I have two choices: 1) turn my ears on and get deluged with sound or 2) shut my ears off.”
~~~ Temple Grandin
"It's too loud! It hurts my ears!" ~~Nea
I have discussed Nea's sensory issues in the past. When she was younger, it felt like she had issues with all of them. She fell into the category of "sensory seeker". This meant that her sensory perception was so off that she needed more and more sensory input to make sense of it. She often threw herself to the floor, or banged her head on a table or take hair clips and place them all over her arms. These were ways she was getting in sensory input for touch. For sight, she would hold toys at eye level, peer really close and fixate on the mechanics of them. When it came to taste, she would lick everything. And I mean everything. This is an appropriate response of a 6 month old, but certainly not of a 3 year old. Smell and taste when hand in hand often. She constantly sought input to make sense of it. .
Without a doubt, I had a sensory seeker and I had to make her world one that allowed for SAFE sensory seeking so that she could get the input she needed. Her occupational therapist worked very hard during these early years to begin sensory integration. It was tough. Often she wanted no part of these activities because they were either too scary, too painful or too stressful. The first time we sat her on a boarded swing, she screamed the entire time. Her sensory system was so messed up that she could not understand where her body was in space (also called proprioception), and the activity terrified her. Such a simple childhood activity and she was paralyzed with fear.
She did some hand flapping, but mostly spinning. To this day, she spins. When she starts I know she's tired or she's over stressed. It's her way of getting input and it's a clue to me that somethings off balance that way. Trust me, there is no book for this....it's trial and error!
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| Learning about proprioception |
But sound is something she has never sought input.
There has been tons of research done in this area. Why are kids with autism more sensitive to sound? There are many different theories:
- temporal lobe differences (the area that helps with auditory processing)
- enhanced auditory nerves
- enhanced central nerves
Some people with autism (not all, some) hear sound in the following ways:
- magnified
- distorted
- magnified AND distorted
- cannot differentiate overlay (background noise)
I think I first noticed Nea's sound sensitivity when she was about 18 months. The hand dryer in the bathroom at a restaurant sent her screaming and running to a corner. She cowered there, shaking. It took me awhile to console her and get her relaxed. This was months before her diagnosis, so I never thought another thing about it. However, I knew that those hand dryers were a nemesis for her, and I avoided them. Within a few months, it was toilet flushing. Overall, public bathrooms were just not a good thing for us. And if it couldn't be avoided, then I had to control the situation as much as possible or I would have a terrified, screaming kid on the floor!
As we have maneuvered through day to day life, I've learned to just follow her lead.
Some days, noises don't seem to be an issue at all. She will skate through 100 people at the public rink with the music blaring. Sometimes she whimpers to roll up the windows in the car because the "wind is too loud." Or, she wants the music up so we can do some serious car dancing down the road. Then she has times when she is in her room, lights off, door shut and the instructions "no noises please." Often at family events, she will hide herself away with her ipad and headphones. The sound issues seems to be manifesting more and more, which means I need to pay more and more attention in situations. But, ultimately, I have to trust that she'll let me know when something is just too much.
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| Grandma's house at Thanksgiving (3 years) |
I've read many things written by Dr. Temple Grandin (an adult with autism), including that quote above. I've never really understood what she meant by "turn my ears off" until this past year. Somehow Nea has an ability to shut out everything so much that when I call to her, or try to give instructions, etc. it's an issue. Her ears are "off". I have to tell her, "Nea, turn your ears on" or often we sign "listen" so she understands to turn them on and pay attention to what's happening.
In music class this week, she had a bad time. She screamed at the teacher several times that "IT'S TOO LOUD!!!" . And screamed in such a way that she was becoming disruptive to the classroom. The teacher moved her to another area (away from the speakers) but that did not work for her. I wasn't there, but I get the impression it spiraled very quickly.
We discussed it when she got home from school. Where her behavior was out of control, the fact of the matter remains she had a real issue she was trying to communicate. There was no way I was going to make her endure music class when she was having a bad sensory day. The classroom teacher and the music teacher put their heads together to come up with a plan.
Now Nea has noise cancellation headphones in music class. How cool is that? AND, she uses them when SHE believes that she needs them. They are available to her on a table and she is allowed to put them on as she determines. I'm so grateful for these 2 educators coming together to figure this out for her.
"Children with autism and sensory processing disorders will tolerate loud sounds more easily if they initiate or have control of exposure to the sound. It is essential that the child has control." ~ Temple Grandin
These are her ears. Wait until I tell you about her eyes.....
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