#sensory

A Sensory Sock

by Theresa Yeager

I have a monstrous bag of white rice in the corner of my kitchen. I bought it for some project months ago that I never got around to. I can’t even remember what the project was now! I tried giving it away cause we don’t eat rice and I couldn’t find a taker. So there it sat, taking up space and reminding me of another idea that fell by the wayside.

With dad in the hospital, eating crappy hospital food – I had an ingenious idea. I would bring him a good home cooked meal to lift his spirits. So I made this great meal, and then realized that the hospital is an hour away. And it was 25 degrees outside. HA! I can use the rice!

So I filled an old sock with the rice. Just one of many in a box by the washer because it’s mate had mysteriously disappeared. I tied it closed and microwaved it for 5 minutes. Put the sock in a cooler bag with the meal and it stayed nice and warm until dad ate it almost 1 1/2 hours later. Man did that feel good!

What felt even better was when I got home that afternoon and The Boy discovered the sock. He thought it was the best thing EVER. He swung it around. He held it on his lap. He smashed it onto his back and his shoulders. He spun in circles holding it out to his side. He held it in his mouth and swung his head back and forth.

And he was calmer then I had seen him in weeks.

We have a winner!

So I made him another one. But my Teen grabbed it and asked if it could be his since it ‘was’ made from his sock. Surprised by his request, I agreed and went to get another sock. I mean, I have quite a few to choose from! Then my daughter wanted one. Then the baby. So now everyone has a sock filled with rice to play with. Several actually.

I even started adding essential oils to them so that they would smell amazing. Some are dressed as babies, some are used as fidgets and my Boy – well he is using it as an amazing Sensory Sock.

What it’s like to be non-verbal

by Theresa Yeager

Ever wonder what it is like to struggle with communication? What it would be like if you didn’t have language to help you in your everyday life? No voice, no sign-language, no communication device to share your thoughts with those around you?

I was just telling my teen today that we should all try to go a full day without using any communication so that we could get a small glimpse into the world that has The Boy trapped inside his own head. Trapped – with limited ability to express himself to those around him. His only recourse is to get violent with us out of utter frustration. I can’t blame him. Sometimes I was to scream and throw a tantrum out of frustration myself.

And I have words.

And the ability to escape my surroundings should I choose to.

And control over my environment where I could manipulate it should I so desire.

He does NOT.

This video is amazing and puts it all into perspective for those of is who aren’t suffering. It is like a splash of ice water in the face of caregivers. Those of us who ‘thought’ we knew what our children wanted, only to have him or her have a complete meltdown. Thank you Carly – this is important. It is eye opening. It is profound.

A glitch with our Autism Safe Room

by Theresa Yeager

Ugh!! So you think you have it all covered. You look over every aspect and troubleshoot every detail you can think of and then BAM, something smacks you in the face that you didn’t see coming. Yup – that was me. And can I tell you that it just SUCKS when you miss something so crazy obvious? You want to beat yourself up over it. But you can’t. Just get over it am move on. We are human after all. I know, easier said then done.

But it has to be done.

So what happened you ask? We are finishing the walls in the Safe Room. I was so excited about the Green Glue a friend told me about to partially soundproof the room so the Boy could have a place where the sensory stimulus would be lessened dramatically.

Walls around the Boy's bed — Walls around the Boy’s bed

We are halfway done and realized that the odor is INSENSE. The Boy’s room is small. Just large enough to have a window seat, closet, bed and sensory swing. So when he went in there and closed the door – WOW is all I can say. And it is all of 20 degrees so opening a window to get some fresh air in there is tricky. I did it – but BOY was it cold!!

So, although I am still very excited about getting the other 1/2 of the room done I will have to put my thinking cap on and figure this one out. The odor didn’t seem to give him a headache, but the first night he did come out in the middle of the night to sleep on a chair in the living room. I know it was bothersome, but I’m not sure how bothersome.

I’m thinking I’ll try Purification essential oil in my diffuser to see if it will help.

Wish me luck!!

envision — Want a place where he can quiet his mind <3

Let them redecorate!

by Theresa Yeager

Autism frequently comes with a slew of sensory issues that many people struggle to identify with. It is hard to understand just what the world looks like through someone else’s eyes to begin with, let alone someone who sees the world in a drastically different light. There was an amazing movie about a woman named Temple Grandin that really shows how the world can be viewed in pictures. She is an amazing woman with Autism who has been able to shed a lot of light on how people with Autism think differently. I highly recommend it – although the beginning is very difficult to watch as it shows her having meltdowns. I couldn’t watch it all in one sitting as it hit home a little too hard <3 But it shows that Autistic minds think differently and it can be amazing!

So as I was saying – there is a sensory piece to Autism that can be challenging. It can be that lights are bothersome, but only sometimes. It could be that sounds are troublesome, but only some sounds on certain occasions. Certain smells may cause physical pain or discomfort – but not consistently. This seemingly randomness can stress parents out because it makes it harder for us to figure out what is going on. My suggestion is – pick your battles.

If your child wants the light off today – is it really necessary to keep it on?
If you child wants you to stop using the mixer – can you use a quiet hand tool instead?
If your child is reacting negatively to chemical cleaners – can’t you switch to a natural product or essential oil?

Which would you rather do, change the environment to help your child feel better, or force the environment and deal with pain and a meltdown? In my home, that means that I had to change the position of our rocking chairs.

I don’t know ‘why’ he doesn’t want a chair on either side of the table anymore. I can’t even begin to try and fathom a guess and this all came on suddenly after years of it being ‘okay’. Quite frankly, it doesn’t matter why. He kept pulling the rocker away from it’s place and didn’t want it on the other side of the table. He would bring it to the front of the other one and promptly come to move it again if we tried to put it back. So I began to think of ways to compromise because it was not worth a fight. I put it next to the other one and he left it there. That placement is okay and he is happy now.

Think outside the box

Because having a calm home is important

For ALL who live there.

Autism Tip of the Week – Put in on his SKIN!

by Theresa Yeager

Last week I talked about a trick to get your Autistic/Special Needs child to take supplements that they need to maintain their health. Bond was really on to something with that whole “shaken, not stirred” thing.

Want to know what is even easier then using liquids or getting pills hidden well in juice?

Topical Applications

Oh yeah baby, did you know that the skin is the largest organ in your body? Are you aware that when you put something on your skin it is absorbed and can be found in your blood in 26 seconds? Kinda scary when you think about those chemicals in your cleaning supplies and beauty products.

But it’s kinda cool when you consider that you can use that little tidbit to your advantage in order to get supplements into your or your child’s body without some crazy fight.

What do I mean? Well, the boy needs to take magnesium and that is readily absorbed through the skin. In fact, it is a really great way to get your magnesium if you have GI issues that may prevent you from being able to absorb it through your digestive tract! HOW cool is THAT? We use magnesium oil with essential oils during our bedtime routine with the boy – and if you are on the list for my newsletter, that recipe is heading to inboxes across the country Monday morning 🙂

What else? Did you know that many kids take NAC, and you can get that as a cream as well? Glutathione is another supplement that is very common in the Autism community – and again you can get that one in a lotion! I have even heard of topical multivitamins, although I haven’t tried any of those out.

My Stash for the Boy - ready to go! — My Stash for the Boy – ready to go!

My favorite topical wellness support? Why essential oils of course!

I like to have my stash ready to go so that the boy can choose which one he wants. If they are already diluted in roll-on bottles then he can just show me the one he wants and I can rub it right on him. Kids tend to not have much patience, kids with Autism seem to have ZERO patience. So this works really well for us <3

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