Sensory Overload

It's amazing to look around at the world we live in: nature - so bright and beautiful, all the scents and textures, stores, the people, the things.... sensory input everywhere. Now imagine having so much sensory input that you can't handle it. Everything coming at you at once - like being in a store with a whole wall of tv's - turned on to different stations, and then every few feet a different scented candle is burning, and then two or three different people speaking over the intercom at the same time. That is my very crude and basic understanding of the sensory overload that kiddos on the spectrum go through every so often. Everything becomes disjointed and overwhelming and my understanding is that it is often associated with some type of physical pain. The hardest part for us as parents is that our boys are non-verbal, and getting to the place where we can understand exactly what our boys are trying to let us know can often be quite frustrating for all of us. Which of course, makes it very hard and very time consuming to figure out what they need.

                                                            

Many children on the spectrum use stimming (self-stimulatory behavior) behaviors: flapping of hands or fingers, rocking or spinning around and around. It is believed that stimming behaviors are generally used to help cope with and/or to self-regulate challenging situations. When they become over-stimulated, many kiddos need a different sensory input to comfort them... weighted items or compression, some need both. Luckily, they now have some wonderful products out there to help with sensory needs of children who need them. Especially since some children will not accept any physical contact. We have been very blessed that both of our boys allow physical contact. We can hold their hand or give them a hug or carry them if needed. I can't imagine what other parents go through that cannot use physical contact to comfort their child or give them a loving hug. For those who need them, there are weighted vests to help give constant weight holding their shoulder down. Others use compression vests which are like a nice tight hug with just the right amount of pressure. Out of all the places out there that sell the products for children on the spectrum, we have found that National Autism Resources have some of the best products. (This is our opinion because of the products that we have needed, there are many other companies out there that are perfectly good as well).

http://www.nationalautismresources.com/

There are so many types of stimming behavior that I'm sure we will address another day, because it is an issue we deal with daily in our home. Sometimes more than others.