It’s no secret that autistic people will often have sensory sensitivities. For children, this could manifest in so many ways, like not eating certain types or colours of food or running excessively back and forth. These observations of your child should tell you something, but the meaning of that will be up to your interpretation! In order to help them, you’ll have to be a sensory detective.
First… Let’s talk about some sensory scales, so we can begin to understand what our child is saying:
1. Seeking vs. avoiding: These are also known as under- or over-registration. A child with seeking (under-registration) will want more and more of the item. If your child is avoidant (over-registration) they will try to get away from the item.
2. Different senses: tactile, vestibular, proprioceptive, auditory, gupexstatory, olfactory or visual. Tactile is about touch. Vestibular is about movement, and proprioceptive is body awareness. Auditory is about sound. Gustatory is taste and olfactory is smell. Visual = seeing.
Children will have a mixture across these 2 scales such as “seeking ta
ctile” or “avoiding auditory.” They can also have more than one, so you may see a few of these pop up for your child. Once you can estimate what your child wants or doesn’t want, you can start to try some of the strategies below to help them.
Now that you’ve identified a sensory sensitivity you can help your child by:
1. Creating a sensory-friendly environment. Depending on the type of sensitivity, you may include more or less of something. If your child seeks proprioceptive movement, then you could try having a couple of different swings or swing sets around. If they avoid visual stimulation like bright lights, they may need sunglasses inside.
2. Offer choices. You may find that your child’s sensory sensitivities one day are not the same the next. Offer choices so that they can have the option to choose differently when they are ready. Like with clothing, maybe they prefer tight shirts, you can additionally offer a loose shirt.
3. Use visuals. You can use visual cues, stories, or schedules to help your child understand when they may run into a sensory sensitivity and how long it will last to reduce anxiety around it. E.g., you can use a calendar to show which day they’re getting a haircut and use a timer to indicate how long it will go for.
4. Gradual increases in time. I highly recommend for any avoidance, particularly things that can’t be avoided, that you start with small exposure to the sensitivity regularly, then gradually build up the amount of time for the exposure. This can be really helpful around health related things, such as brushing teeth, hair washing, or needles.
5. Provide warning. This will be another way for your child to gain knowledge about what is or isn’t happening next. Provide warnings for exposure to things they don’t like, and this includes removing something they do like!
6. Normalise sensory sensitivities. We ALL have things we like and things that disgust us. Make sure to let your child know they aren’t the only one that has preferences.
7. Collaborate: If you’re having trouble pinpointing what your child is seeking or avoiding, remember to ask their other caregivers, educators, or teachers. Everyone can help put the puzzle together!
Remember that when we’re trying to put all of these things together, we may get the message wrong! So, always hypothesise what your kiddo is trying to say and then monitor them if and when the sensory sensitivity comes up again so that you know you’re getting the message correctly.
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