Taking Multi-Vitamins

Autism Community Connection=

Autismcc Yahoo Group Responds!

Our group is comprised of parents, educators and professionals in the autism community.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> We welcome parents to ask question= s so that together we may share our wealth of collected knowledge and insight.

www.autismcommunityconnec= tion.com - http://health.= groups.yahoo.com/group/autismcc/

Topic: Sound Sensitivity

Many people on the autism spectrum have sound sensitivities. These can be loud sounds in genera= l or specific sounds like a dog barking, people laughing, etc. Some parents have asked for advice= on this issue.

EXPLANATION OF AUDITORY HYPERSENSITIVITY

(Jay Lucker, EdD, CCC-A/SLP, = FAAA is both an audiologist and SLP who specializes in auditory processing disorders. At a workshop he presented called Helping Children with Auditory Processing Disorders he discussed auditory hypersensitivity and how to correct it)

Lucker did research on hypersensitivity, a common issue for children on the autism spectrum. = His study on children who complained of hypersensitivity were all found to have normal hearing. They were evaluated on tolerance and only one child c= ould not tolerate sounds above 100dBHL. He found that hypersensitivity was= not an auditory problem.

Lucker theorizes that hypersensitivity is really phonophobia or a fear of sound. The first = time the child hears the sound it is an auditory sensitivity. But eventual= ly it becomes a fear and this brings out the fight-flight-fear response. = The over sensitivity is on an emotional level due to por\or regulation and prob= lems with over arousal. We might suddenly notice the ticking of a clock wh= ich becomes annoying. But we are able to funnel out that noise. A c= hild with poor regulation problems might get upset everytime he hears it. A child might complain of the noise of a plane when you don't even hear or se= e it yet. The child hears the sound softly but anticipates the louder nois= e.

Lucker says desensitization training when the child is relaxed, not reacting to the sound is helpful.&n= bsp; Talk about the sound, recognize that it is annoying and then go one with wh= at you are doing.

Lucker recounts how his son w= ould appear scared and upset when people would yell suddenly. He said role-playing is a good strategy. Have your child practice yelling lou= der than the other person. Tell the child, "If someone scare you, ye= ll louder, `You scared me!'" It's better to give the child a respon= se to the sound than for him to lose control of himself.

I recently tried this with my son w= ho holds his ears everytime I bring out the blow dryer to dry his hair. = As soon as I start the blow dryer he puts his hands down. It was just the anticipation of the noise that bothers him. I mentioned how I thought= the blow dryer noise was annoying but not scary. Then the next time I bro= ught out the dryer and he put his fingers in his ears, I reminded him that the n= oise was just annoying but it doesn't hurt his ears. I asked him to put his hands down and see. He tried to put his elbows to his ears and we lau= ghed about that. Then I turned the dryer on and he was okay. Then he laughed. I could tell he was pleased with himself. The next day= we did the same thing. He no longer holds his ears when we use the blowdryer.