bright quick paced computer games and cartoons
*puzzles, Where's Waldo type of books, and memory games
It is also important to make sure to get regular check ups at the eye doctor. Many kids with developmental disabilities are far sighted, meaning they can't see up close as well. This will also contribute to the visual stims that many will do. The eye doctor can check this even in nonverbal children using lenses and light from a small hand-held instrument, our optometrists can see how a child’s eyes respond to particular targets and test for nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism. You can sometimes see that a baby, or child is farsighted due to one eye that 'pulls in' when they try to focus. This is myopia, or lazy eye. My youngest son is myopic. This is also something to rule out when a child will not sit still or appear to attend when doing work that requires close up focus, like learning letters, numbers, and later reading and math.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Sensory Solutions Part One:
In the next few entries I'd like to talk about the sensory system , sensory processing issues , and some solutions for these things that can commonly occur in people with neurological differences. This will probably be a two or three part series, so that I can cover the topic thoroughly. It's such an important area to address when dealing with disorders such as autism, asperger's and sometimes ADHD. If we can get the sensory system operating optimally so many of what parents and clinicians call 'behaviors' would disappear.
The sensory system is a wonderful mechanism allowing us to process the world in our own private way. We all have experiences in the sensory realm that is individual to us at any given moment. We seek these experiences out, and are often equated to the feeling of what it means to be alive. Memories are even stored around this information. A certain smell of perfume, or sound of a song, or taste of dessert can bring us back in time years ago. This is how potent and important our sensory experiences are to us as human beings. However, as much as we put a high value on seeking out pleasant sensory experiences, it's equally unpleasant when our sensory systems don't work correctly. We can get too much information at once making us feel attacked by our environment, or not enough information leading us to feel out of sorts and needing some input from our surroundings.
There are five sub-systems that make up our sensory system:
1. Visual: This is the system in which allows us to visually interpret the world around us.
2. Auditory: the sense of hearing
3. Somatosensory: This is the complex system we use to process touch. This one is the most diverse system we have, as it affects how we interpret temperature, pain, body position, and tactile perceptions.
4. Gustatory: This is the system that processes taste such as, sweet, bitter, sour, salty, and umami (which is a Japanese word meaning savory, or to describe a particularly delicious food)
5. Olfactory: or sense of smell
Sometimes, when the nervous system interprets signals differently or in an unorganized way our experience of the world gets out of whack. Our response to certain smells, sounds, and sights as well as textures can feel like torture. This is considered hypersensitivity. When the environment does not provide enough input via our sensory system it's called hyposensitive. From what I've noticed kids on the more severe end of the autism spectrum seem to be hyposensitive to sensory stimuli. Their day is usual filled with self stimulatory (stims) activities designed to provide them with the sensory input that they crave to feel comfortable. Although, most people on the spectrum have varying degrees of being hyper and hypo-sensitive with different senses at different times. In order to help people with Sensory Processing Disorder a sensory diet may be implemented. It's always best to consult with an Occupational Therapist to develop a plan to suit your child best, but that is not always possible for everyone. I'll be sharing tips, as well as different tools to help develop a workable sensory diet for anyone needing help maintaining their sensory system.
The sensory system is a wonderful mechanism allowing us to process the world in our own private way. We all have experiences in the sensory realm that is individual to us at any given moment. We seek these experiences out, and are often equated to the feeling of what it means to be alive. Memories are even stored around this information. A certain smell of perfume, or sound of a song, or taste of dessert can bring us back in time years ago. This is how potent and important our sensory experiences are to us as human beings. However, as much as we put a high value on seeking out pleasant sensory experiences, it's equally unpleasant when our sensory systems don't work correctly. We can get too much information at once making us feel attacked by our environment, or not enough information leading us to feel out of sorts and needing some input from our surroundings.
There are five sub-systems that make up our sensory system:
1. Visual: This is the system in which allows us to visually interpret the world around us.
2. Auditory: the sense of hearing
3. Somatosensory: This is the complex system we use to process touch. This one is the most diverse system we have, as it affects how we interpret temperature, pain, body position, and tactile perceptions.
4. Gustatory: This is the system that processes taste such as, sweet, bitter, sour, salty, and umami (which is a Japanese word meaning savory, or to describe a particularly delicious food)
5. Olfactory: or sense of smell
Sometimes, when the nervous system interprets signals differently or in an unorganized way our experience of the world gets out of whack. Our response to certain smells, sounds, and sights as well as textures can feel like torture. This is considered hypersensitivity. When the environment does not provide enough input via our sensory system it's called hyposensitive. From what I've noticed kids on the more severe end of the autism spectrum seem to be hyposensitive to sensory stimuli. Their day is usual filled with self stimulatory (stims) activities designed to provide them with the sensory input that they crave to feel comfortable. Although, most people on the spectrum have varying degrees of being hyper and hypo-sensitive with different senses at different times. In order to help people with Sensory Processing Disorder a sensory diet may be implemented. It's always best to consult with an Occupational Therapist to develop a plan to suit your child best, but that is not always possible for everyone. I'll be sharing tips, as well as different tools to help develop a workable sensory diet for anyone needing help maintaining their sensory system.
Thursday, November 24, 2011
New Thanksgiving Traditions
Today I'm thankful for:
* The food I cooked and ate.
*The kitchen I cooked it in.
*The family I cooked it for.
* The ability and skill to make nutritious and tasty meals for my family.
* The courage to finally make the holidays be about what my family needs and not worry about everyone else.
*The laughter that my family shared today.
*Beans, because today is his 8th Birthday. :)
*My husband and his unwavering love and support.
*CJ and all of her help around the house.
*Bubby, and his unique, authentic self.
As this Thanksgiving winds up and my 33rd birthday is right around the corner I feel that my life is opening to new and adventurous paths. This is a time where I think that maturity of life sets in and we start to see things in a different light. We begin to see life as more meanigful in less big ways. We slow down just enough to see the past and and future from the vantage point of the present. Love, marriage, children and the mortgage might have been had by now in our lives. Some of those things might have been lost, too by now. At this point in life most of us have experienced some loss.
My kids are smack dab in the middle of being grown. One foot out the door. It was only 3 years ago I remember buying my daughter an easy bake oven and polly pockets for Christmas. Now, she has a boyfriend, and goes to school dances. Soon, she'll be driving. This gives me an idea of just how fast time moves at this time in life. Time is precious and not to be wasted. Looking back, I wasted too much of it worrying about this or that. Trying to make others happy, or worrying over what others thought. Each moment I let go into my obsessive worrying, my obsessive needs to be perfect, my over focusing on me in a negative way, is one in which I can never get back. When I let anxiety take over and take me to the place in my thoughts where I dwell in negativity I lose time to be here in the present. I miss moments of my kids growing up, or an opportunity to just be in the company of my husband or to think of a friend, because I was too preoccupied with me own thoughts. There isn't much room or time left when we let negative emotions take up residence in our minds, using up the present moment.
So, today my family and I stayed home, as is our new tradition. We ate what we wanted, on our own schedule. My boys had pizza and no one batted an eye. It was the pace we liked and how we liked it. It was our holiday and we made it our own. No one to tell us otherwise, and it was the best Thanksgiving we've ever had. I just wonder what took me so long to shake the negative influences of others and do what works for us?
“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind.” Dr. Seuss
* The food I cooked and ate.
*The kitchen I cooked it in.
*The family I cooked it for.
* The ability and skill to make nutritious and tasty meals for my family.
* The courage to finally make the holidays be about what my family needs and not worry about everyone else.
*The laughter that my family shared today.
*Beans, because today is his 8th Birthday. :)
*My husband and his unwavering love and support.
*CJ and all of her help around the house.
*Bubby, and his unique, authentic self.
As this Thanksgiving winds up and my 33rd birthday is right around the corner I feel that my life is opening to new and adventurous paths. This is a time where I think that maturity of life sets in and we start to see things in a different light. We begin to see life as more meanigful in less big ways. We slow down just enough to see the past and and future from the vantage point of the present. Love, marriage, children and the mortgage might have been had by now in our lives. Some of those things might have been lost, too by now. At this point in life most of us have experienced some loss.
My kids are smack dab in the middle of being grown. One foot out the door. It was only 3 years ago I remember buying my daughter an easy bake oven and polly pockets for Christmas. Now, she has a boyfriend, and goes to school dances. Soon, she'll be driving. This gives me an idea of just how fast time moves at this time in life. Time is precious and not to be wasted. Looking back, I wasted too much of it worrying about this or that. Trying to make others happy, or worrying over what others thought. Each moment I let go into my obsessive worrying, my obsessive needs to be perfect, my over focusing on me in a negative way, is one in which I can never get back. When I let anxiety take over and take me to the place in my thoughts where I dwell in negativity I lose time to be here in the present. I miss moments of my kids growing up, or an opportunity to just be in the company of my husband or to think of a friend, because I was too preoccupied with me own thoughts. There isn't much room or time left when we let negative emotions take up residence in our minds, using up the present moment.
So, today my family and I stayed home, as is our new tradition. We ate what we wanted, on our own schedule. My boys had pizza and no one batted an eye. It was the pace we liked and how we liked it. It was our holiday and we made it our own. No one to tell us otherwise, and it was the best Thanksgiving we've ever had. I just wonder what took me so long to shake the negative influences of others and do what works for us?
“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind.” Dr. Seuss
Monday, October 10, 2011
Different Perspectives: Dining Out
This entry I would like to discuss dining out and how that might effect someone on the spectrum. I'm using the word 'person' instead of child, because I find that they sensory experience can be daunting for autistic children and adults alike. I will also follow up this entry with a some practical ideas to help make dining out more enjoyable of an experience for everyone.
NT Perspective:
I admit that I don't know exactly how NTs feel while having dinner out... I'm guessing that they have a filter that easily filters out most of the background noise, thus freeing them up to socialize. They can listen to the music, talk to friends and enjoy their meal all at the same time. This tends to be a very popular and enjoyable multi-sensory experience for them. Good food and good company seems to be a pretty common goal for most social experiences.
Autistic Perspective:
For someone with autism dining out can be enjoyable, but is often filled with anxiety. Oftentimes, some people on the spectrum are very uneasy trying someplace new. They might be unsure if they will like what's on the menu, or how it is prepared. (Remember, we can get so tripped up in our anxiety that we forget that the current situation isn't forever and that there may be another option that we aren't thinking about at that moment,) Once inside, there might be a wait, which for young kids on the spectrum might be too much to deal with. Most restaurants have music playing, which is extraordinarily loud to most of us. I often find that I can't hear over the music to be able to listen to conversations. Too much sensory input starts making everything get all garbled. When that happens my head starts feeling confused and cloudy. I might get irritable. Very low light bothers me when it's arranged in certain ways. I don't know how to explain it differently, other than there are some lighting fixtures and arrangements that bother my eyes. Sitting still in a booth or table can be challenging for on the move types. This isn't squirmy like all kids get, but a real sensory need to move around and physically interact with one's environment. I almost always feel cold in restaurants, which make it harder for me to deal with other sensory stimuli that is unpleasant.
With all that being said, my family and I really do like to go out to eat. It took lots of effort and trials and errors before we have found some workable solutions to some of these issues I've discussed here. I'll be outlining some of these ideas, and suggestions in my next entry.
NT Perspective:
I admit that I don't know exactly how NTs feel while having dinner out... I'm guessing that they have a filter that easily filters out most of the background noise, thus freeing them up to socialize. They can listen to the music, talk to friends and enjoy their meal all at the same time. This tends to be a very popular and enjoyable multi-sensory experience for them. Good food and good company seems to be a pretty common goal for most social experiences.
Autistic Perspective:
For someone with autism dining out can be enjoyable, but is often filled with anxiety. Oftentimes, some people on the spectrum are very uneasy trying someplace new. They might be unsure if they will like what's on the menu, or how it is prepared. (Remember, we can get so tripped up in our anxiety that we forget that the current situation isn't forever and that there may be another option that we aren't thinking about at that moment,) Once inside, there might be a wait, which for young kids on the spectrum might be too much to deal with. Most restaurants have music playing, which is extraordinarily loud to most of us. I often find that I can't hear over the music to be able to listen to conversations. Too much sensory input starts making everything get all garbled. When that happens my head starts feeling confused and cloudy. I might get irritable. Very low light bothers me when it's arranged in certain ways. I don't know how to explain it differently, other than there are some lighting fixtures and arrangements that bother my eyes. Sitting still in a booth or table can be challenging for on the move types. This isn't squirmy like all kids get, but a real sensory need to move around and physically interact with one's environment. I almost always feel cold in restaurants, which make it harder for me to deal with other sensory stimuli that is unpleasant.
With all that being said, my family and I really do like to go out to eat. It took lots of effort and trials and errors before we have found some workable solutions to some of these issues I've discussed here. I'll be outlining some of these ideas, and suggestions in my next entry.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)