Sensory issues and stimulation overloads are all too common for children on the spectrum and Curtis had a doozy of a time today. His class was planning a field trip to the Planetarium and he reluctantly agreed to attend. Sometimes, it's the trip on a loud bus that is the biggest challenge of a field trip. Other times it's the timing of the trip that hinders his enjoyment. This time it was the event itself, a show at the Planetarium, that had Curt looking for an escape.

According to Caron, his school support

"the room was dark, really loud, hot with 3D asteroids, comets, planets, and stars coming out in all directions. Curtis was able to verbalize to me that it was too loud so i covered his ears for the entire show. About 15 minutes in he asked if he could sit on my lap - i pulled him up, still covering his ears during the loud voices that every now and than would offer some information or facts about what we were seeing and held him. He seemed like he was enjoying some of it and was asking a million questions about the solar system - the majority of them were unanswerable by anyone (Will Earth live longer than Mars? Was Earth every bigger than it is now? How long ago did people live on Mars? What is beyond Pluto?) Etc.. About 45 minutes in he told me that he didn't feel good - that was also the point where they stated to be a laser show - We quickly scooted out. We took a walk around the building, in the building and kept our voices and energy pretty calm. He seemed fine after we got out - he was turning it into a social thing actually later on while everyone was waiting for the bus - going up to kids and asking them if they felt sick. most said yes and he would respond with how he felt. I think the environment, the bus ride and the overwhelming nature of what we saw and where his mind went during all of that was hard for him to handle and leading to a (what sounds) huge sensory overload."

Then mom had him after school

"We're definitely seeing some after-effects of the sensory overload.  He just spent an hour flailing and crying because it hurt to put shoes on his feet and he was curled up in a fetal position in the back seat on the way home from school.  i've seen him like this before after he got pushed to far in OT sessions, and you can't always tell right away what the over-stimuation will do to him.  thanks for getting him out of there as quickly as you did.  i didn't really think much of it, assuming it would not be a 3D experience.  he'll be fine in a couple hours, but its interesting to see how fragile his sensory system can be.

And Jamie who had him for some 1:1 Home Support

"I definitely think the planetarium was a system shock for him.  I can totally understand how that would mess him up.  He was quite upset about his shoes and obviously was having some weird sensory issues with it.  He tried on every pair and exclaimed that each one felt "weird" and would cry uncontrollably and kick them off.  He asked for hugs and squeezes over and over, wanted to be rolled up like a burrito and covered his eyes with his coat/a blanket a few times.  He repeated over and over that he wanted to go to starbucks but just couldn't stand his shoes.  He couldn't describe what the problem with them was though.  Laura let him try slippers and he thought those felt okay and I had no problem taking him out in those.  The second we left the house he announced "I'm so glad we are finally outside. I don't feel dizzy anymore."  He pulled a little rascal behavior in the car but I told him I'd turn the car around if he didn't cut it out.  We got to Starbucks and obviously they didn't have any multigrain bagels.  I told him his other options and he decided to try a mini donut, loved it, we got one more for the road.  We walked about the door and exclaimed "We just had the best moments of our lives!"  We got home and he ran right upstairs to show Laura the donut and was totally fine for the rest of the evening.  I definitely feel like the pressure from squeezing and covering of his face to eliminate sensory input was helpful as always, but the dizzy thing and the "I'm so glad we are outside now" was new.  I was absolutely shocked that he was willing to change his order at starbucks cause he will usually request to go someplace else if they don't have what he wants.

Live and learn I suppose. Maybe the Planetarium isn't the place for Curtis and now we know. We'll make arrangements for him to skip that one next time and save his feet and mind some aggravation. More importantly I hope it doesn't hinder his desire for field trips in general, an area where significant progress has been made in the last year or so.

Greg, Dad

_"This is my back scratcher! Ms Barber got it for me because she has been scratching my back for three years and wanted a break!"

That pretty much sums it up. I have been planning on getting him a back scratcher for awhile now. Every time he is sitting at circle or sitting at his desk he requests that I scratch his back - a sensory feeling he seeks when he needs to be soothed during stressful time. And who doesn't love their back scratched? I could get away with being his personal back scratcher in kindergarten and even in first grade - but now that he is in 2nd grade I thought it was (finally) time to implement an independent and a self-soothing skill that he can take control over during the day.

He has taken to this in a way I knew he would. I painted it red for him, and he was quick to put 7 smiley face stickers on it first thing this morning, representing the 7 people in his life who help him out - his idea. The back scratcher has accompanied him to morning meeting, it has provided a break during a math test, it has walked with him down the hall (scratching the whole way), it sat next to him during lunch and it has provided quite a bit of conversation among his class and friends. The way he describes the feeling of it ('OMG - this feels SO good!") and the way he describes the reason he has it are priceless to hear.

Caron, 1:1 School Support

This blog from psychologytoday.com explains some non-typical, or as we call them with Curtis, "unexpected" behaviors, from people on the spectrum. Sensory overloads caused by crowd noise, bright lights, sudden loud sounds, sensitivity to touch, etc. result in behaviors that can be tough to witness and difficult to correct. Time and patience go a long way and it's a learning process for the child and parent. Here are some of the behaviors mentioned that immediately reminded me of Curt.

1.) Supermarket floor tantrums: These were pretty embarrassing to be sure but it was cool to read this as an item on a list. I hadn't made the connection that this behavior was common with autistic children, I thought maybe it was a Curtis specialty. These happened frequently enough when he was younger where Laura and I would try not to bring him into a grocery store if we could help it. I think at the time I assumed it was something he just had to get used too. In hindsight, the fluorescent lights and noise may have just been too much to handle when he was very young. His main goal in any grocery store once he could walk was to free himself so he could sprint down the aisles. When he wasn't allowed too a tantrum was likely not far behind. If he did break free, you never saw a happier kid in your life as he ran down the aisle.

2.) Haircuts- When Curt was younger it was just easier to let his hair grow long. He was very sensitive to getting it cut and a pair of clippers was out of the question. Actually, clippers are still out of the question. I think we've only done that once.  Having his hair pulled and cut at the same time there is a buzzing sound in his ear proves too much to handle and we respect that. We have turned a trip to Snip-Its into an event and though sometimes apprehensive, he's willing to do it.

3.) Classroom Focus- The blog mentions the difficulty for some children on the spectrum to copy down homework and simultaneously listen to a teacher's instructions. This is just one of many reasons Curtis is helped by having an ed tech in the classroom. He has not yet developed that ability to handle two tasks like this at once. On his own, An entire school day would be lost for him in the first 10 minutes as he missed one crucial instruction while paying attention to another. Being able to pay attention to two things at once is something we constantly work on with Curtis and is a huge goal in mainstreaming him in school.

What I found most interesting about that blog was the comments. One in particular from a teenager with autism and others discussing the topic. As "neurotypicals", our focus can be to try and change the way kids on the spectrum are doing things and try to get them to execute a script. The comments express that it's not always this easy. Even for a person on the spectrum who has been taught a script, the over stimulation of a situation can force all that out the window. Any one of us can relate to not doing what we're supposed to do even if we know what we're supposed to do because of a situation we're presented with. As a parent or teacher, all we can do is be patient and try to help them with what they are going through because we don't know what that type of over stimulation feels like. Their experience is very different than ours, always has been, and always will be. In many ways, it's unrealistic to expect someone whose brain is wired differently to conform to our ways of thinking. All we can really do is help them.

Greg, Dad