Distractions
Although we cannot make everything in the world fit the preferences and needs of our friends with autism, we can certainly help decrease agitation and increase attention by removing some of the distractions that crowd into their worlds – annoying things they see or feel or taste or hear.
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For example, over the past 35 years, I’ve had several dozen students with autism who were obsessed with the alphabet – probably because it is a predictable sequence and because their pre-school and kindergarten years are swamped with the alphabet. Several months ago, I noticed that one of my hyper-lexic pre-school students was always looking above my head. He rarely focused on the task at hand, and never acknowledged the presence of other kids in the group. Finally, I had the presence of mind to look behind me to see what he was looking at. Lo and behold, it was a cute, colorful alphabet chart. Once we moved the chart to a different part of the room, the youngster started participating in the group activities and noticing the other kids.
Another young student occasionally bolted without warning from group activities, from center activities, from computer time, and even from his favorite time of day – lunch. Although he reluctantly followed the stern direction to sit back down, he was very agitated – rocking and biting his hand and making loud noises. Then, as suddenly and unexpectedly as the behavior started, it stopped. It took many months of detective work, but the youngster’s teachers and parents finally discovered that his outbursts occurred any time the classroom door or a door at home was left open. Once people started closing doors at home and at school, peace and calm reigned.
Individuals with autism can be very distracted with things they see or hear or touch or smell. Again, I certainly do not profess removing every distraction in an effort to create a surreal, perfect, non-distracting world for our friends, but we can often help by making simple changes. Children can be very agitated when wearing a certain texture of clothing, when lights are too bright or dim, when rooms are too noisy or too quiet, when dogs bark or sirens squeal, when they smell lasagna or Lysol spray, or for any number of issues in their environment. We can certainly make adjustments if scented candles, tempting candy in a jar, loud televisions, the repetitive sounds of video games, or other issues significantly agitate or frustrate or distract our friends with autism.
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NOTE TO READERS AND LISTENERS: I am Cathy Knoll, a board certified music therapist and long-time friend of many folks with autism. At FAQautism.com we are committed to providing free, practical, everyday tips for making life better for people with autism. Feel free to send me an email with your thoughts or challenging situations or innovative solution. Send email to talk@FAQautism.com And don’t forget to check out our website for a wealth of ideas and a glimpse into the world of autism. http://FAQautism.com
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