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 Public Face Of Autism

I don't have time for an incredibly well written, witty post.  With this kids still on holiday break and hubby at home the last few days my time has been spoken for.  I do however, have a small favor to ask everyone in the autism community.  See that picture above the post?  Stop using it as a stock photo for autism. Please, just stop.  It is degrading.  It is humiliating.  It is stigmatizing.  It is perpetuating stereotypes.  It doesn't represent autism.  It doesn't represent anything other than outdated, misconceptions of what autism was thought to be. I'm tired of seeing it attached to 1/3 of every news article, or otherwise information about ASD. Do you want people to treat your autistic child with respect, love and kindness? Sure you do.  We all want that for our kids. Then, please portray them as possessing those qualities and deserving those things. Insist that others use respectful images and words in association with autism.  No, this doesn't mean that Autism is a bed of roses and always should be spoken of as such.  Just remember you are the ones that are telling the world what it means to be autistic.  Ask yourself before sharing and speaking... is this a representation of how I want others to view my child/loved one?

                                         Thank you.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!
 From left to right: Bubby, Beans, My Husband ( I don't have a clever name for him yet!) Me, and CJ


This picture is rare in that we haven't had any kind of family picture taken in 9 yrs. Beans was way less than happy about sitting and Dad was subsequently bitten and pinched several times,  but we got it!

Accepting Autism

Yesterday, I posted a video about Adults with Autism that the wonderful people over at Rethinking Autism made.  It isn't new, but seems to not have been circulated as much as I wish it were.  We really do need to rethink autism. We need to rethink how we think about it, how we talk about it, how we feel about it, how we treat it, whether we treat it, and so on.  We need a discussion that is frank, open and really holds people with dismal opinions accountable for these opinions, these half truths, these myths they spread to scrutiny.  We need people to think about what they say and how these things affect those on the autism community.  So many times,I think people think that the mother on the pity potty about how hard it is to manage autism, how vaccines stole their baby, how they cling to false hope that their child will miraculously recover, on and on... but we don't challenge her.  It's her opinion, we say.  It's her right to believe it, we say, but what about autistic rights?  What about the right to be considered a full fledged human being with with a full experience of life just like anyone else?  Their kids will be adults one day.  They will still be autistic. You don't recover/cure from neurological differences.  The stigma they stick their kids with today, will be their kid's burden to carry tomorrow.  When I wrote about how I value my son Beans just the way he is and how those we associate with seem to see his potential as well.  So, today in this post I'd like to share another video from Rethinking Autism:

Get to Know an Autistic Adult

I'm the one in the black dress at 1:00 on the video