School OT thoughts

While reading through the August 2006 issue of “S.I.Focus” magazine I happened across a fascinating column written by an 18 year old young man who lives in the Chicago area.  He has high-functioning autism and writes in response to questions posed to him by readers.    This particular question related to his experiences with sensory processing and whether any difficulties resolved on their own, with therapy, or whether they still persist. 

He responds by touching upon five sensory channels that were problematic for him.  His descriptions of his unique sensory challenges and the coping strategies that were effective for him are fascinating and so powerful:

~breathing through the mouth or holding his breath to avoid smelling noxious odors

~feeling “electrocuted” by sudden, sharp noises likd fire alarms or dogs barking.  Advance knowledge and time to prepare for the event helped, but even with auditory integration therapy this sense is the one that has not steadily improved.

~taste issues went away over time, but his mother presented new foods one at a time for at least two weeks so that the new food became more familiar and “not so terrifying”.  He also shares that he has an allergy to gluten and experiences severe headaches, chills, sore throat or fever if he eats food containing gluten.

~visually he used to be bothered by flashbulbs, but doesn’t experience that any longer.  Interestingly, he shares that sight problem occurred the most when he was eating.  Certain foods just looked bad and just the sight of them could trigger a gag.  His mother put several cereal boxes around his place at the table so he wouldn’t have to see anyone else’s food.

~tactile sensitivities caused problems with haircuts and dressing.  An electric razor was less painful than scissors which made him feel as though his hair was being pulled.  Certain fabrics felt scratchy and the feel of air on his legs and arms was so annoying that he never wears shorts and rarely wears short sleeved shirts even in the heat of the summer. 

James continues to describe how exposure to the irritating stimulus does not help the problem…..and that exposing a sensitive child to a noxious stimulus more often than necessary is like “unnecessary torture” causing more anxiety and fear of the stimulus than before.   He does, however, mention that exceptions to this would be situations such as A.I.T. or if the child intiates and controls the stimulus.  He briefly touches on the idea that self-stimulatory behaviors, like flicking lights on and off, are things that autistic kids like to do because they are trying to stimulate their eyes.

We have such limited opportunities to know how each of our student’s with autism experience their world.   James’s unique perspective should help us all to honor individual differences in sensory processing and do what we can to help make their world a safer place to be.

James Williams can be contacted with questions at: AskJames@SIfocus.com

Personally, I can’t wait to read more of his work!  Thanks James