Keeping it just right.
Sensory management techniques.
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Autistic People can experience intense difficulty experiencing everyday sensory information. For many of them with over-sensitive dispositions, overstimulation may have a profound effect on how they feel or act.
Overstimulation may trigger a partial or full shutdown or cause the autistic person to withdraw or have a meltdown. For others, sensory overload may cause them to exhibit extreme behavior usually associated with stress, anxiety, and or physical pain often to the confusion of the caregivers or support staff.
Caregivers who find themselves in this situation may be tempted to immediately steer them away from any external stimuli. While this strategy may work in the short term, when used repeatedly, it may become counterproductive- isolating the autistic person and eventually reducing their quality of life.
A more effective way to manage sensory input for autistic people would be to preempt an overload situation where possible and provide an alternative less intrusive source of stimuli. This would be extremely beneficial where the environment where an autistic person lives or visits has a high probability or tendency to overstimulate.
For example, where construction work is being carried out near the residence of an autistic person who is hypersensitive to loud sounds, this can create a hellish situation. For an autistic person hypersensitive to sound, being in the vicinity of the loud, unpredictable, unrelenting cacophony of construction activity will very likely induce a meltdown of some sort.
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A cautious caregiver in such a circumstance may shut the windows and doors or recommend the use of noise-canceling earbuds to cut out the intrusive, unpredictable sounds. A proactive caregiver, more attuned to the preferences of the autistic person, may employ the use of noise-canceling earphones or headphones instead and connect these to a device playing sounds that are calming or less offensive to the autistic person.
The idea really is not to cut out (a particular) source of sensory input from an autistic person’s life even for a little while but rather, to provide a way for the autistic person to cope with the overload-inducing situation. In so doing, a caregiver will be helping an autistic person to create a positive sensory experience out of a challenging situation. This is especially important when supporting non-verbal autistic persons who may not be able to articulate the cause of their distress.
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Managing overstimulation when providing support requires a whole lot of careful attention and observation on the part of the caregiver. It’s definitely not something that a caregiver can formulate on the spot, especially when supporting non-verbal autistic persons. Through a process of trial and error, a caregiver will learn which sensory sources can be substituted with which or which input regulating tools or methods may be employed and at which times.
Where possible, caregivers should seek guidance from occupational, social care, speech and language, and related health care professionals when developing or evaluating individual therapies. Thankfully in this digital age where several resources for caregivers are available online, caregivers can rest assured that there’s a community ready to help whenever they need it.