the Sensory "thing"

And why I Strongly Dislike hearing about "the 20 or so other kids in my sons class". Because I don't think those 20 or so sets of parents of those 20 kids have to concern themselves and answer questions regarding MOST of the things in the list below. Nor do those 20 children physically cope with those "sensory things" to the extreme a child with ASD does just to live in their surroundings. And once again, no 2 reactions or triggers are the same, if you also have other diagnoses it can make matters even more extreme. I also can appreciate that Spectrum or not, other parents are still dealing with their own lives, their children's lives, and being overwhelmed overstimulated can have ripple effects no matter who you are. We all have some hodgepodge of these sensitivities, Do you like your sleeves up or down? Fan blowing on you or no way, Do store smells make you gag? Do you sleep with your feet tucked in the blankets or out and free (one of my own) See we all have these Isms if you will, just not to the extent that you have to adjust your Life or thought process. Families and children on the Spectrum do. It's not that Ayden does not Want to do it like the other 20 kids. It's just that in certain situations, under certain stress, or for reasons we may never know! Sometimes, he just can't. And So we adjust. I don't judge others shoes, but since nobody walks in my flip flops (again the whole covered toe thing) I really don't want my life compared to others. But you can always understand it. 

Welcome to your processor:

And when certain components are overworked or not receiving signals, here is what may happen:

Tactile
Avoids casual touch from classmates or teachers
Becomes “silly” or annoyed when touched
Craves excessive physical contact with others
Distressed by messy hands or face–glue, clay, paints, sand, food, etc.
Dislikes or craves certain textures– materials, paper, toys, etc.
Distracted by clothing or shoes
Chews or sucks on clothing, hands, pencils, others objects
Craves or avoids hot or cold items, water play, art supplies
Disturbed by vibration– such as air conditioner or trucks
Tactile stims–tapping, rubbing, squeezing, banging

Vision
Squints, blinks, or rubs eyes frequently
Makes poor eye contact
Struggles with reading
Has difficulty with eye-hand coordination–beading, writing, drawing
Difficulty copying from the board
Distracted by glare, bright light, fluorescent lighting
Distressed when lights are dimmed or by the dark
Struggles to follow moving objects or people
Poor ball skills–catching and/or throwing
Easily overloaded by crowded visual fields
Visual stims–hand flaps, flick fingers in front of eyes, spins objects

Vestibular/Balance
Avoids changes in head position
Seems clumsy, moves awkwardly
Excessively cautious on stairs
Slumps in chair/sits in W-position on floor/needs support for floor sitting
Touches furniture or walls when walking
Rocks in chair, wraps legs around chair legs
May fall out of chair or onto another student during floor time
Fidgets constantly
Seems restless or always “on the go”
Seems lethargic or hard to “wake up”
Gets dizzy easily
Avoids or craves moving playground equipment or riding on bus/in car
Difficulty using playground equipment–slides, swings, ladders, sandbox
Vestibular stims–spinning, rocking jumping

Auditory
Distressed by loud noises (fire drill, PA announcements, gym whistle)
Disturbed by sounds such as singing and musical instruments
Complains that everything/everyone is too loud
Speaks with a very loud voice
Speaks with an unusually quiet voice
Doesn’t seem to hear you
Has difficulty filtering out noise and focusing on teacher’s voice
Frequent outbursts in gym and recess
Frequent outbursts in cafeteria or assemblies
Seems to learn more easily in one-to-one situations than in a group
Auditory stims–hums, repeats, makes odd noises

Proprioceptive
Poor body awareness–doesn’t know where body parts are
Bumps into classmates, furniture, walls
Difficulty grading force– breaks crayons, pencil points, toys
Poor handwriting– difficulty forming letters, presses too hard or too soft
Accidentally spills when opening containers, pouring, or drinking
Drops items on floor, slams doors although not angry
Crashes and falls on purpose
Lies down on floor at inappropriate times

Smell and Taste
Complains about smells
Complains about tastes
Doesn’t seem to notice strong odors–glue, markers, food
Picky eating or very self-limited diet
Acts out at snack time or in cafeteria
Mouths or licks objects and people
Smells objects and people

Behavior, Learning & Social Issues
Craves predictability
Engages in repetitive play
Doesn’t understand concept of personal space
Has difficulty joining group activities
Has difficulty with transitions between activities
Difficulty initiating and completing tasks
Struggles with sequencing activities
Poor organization, loses things frequently
Easily overwhelmed or frustrated
Frequently tunes out or withdraws
Frequently acts out or has meltdowns

. . . . and more.

the Scream? or a Sensory Overload? You be the judge. . . 

Sensory Processing is at the heart of the Autism Spectrum Disorder.  It impacts everything. When I describe Autism Spectrum and Ayden to his team of teachers at some meetings :) I use a computer analogy.  I have 5 children. Picture for a moment they are all identical Computers sitting on my desk....they look just about the same except maybe the Gavin Computer is Blue, and the Cohen Computer may be green, Ayden's of course would be decorated with Lego something, and so on...little cosmetic differences, or some models are newer but all in working order.  All 5 of my computers are processing information, and spitting it out of their "printer" onto paper (be it classwork or conversations or executing tasks). They all look the same.

The difference is what you can't see. That one of my computers is actually processing all of the numbers on the alphabet keypad, and all the letters are coming through on the number keypad. And the sound is hooked into the visual component. Plus there are files being stored inside of files and none are in the same place twice. Like many complex machines, as this information meets in the CPU (central processing unit) this one computer begins to hum, and his fan kicks on. Inside it is as if a helicopter is preparing for take-off Whir whir whirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr spinning as it rushes to grab the info coming in. The other difference nobody saw was that unlike the other 4 computers, this one not only took down the information I told it to....but it grabbed 100 pieces of information it did NOT need. And is now also sorting those back out. When finished, after much noise and maybe a few restarts, it will produce the tidy little papers with the information needed.  The back of the computer will be hot and it will load pages slowly until it recovers from the job, but it gets it Done. All 5 computers produce the same end result...each with their own embellishments and flare like different Fonts if you will, and that one Lego computer may have taken 3 times as long, but there the papers sit. All done.

It is in the processing part that I am the most amazed at my son. He is like a perfection game, where you pop it down....trying to load it up with pieces before it POPS, because it always does <3 He skips, jumps, waves, walks, spins his hair, paces, hums, stares, whistles, sits quietly, doodles, forgets, repeats, soo many different things at different times, and sometimes! Not at all! All just to be in the world around him. Everything is louder brighter faster smellier bouncier and just MORE. He is using all his senses, all the time and sending it on the wrong train to get to the station at the top. IT gets there...just a little messy and late <3 He has found ways to quiet some of the noise down all on his own, and other times with some help. Especially during his school day. WE have a great group of teachers and admins on Team Reid. They are drafted to the mission as well, and have proven to be caring and open and most importantly! they listen. I hand them papers when they hand me some. And we all figure it out. We come back to the table and fix what we need. I know not all are lucky to have that support in place for their child. I pray you find a way. I don't have a secret to tell. I just always share information with them...These are great for Parent/Teacher Conferences and 504/IEP meet and greets:

Strategies For Working With Kids With ASD
Classroom Tips
What Every Child With Autism Wishes You Knew

My advice to parents that do not have kids on the spectrum? Learn about it anyway, because these are the kiddos in your kids classes too. And the more you know, the more your kids know, and that's a good thing.
AWARENESS IS THE PATH TO ACCEPTANCE. My advice to teachers?  REACH TO TEACH! and you can quote me on that :) Do what ever you need to do to teach to whatever minds and learning abilities are in your seats. There is no magic wand. There is you & them. I just had the several years Before school with my child to get used to it. By far one of the things that I struggle with the most personally is sending him in to a landmine of attacks on all fronts. Daily. #sensoryoverload.  It seems so contradictory! I wouldn't send him into a beehive! (he happens to be allergic) but I will pack him up every morning for school. The turmoil around this is outweighed ONLY by the fact that HE wants to. The joy he has in seeing his teachers, his pals, Social Studies (a fav) and eating lunch of course! He just wishes that he didn't have to do math to talk mr.mathteacher, get through the clamor of the hallways in under 3 minutes or sit in the actual cafeteria to have lunch. They are 2 separate worlds that are being balanced For him. And for me. Or simply put, Just a day in the Life in the Rainbow.

Lights, Walks, Awareness! Go....

Ahhh, April - Autism Month! Time for blue lights, puzzle pieces and Autism Speaks campaigns. Time for memes and blogs (like mine) to spend 30 days sprinkling awareness on the masses and bringing NT's (neuro-typicals) everywhere into the fold. Okay not so much like that but kinda. but I hope you know! For every 1 you hear from there are 5 just plodding along, a little more quietly. Because today after all really is just April 1st. April Fools. When you have a child/loved one or you yourself live in the Spectrum of Autism Disorders - EVERY day is autism awareness day. It was not gone yesterday, and we do not turn it Off on May 1st.

Autism Awareness is not meant for us Rainbow dwellers. It is for those not familiar, not so In the Know. And it's a good thing to share. To do things that spark conversation, or make folks ask questions. Autism Speaks happens to be one such organization that gets a lot of "bells & whistles" for April - they are the creators of the Light it Up Blue National campaign. They have a "brand" and at this point, lots and lots of people recognize the Blue Light, the puzzle piece and so on. Isn't that awareness?? Isn't that a good thing? There are many controversial views on the Autism Speaks Organization. What they "do" and for who. And so on. You can find research and info to support either position you want to have, either for or against them. I can only weigh in on mine.

Autism Speaks does not speak for Team Reid, Autism the disorder Speaks through Team Reid.  We do walks and turn on blue lights not FOR Autism Speaks but because of them. Because they remind me to speak up, that we are not alone. That we don't have to be quiet. That there are changes being made all the time to make sure the voices of the kids in the spectrum are heard, be it in their classes or communities and I am glad that I know Autism Speaks has a bigger mouth than mine, and can go to the unaware at the local legislation level all the way down to the big Hill and get shit done where I alone can not.

I don't think they are without flaws, and I don't think they are the Only 1.  I know there are many many organizations worthy of my support that are doing equally as Big things for the cause. If you are in the Rochester NY area check out Kite Flite or the Walk With Me Easter Seals event, I will give to or do their events too. Shoot, enough ambition and I will create my own even! just you wait <3 I think raising money & giving back is supposed to be done with out my own agenda. Just in the spirit of giving to a cause or supporters of a cause that matters to me. That I know. But if I do have an agenda then here it is: WE do it because WE want to.  Because we want to talk about Autism and we want you to as well! We want to talk about the kids and families living with Autism Spectrum disorders and how to make classrooms and communities a place of acceptance. I will light it up RAINBOW if I need to, but this month We Light It Up BLUE to support the families and kids in our community not "Autism Speaks the Organization".  We do what ever it takes because Team Reid is how Autism Speaks in our house.