Many of our autistic children also have at least one form of sensory processing or regulating disorder. It's also very common in children with ADHD. Sensory processing disorder can affect any of the five senses in a myriad of ways, so the first part of helping your child is figuring out what is affected and how it is affected. There are two basic forms; oversensitivity (hypersensitive) or undesensitivity (hyposensitive). Unfortunately, these can vary within even one sense or from day to day. You can be both hyper and hypo sensitive at the same time. Most people have some sensory processing issue in a very minor way. People are commonly bothered by shirt tags, for example, or a certain sound, or even bright light, or we rock when we're upset. We cut out tags, avoid the sounds (or wear ear plugs), and wear sunglasses. It's minor, and annoying when we can't do these things, but it isn't disabling for most people. Now multiply that by 1000 and you have what it can be like for an autistic child, a child who often also has trouble communicating their distress.
This video was made by an autistic adult to give the rest of us an idea of what it could be like. My 15 year old autistic son confirms its accuracy.
The biggest thing to remember is that this is a failure of the body to regulate sensory input. Helping them learn to regulate it is a long process usually best guided by a professional, often an occupational therapist with a specialty in sensory processing disorders. There are some things you can do at home, however to help your child, and a large part of that is being aware of where the issues lie and to have an idea what you can do to help your child regulate. This is called giving your child a "sensory diet". I've found that doing so can help control a lot of behaviors that cause disruptions both at home and at school.
I have an associates degree in Occupational Therapy (OT assistant), this is by no means professional advice. These are things you can do at home, you can find on the internet, or in books that you can do to help your child. These will work even better if your child is also working with an occupational therapist. But realistically I know not all insurances will cover therapy, and many school districts don't offer sensory integration therapy as part of their in-house OT. By the time I knew my son would be helped by Occupational therapy he was 'too old' for medicaid to cover it in this state, they cut off at 12 years. No pediatrician or any other therapist or specialist he'd worked with for his first 13 years had ever even mentioned OT, and when I'd asked I was told he was "too high functioning" to qualify. I still can't get him to hold a pencil in anything but a full palmar grip. (this would have been much easier to fix in elementary grades, now it's habit in high school). I wish I'd known then what I know now, I would have fought harder for him but I didn't understand how much it could help. Doing sensory integration therapy with him at home using what I'd learned in school and in books has done WONDERS to help cut down melt downs and he now often does his own 'therapy' using what I've taught him to help himself regulate when he feels things getting out of control. It has also helped him learn how to communicate what he's feeling and ask for help when he needs it.
I'm going to offer some simple things you can do sense by sense. This will of necessity be a multi-part diary as there's too much information to squash into one. If these symptoms fit your child, and you can get Occupational Therapy, that is the best bet for treatment. If you do not have access to OT or you want to start some things at home while you look into it, I offer these ideas to help you. One thing to remember is to pick which goals are important both for you and your child. If your child hates wearing a heavy winter coat and you live in Miami, layers of lighter coats that aren't as restrictive or a fleece jacket is a better option then worrying about treating that symptom vs. say a penchant for jumping down the stairs. The latter is a more immediate and dangerous risk. If you live in Alaska that may not be the case. It's important in this to prioritize. Minor issues that don't really cause problems can be worked on later when the child is older and may express a desire to eliminate that problem. Motivation is a huge help.
With younger children anytime you can work 'therapy' into a game is beneficial. Use rewards as needed. Punishing over sensory issues doesn't help, the problem sometimes is determining what is sensory vs. pure stubbornness. Is the child out of control or sensory seeking? Do they not want to eat their vegetables or is it how the 'skin' of the green beans feel? Do they not want to put on a coat or is it too restricting? You as the parent are the best person to be able to determine this. If you're truly in doubt, you can always try one of these activities and see if it helps. They're non-invasive, often fun, and won't hurt anything. Watch for a change in behavior after the activity and over time. Watch for worsening of behavior and melt downs, if the activity is too much for your child, stop and try something else. Follow your intuition.
Touch:
Hypersensitivity, often called tactile defensiveness, can take several forms. This was one of my son's big issues, and in some things still is. Refusal to wear certain fabrics (like dress shirts or sports socks) is a common one. So is the 'classic' autistic sympton of not liking to be touched (which my son doesn't have usually). Resistance to bathing, tooth brushing, hair brushing, or only eating certain foods or only hot or cold foods also falls into this catagory. These are also the kids who can't stand getting "dirty".
Some simple things that can be done: Avoid the fabrics that are an issue where you can, especially at first. We live in a warm climate, so my son just doesn't wear socks, we buy sandles instead of sneakers. If he does have to wear full shoes with socks we get dress socks which don't seem to bother him, he also has found if he wears sports socks inside out it doesn't bother him as much. Sometimes if bathing doesn't work, showers will, or vice versa. Adding bubbles or color may help in minor cases. I have found my son tolerates getting his hair washed at the hair dresser
or the sink instead of in the tub as it helps keep the water off his ears better. When we went to restaraunts when he was little I asked them to make his food first and put it in the refridgerator while ours was cooking, which let us all be served at once and he would eat rather than fuss, he couldn't tolerate hot or even warm foods. Most places were very understanding about this once it was explained. Playing with playdough, shaving cream (or whipped cream), digging toys out of sand or uncooked rice can also help with tactile defensiveness.
Brushing is a well known technique that often helps with tactile defensiveness, HOWEVER, this is not something that should be attempted without a professional to teach you the right way to do it. Doing brushing wrong can cause a very bad (read ER visit at least) reaction in the autonomic nervous system (controls breathing, heart rate, body temperature, blood pressure, vital functions). If you are getting OT for your tactile defensive child, ask about it. Watching a video on Youtube is not enough training to attempt this. I cannot stress enough, do not try brushing without an Occupational Therapist certified in this technique to teach you. I know the theory, I've seen it done once, I'm not certified and I don't do it. Done right its safe and helpful, done wrong its sometimes disasterous.
Hyposensitivity (tactile seeking):
These kids want to touch everything. They may also be pain resistant to the point where they don't realize they are injured unless they see blood. They may touch or hug too rough, bang their heads on things, or bite themselves. These kids crave touch, they need it. Without it they feel like they are adrift, and that's a scary feeling.
Things You can do: If the child is a 'mouther' or a 'chewer' they make inexpensive chew tubes that are designed to hold up to older children that look like jewelry or keychains. My son used to chew his way through t-shirt collars until we found these. Weighted vests and blankets can help with this, firm hugs, and deep pressure massages. Pushing, pulling, "heavy work" big heavy movement activities help as well (my son, for example, when he's feeling 'too light' will ask his father to take a walk with him, his father is in a wheelchair, and pushing the chair helps).
Vestibular:
The vestibular sense is about equilibrium, movement, and gravity and where you are in space. When you feel dizzy, from spinning or vertigo this is your vestibular sense. It also gives you your sense of weight.
Hypersensitivity: These kids may appear clumsy or be afraid of falling even from the height of a sidewalk curb. They may get motion sickness easily, dislike swings, ladders or anything with rapid or spinning motions. They may have trouble standing on one foot or walking up stairs foot over foot. They may also startle easily.
What you can do at home: The big thing is to be a reassuring presence. Hold your child's hand when going up stairs, start things slowly, especially swings, gentle slow motions rather than a full push, for example. This is where a yoga ball can be useful, laying on their belly on the ball with you balancing them is a good start, progressing to sitting up on the ball with feet on the floor. The key is take it slow, reassure fears but acknowledge them, and don't do sudden movements.
Hyposensitivity: These are the speed demons, the climbers, the dare devils, the jumpers. These are motion seeking kids. Oftentimes they are labeled ADHD in addition to autism. And often they have no sense of danger or fear of heights. This is also your "rocking" autistic child.
What you can do: Supply SAFE and appropriate play time frequently that allows the child to get the motion they need to function. Some of these kids do well doing school work sitting on a ball or a chair that rocks, or even a cushion that gives some sense of motion. Swing sets, sit and spins, trampolines, climbing equipment are a must for these kids. And after being given this motion often they focus much better on the task at hand.
Proprioceptive:
The proprioceptive sense is about where you are in relation to things around you. Where your arm is vs. the chair, or the wall. Where your legs are, where the floor stops and your body begins. And how much pressure you are using in relation to other things. The terms here are a bit different. There are sensory seeking behaviors, and "difficulty grading movement".
Proprioceptive Seeking: These are your 'stomping' kids, jumping kids, kicking objects, chewing kids. These are also kids who like tight spaces and tight clothes.
What you can do: Weighted blankets and vests again help with this. "Moon shoes" can help reduce stomping, or jumping on a trampoline. Crawling through tubes, or having a safe small space to curl up in (indoor tent or large cardboard box). A moon bounce at a fair will help an overstimulated child calm down if they are proprioceptive seeking. Also, something that has worked for us, I took my son on a ride at a fair that spun in circles two different ways (way too much vestibular input), and it was too much for him, he was irritable, melting down until I paid the extra for the bungie cord ride (where they come down on essentially a big tramploline). He came off the bungie cord completely
calm and ready to continue at the fair. We didn't go back on the spinning ride. In order to counter the vestibular overstimulation he had to "ground" himself with proprioceptive stimulation. (occupational therapy degree to the rescue)
Difficulty Grading Movement:
These are the kids who write too lightly to see or put holes in the paper when they right. They may leave bruises when they hug you, or go to pick something up and use too much force. They break toys, pencils, and accidently hit things by moving "too large". Often these kids are accidently hurting other kids by playing "too rough".
What you can do: Verbal reminders to "hug more gently" work with older children. Alternatative pencils (like Y pencils), and pencil grips can help with writing force. Wrist weights (light ones) can help give them a sense of weight and motion. Remember that birthday party game where you carry eggs on a spoon? Try it with hard boiled eggs without the spoon, or with marshmellows, something they can see when they press too hard. Even balls of playdough would work. Practice picking them up and putting them in things. Make a relay race out of it to keep it fun, or beat the timer (how many balls can you put in the egg carton in 30 seconds without putting finger prints in them?).
To be continued....