Three Easy Tools for People with Autism and Sensory Issues

Three Easy Tools for People with Autism Working on Sensory Issues

To learn about a few tools to reduce Sensory Integration in people who have Autism read this article all the way to the end. Specifically, I’ll cover the Earobic computer game, Therapeutic Horse riding, and using a trampoline. After you’re done with this article you should be able to reduce some sensory issues.

The Earobic computer game can be an important tool in helping with Sensory Integration. Specifically, it helps with auditory defensiveness. Families can use it everyday if needed. Reducing Sensory Issues will be easier if you have the tools at home whenever possible. This tool is easy to have at home. That brings us to Therapeutic Horse riding.

Therapeutic Horse riding is important when working on Sensory Integration. Therapeutic Horse riding can be used to reduce sensory issues. Private insurance or Medicaid may pay for Therapeutic Horse riding. It is good for Autism and ADHD. Finally using a trampoline is another technique to controlling Sensory Integration concerns. .

Using a trampoline can be another tool to reducing sensory issues for people with Autism. People with sensory issues will need access to a trampoline in order to start reducing sensory issues. It can be bought and used at home for your convenience. The trampoline may be large or a small exercise one. The trampoline will also provide exercise.

Reducing Sensory Integration is possible to understand. Initially you can work on these three techniques. These are three simple ways to reduce sensory issues.

Response to My Three Questions

I am so excited someone responded! As promised here is their answers in their entirety.

Thank you for visiting www.HealingThresholds.com. My answers follow.

Do you think people with autism need to be "fixed'?

No, not necessarily. Autism is a spectrum disorder and there are a variety of symptoms that are associated with autism. Some people have severe and painful GI symptoms and I believe those symptoms should be treated and the underlying problem “fixed.” Some people have self injurious behavior and those people should be helped. Some children are bullied and they deserve to understand bullying and be taught how to address it within the system.

Most of all, a diagnosis of autism can be difficult for the entire family and I think that all aspects of the family need to be healed. Sometimes the healing may involve an evolution of the parents so they learn to meet the child exactly where that child is and love the child for who s/he is and not who they want the child to be.

2. Do you think therapies for people who have autism are overpriced?

Mostly no. Caring for a child with autism is extraordinarily resource-intensive. It requires buckets full of time, energy, love, and money. I do not believe that speech therapists overcharge or occupational therapists overcharge or art therapists overcharge. In most cases supplements can be purchased for a reasonable price.

There are, however, treatment programs that are extraordinarily expensive. These include some ABA programs as well as some of the more intensive implementations of the DAN protocol. While it is hard for me to call them overpriced, I do think that parents should be very thoughtful when spending their precious resources. In my mind this means having a very specific and clear understanding of what the treatment goals are and how long the treatment should be continued before some progress is seen on the treatment goals. There is not time or money enough to do everything for every child. We also know that not all treatment approaches will work for every child. Therefore parents, therapists, physicians, and teachers need to have honest discussions about specific treatment goals and which treatments have the best odds of achieving those goals. There should also be honest discussion about when it is best to abandon a treatment because it is not advancing the child.

3. How do I buy all the equipment I am told is necessary?


What equipment? Who tells you what is necessary? This goes back to the answer to number 2 above. No parents should be put in a position of thinking that if they can’t afford a piece of equipment their child will not do well. Therapists, physicians, and teachers need to support the parent so that the parent feels s/he is healing the child with the resources that are available. Healing Thresholds is designed as a free resource to help parents sift through all of the different opinions and ask hard questions of the different members of the therapy team. When parents of newly diagnosed children write me asking similar questions, I point them to this page: http://autism.healingthresholds.com/new-diagnosis-of-autism
These are great questions. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to weigh in.

- Lara

Lara C. Pullen, Ph.D.
CEO and Founder
http://autism.healingthresholds.com/
Connecting community and science to heal autism.

Indespensible Tips When Raising Children With Autism, A Little Something Extra

 Use schedules. My children-all of them-knew what time we got up and what time we took a bath. My child with autism had visual schedules for her day. She also had a visual schedule for individual tasks. My child with asbergers understood time if I had a digital clock. She knew what time things were supposed to happen. This also gave us the opportunity to discuss what was happening if we were going to deviate from the schedule. We are a real live family and that happens sometimes.
 First look towards changing the environment when trying to work through a problem. Changing the environment is many times the easiest solution. We, the adults, are smarter than they are!
 Work with your child to learn to complete single steps. There is no point in frustrating you or them until they can “put this in the trash”.
 Sometime we have to get up and model the behavior or action we want to see. Words are not enough. Children on the autism spectrum need to see and feel what should happen.
 If you have siblings of children with autism a good rule of thumb is ‘Everyone has to do what they can do.’ This gives all of the children the opportunity to be part of the team, your family. Then we all accomplish the tasks necessary to family life.
 Children with autism and other disabilities do not seem to have the positive self talk others have. Remember and talk to them about past good accomplishments so they will remember. Celebrate all those little things!


A Little Something Extra to Think About…

Children with autism and other disabilities have short attention spans. It is one of those characteristics which seem to cross disabilities. Obsessive compulsive disorders and a tic disorder are two others. These also seem to be characteristics which show up in siblings and/or parents.

Autism and The Jelly Shoes

Being a mother of five children, I always had to watch our budget especially to afford some of the other things associated with a child with autism (or two children with autism ). One of the things we learned early on was to make use of hand me downs whether siblings or friends. One of my friends gave my daughter a whole grocery bag of Jelly Shoes, in every color. My 20 year old was excited. She was the only one with a foot small enough for these.

Of course the first pair my daughter chose was a bright red pair. Some of them had buckles. We have not bought shoes with buckles in years. As she tried to get them unbuckled she became frustrated. After fussing at the shoes for a few minutes she handed them to me. I asked if she wanted help and she said yes. This skill is a big improvement for her.

Then we went to getting the shoes on her feet. They slid on easily. Unfortunately there was that buckle again. She worked on it and worked on it. She got more and more frustrated. Finally she started talking to the shoes. She told them they were crazy. She started screaming at the shoes and cussing them. I sat across the room from her and watched.

Somewhere in the screaming phase I told her she needed to ask if she wanted help. This is a skill we have been working on for a long time and as you know a very hard skill for people who have autism in general. She ignored me!

After screaming at the shoes for awhile she started hitting them. I seriously considered making her let me help her at that point. I decided against it because she really was not hurting herself or any one else. She also was not damaging property. I did mention she could ask me for help again. She told me no! After much rolling around on the couch and screaming, she did get the buckle fastened.

Thinking about it, there is really so little she can control and SHE DID IT! She really was not doing anything that typical adults do not do every day. Get angry, start cussing, and start slapping things around.

Views of Autism

Yesterday I saw a notice from Ari Ne’eman from the AutisticSelfAdvocacy Network. He has a list I belong to at
http://www.autisticadvocacy.org
which I highly recommend. The notice spoke of Dr. Eric London’s resignation from one of the AutismSpeaks committees. His letter spoke of decisions being made with out input from the scientific committee. This was the committee on which he was a member.

This brings up some interesting questions and thoughts.

1. Do you think people with autism need to be “fixed”?
As you may know from previous posts I have two daughters. One has autism and one has asbergers. No I do not see either one of my children as someone who needs to be fixed. On the other hand do I want to maximize all of my daughters’ experiences? You Betcha!

2. Do you think that therapies for people who have autism are over priced?
Sometimes. Parents of children with autism have to be very creative to keep their children engaged. I am not sure they should pay for every therapy that comes along. That is a really good way to break the budget for years to come, especially without investigating the free resources available. Then supplementing those resources with their own resources would be wiser.

3. How do I buy all the equipment I am told is necessary?
There are many ways to cut costs of equipment. Make some your self, borrow some, and explore agencies set up to help with the costs. Some parents even invest in one or the others education to learn how to do therapy themselves. I will make a separate post on this at a later date.

I would like to see other blogs on autism respond to these questions, particularly the first question. Knowing exactly what mindset people come from is so important in the area of autism and aspergers. So how about it?

Explaining Autism For Your Children

Some of the earliest conversations I can remember having with the two older boys about my middle daughter were about what to say to their friends. Being new to this myself I was surprised and concerned about their obvious discomfort as well as my own. Finally we came to the agreement they could tell their friends she was just a little slow. This seemed to satisfy them for quite awhile.

When my oldest, Sam, was about eight or nine he asked if they were going to ‘catch’ what she had. Of course I reassured him people did not catch a developmental delay from a sibling. I explained every once in awhile someone got sick and were left with a developmental delay. If you could have just seen the way he looked at me sideways out of the corner of his eyes when he asked. Many years later I learned these were perfectly normal reactions from older siblings.

Some younger siblings are in many ways less tolerant than older siblings. They grow up seeing you spend extra time tending to the older siblings needs. As they start to pass their sister’s abilities, they are very upset when she seems to be able to do things or act in ways they are not allowed. It is very difficult to explain the many choices they will have a head of them which she will not have. As one of the younger ones said just the other day, “That’s too long away. This is now!”

I have tried several things to help with this situation. One of them is books about children and books by children or teenagers. There are books about autism and there are books by the siblings of children with autism. Another newer idea is several videos on YouTube that have been made in recent years. Some of them are surprisingly good and challenging to other children/adolescents. I have found organizations, such as the Autism Society, willing to lend me videos from their libraries. Borrowing videos or books is good for the budget when possible. The videos and DVDs tend to be expensive so be sure to return them. All of these ideas work with your own children or children in your child’s class.

Expert Parent on Autism

One of the things I have learned in my 20+ years raising children with autism spectrum disorders is that the parent is the expert. We as parents spend a lot of time going to one doctor or another. We go to a variety of therapists. We go to the education system for help. In all of those people no one knows your child better than you do.

Everyone seem to be able to describe all of your child’s deficits and weaknesses. But one person alone knows all of your child’s strengths—you. And of course it is building on these strengths which is going to give your child any independence and happiness in life. You as the parent will also be the person there the longest. Siblings come in a close second and have their own insights but you are there the longest. Specific knowledge of your child and the length of your exposure to autism make you an expert.

Reminds Me of Raising A Child with Autism

I came across this poem again in some of my things. Even though it is written about a toddler it reminds me of raising a child with autism. I do not know who wrote it so let me know if you do. Enjoy!

The Rules of Toddler

If it is on, I must turn it off.
If it is off, I must turn it on.
If it is folded, I must unfold it.
If it is liquid, it must be shaken, then spilled.
If it is solid, it must be crumbled, chewed or smeared.
If it is high, it must be reached.
I it is shelved, it must be removed.
If it is pointed, it must be run with at top speed.
If it has leaves, they must be picked.
If it is plugged, it must be unplugged.
If it is not trash, it must be thrown away.
If it is in the trash, it must be removed, inspected, and thrown on the floor.
I it is closed, it must be opened.
If it does not open, it must be screamed at.
If it has drawers, they must be rifled.
If it is a pencil, it must write on the refrigerator, monitor, or table.
If it is full, it will be more interesting emptied.
If it is empty, it will be more interesting full.
If it is a pile of dirt, it must be laid upon.
If it is stroller, it must under no circumstances be ridden in without protest. It must be pushed instead.
If it has a flat surface, it must be banged upon.
If Mommy’s hands are full, I must be carried.
If Mommy is in a hurry and wants to carry me, I must walk alone.
If it is paper, it must be torn.
If it has buttons, they must be pressed.
If the volume is low, it must go high.
If it is toilet paper, it must be unrolled on the floor.
If it is a drawer, it must be pulled upon.
If it is a toothbrush, it must be inserted into my mouth.
If it has a faucet, it must be turned on at full force.
If it is a phone, I must talk to it.
If it is a bug, it must be swallowed.
If it doesn’t stay on my spoon, it must be dropped on the floor.
If it is not food, it must be tasted.
If it IS food, it must not be tasted.
If it is dry, it must be made wet with drool, milk, or toilet water.
If it is a car seat it must be protested with arched back.
If it is Mommy, it must be hugged.

Autism and The Bathtub

One of my daughters has a problem once or twice a year. During the night she does not make it to the bathroom fast enough, if at all. Last night was one of those nights. When I got up in the morning I had some cleaning up to do. As I am sitting on the edge of the tub I am reaching down and around the toilet to clean while talking.

My child wants to know if she is in trouble. I keep telling her no. In her wonderfully autistic way she keeps asking. We talk about the movie we saw last night. I am concentrating on keeping her calm and reach way too far. And I fall into the bathtub! Butt first! I am sitting there with my feet in the air and first I think, did I hurt anything? I am no small woman, but I think no.

Then I think with…did I mention…with my feet in the air, how am I going to get out of here? I certainly do not want to have to call the firemen to come get me! All this time I am trying to keep a young adult with autism, my child, calm. Well I finally figure out how to wiggle myself to the side and get on my knees and get out.

By now my daughter and I are laughing. What else am I to do? Another day in the life of a parent of a child with autism!

Autism and Food Budgets

Many children with autism are picky eaters. I have one of those children. One of the techniques I learned was to keep a list of things she would eat, even if she only ate them occasionally.

I was surprised. There was variety in what she ate. The list helped me feel better that she did eat more than I thought she did. Using the list to routinely offer her food she only ate sometimes also helped keep her diet as varied as possible.

I also was able to keep better control of our food budget. I knew which items to watch for coupons and/or sales. There was less waste since I was very selective about new foods I wanted to introduce. With the help of my list, I also choose foods similar in taste or texture to what she already would eat.

Here is one of my children’s list:

Chicken Nuggets
Breakfast Burritos
Chicken and Sausage Gumbo with Rice
Cheese Nachos

Apple Juice
Orange Juice

Sprite

Raw Vegetables with Ranch Dip

Whole Nuts

Cereal

Yogurt
Milk
String Cheese

Any sweet type snack cake

Things I Wish I Knew In the Beginning

1. Get as much Speech Therapy as I could for my daughters, as often as I could get it.
2. Touch my children with autism as much as I could. I wish I knew to hold them around the middle with hand to skin touch. I would have stroked their cheeks and hands more. I would have given my children as much skin to skin contact as possible.
3. If you have insurance and can afford Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and Physical Therapy, do it.
4. If you have Medicaid use it to get those same therapies.
5. Each state should have an entity that provides early intervention. In Louisiana it is called EarlySteps. Sometimes you can find it at the State Department of Education. Sometimes you can find it at the Department of Health and Hospitals. States provide some or all of the services free.
6. If your child is older than 3 check with your local department of education. They can provide specially designed instruction and all those therapies free.
7. Call your local United Way. Some United Ways provide monies for agencies to provide free services.
8. Contact your states Parent Training and Information Center to speak to other parents and ask about resources for therapy.
9. The Department of Health and Hospital in your state may have funds to help pay for therapies. It is sometimes located in the Office for Developmental Disabilities and Mental Health. In Louisiana it is in the Office for Citizens with Developmental Disabilities (OCDD).
10. Plan for your child, no matter how sever their disability, to have a job at better than minimum wage with benefits. A person needs a job to hang their day around.

Gift Cards Rewards For You Because of Autism

At the recent training in Austin, Texas, I ran into these people. The survey is simple and they will send you a gift card for your help. This is such an easy way to contribute to research about autism. Please consider filling out the survey if you have a child with autism. I also got both of my gift cards already!
Thanks,
Mylinda

From: "Liu, Ting"

You can fill out the survey on line by clicking the link below. A $10 gift card will be mailed to the parents upon completion of the survey. Look forward to hearing back from you. Thanks.
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=2V3cpuKQaxlbRkmAXJRO_2bA_3d_3d


Ting Liu, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation
Texas State University-San Marcos
San Marcos, Texas 78666
Voice: 512-245-8259
Fax: 512-245-8678
Email: tingliu@txstate.edu
Website: http://www.hper.txstate.edu/People/Faculty-Web-Pages/Ting-Liu.html

Accommodations Are Part of the Answer

Accommodations Are Part of the Answer

My 16 year old came in from school and didn’t say a word. Then at 4 o’clock she tells me the Algebra teacher would not let them use the calculator on the Final. The calculators were getting stolen. Every year we go through this. Everyone knows she has to use a calculator. It is critical for students with Aspergers to use their accommodations and to use them consistently. This is so important for their success in school and out of school.

Anyway I luckily got the principal at 4pm. He said to come in the first thing in the morning and she would be able to retake it with the calculator. The present principal was the vice principal and really worked with me when the 20 year old was at this high school. He is also more than helpful with the 16 year old. Building relationships before you need them is another technique which can save time and in the long run money.

Behavior Plan Again....

My 20 year old has started having unacceptable behavior again. She is trying to open the car door when the car is moving and having little tantrums. She doesn’t do it with me but does with the staff. I guess it is time to take out the behavior plan again and dust it off. It is always such a struggle to get the PCA’s (Personal Care Attendant) to do it all consistently and of course myself to do it too. Just a frustrating day….

Getting To the End...

14. A lot of sensory integration toys can be bought at the ‘Everything Is a Buck’ store or a similar store in your area for – a dollar. Toys that light up, make sounds, or have the ‘spaghetti’ feel to them. Do a little research on the internet and then go see what you can find with similar characteristics.

15. Talk to other families with an upbeat attitude about autism. Avoid parents who have the ‘it just gets worse mentality’. Autism is but one characteristic of your child.

More of My List

I think I like lists...

10. Ball pits can be found online, but get well-reviewed ones.

11. Avoid autism toys that say therapy on it. Usually you can buy the same exact thing at a much cheaper price by surfing www.amazon.com.

12. Indoor hammocks, mini trampolines and rocking chairs could be purchased on www.ebay.com cheap or gotten for free from www.freecycle.org.

13. Homemade play dough can be used in sensory activities, and egg-less cookie dough can also be used if they put play dough in their mouth. It’s cheaper than therapy play dough and better for your child if they put it in their mouth.

And Again...

Yes, I know it is taking me a while to get this together. I will be more diligent about it...

6. Avoid surfing the Internet too much. There is a lot of misinformation on the web. Nothing you did or didn't do caused your child's autism. You are not to blame.

7. Use your library before deciding which books go into your home. Check with local disability organizations like Families Helping Families to see if they have free lending libraries. Some books are by parents whose children really had much milder autism than they realized and some books are very negative.

8. "1001 Great Ideas for Teaching and Raising Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders" by Veronica Zysk and Ellen Notbohm is great. This book is a surprisingly thin book for all the wealth of information it has. The book has loads of budget sensory therapy ideas and more.

9. If your child can read, you can spend hundreds of dollars on specially made social stories or
www.frsd.k12.nj.us/autistic/Parent%20Training/social_stories%20notes.htm
explains how to make them for free.

Autism Therapy on a Budget continued

3. Play therapy can be a lot of fun and it doesn't have to cost a lot. Autism Games has a lot of low cost ideas at http://autismgames.googlepages.com/.

4. Evaluate relatives for the characteristics needed to help. If grandma is healthy, loving and can handle your child, you could have grandmother trained to do therapy at home. Nieces and nephews might be glad to help, with your supervision of course. You might want to pay a little, if you can. Books like "Engaging Autism" can be a place to start.

5. There are inspirational interviews with famous Temple Grandin on www.npr.com for free. Just search her name.

Be patient this is a work in progress!

Autism Therapy on a Budget

I can remember, when my child was diagnosed with autism, investigating all the therapies and options available for her. And boy, were some of them expensive! I was a single mom and I had to so the best I could with what I could get. I would have loved a list like this back then. There are a lot of suspicious ‘therapies’ out there, be careful. In one treatment, that cost $5,000, you were given activities which you could have gotten from a $13 sensory integration book and a booklet of $5 scratch and sniff stickers.

Although many people with autism will need lifelong care, they can work, marry, and lead normal lives on a variety of levels. There are even people with autism who are geniuses, but have problems with sensory pain which causes outbursts. The future of your child still lays open before them!

1. Use free school resources like early intervention classes. Use the school speech therapist or any other therapist your child needs. Some people have moved because the school cannot provide the speech therapy, physical therapy, and occupational therapy which their child needs.

2. ABA can be expensive but you can do matching games on your own and add that to a school based play intervention with speech therapy. You can mix this with other free and low cost therapies. You can make your own flash cards by searching the internet. Laminate the cards for wear and tear.

I will add to this list in the upcoming days...

Autism Therapy On A Budget Continued

And Again

More of My List

Getting To the End

Autism and Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

The full spectrum lights seem to be helpful for people with Autism and Seasonal Affective Disorder. Some of the professionals working with the people who have autism call these lights ‘Seven Spectrum Frequency Lighting’. Unfortunately these lights are very expensive on the order of $15,000 for the set. A relatively inexpensive solution is ‘grow lights’ that would be used on a planetarium or fish tank. You might be able to buy one every so often until you had a bank of these to use in the mornings.