Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Turning his system ON...
Reposting from 2010
When you want the lights to work, you flip a switch. When you want your car to run you turn the key. When I want to wake up and "function" I drink coffee, A LOT of it please!! Our latest discovery was around 13.5 months. Hunter seemed to function best if you turned his system ON. Hunters PT and my husband were trying repeatedly to get Hunter to take his first steps. He just didn't seem into it. He would more or less just stand there and not really attempt to walk or if he did it was maybe one step. He never really walked along furniture either. His PT decided to try something new; she tossed him in the air and had him land on his feet, not hard enough to hurt him of course but definitely enough to give his feet some input. A few tosses in the air and WOW!! He suddenly started walking to daddy! It was amazing!
Note to self; remove all hard obstacles that he could hit his head on when he falls.
Just to confirm this new phenomenon we tried it again without the jumping and low and behold he didn't walk. Just like many things, Hunter had an "on" switch and it was located on the bottom side of his feet. Who’d of thought!? So jumping on balls, bouncing on the trampoline, jumping on the floor etc. became a very important part of his therapy. And yes that would include the couch when he could sneak a jump in before we stopped him! This needed input remains today. It was really incredible to see how such a small action could make such a HUGE impact on his ability to accomplish a task. When he was jumping we began to notice that he would flap his hands like he was flying. Angels have wings to fly and he was surely an angel. This was when I first began to research and understand the term "stimming”. And the plot thickens…
When you want the lights to work, you flip a switch. When you want your car to run you turn the key. When I want to wake up and "function" I drink coffee, A LOT of it please!! Our latest discovery was around 13.5 months. Hunter seemed to function best if you turned his system ON. Hunters PT and my husband were trying repeatedly to get Hunter to take his first steps. He just didn't seem into it. He would more or less just stand there and not really attempt to walk or if he did it was maybe one step. He never really walked along furniture either. His PT decided to try something new; she tossed him in the air and had him land on his feet, not hard enough to hurt him of course but definitely enough to give his feet some input. A few tosses in the air and WOW!! He suddenly started walking to daddy! It was amazing!
Note to self; remove all hard obstacles that he could hit his head on when he falls.
Just to confirm this new phenomenon we tried it again without the jumping and low and behold he didn't walk. Just like many things, Hunter had an "on" switch and it was located on the bottom side of his feet. Who’d of thought!? So jumping on balls, bouncing on the trampoline, jumping on the floor etc. became a very important part of his therapy. And yes that would include the couch when he could sneak a jump in before we stopped him! This needed input remains today. It was really incredible to see how such a small action could make such a HUGE impact on his ability to accomplish a task. When he was jumping we began to notice that he would flap his hands like he was flying. Angels have wings to fly and he was surely an angel. This was when I first began to research and understand the term "stimming”. And the plot thickens…
What is Stimming?...
Reposting from 2010
Why is stimming associated with Autism or Sensory issues? I’ve searched many sites online for a good description and this seems to sum it up best.
Stimming is short for self-stimulating behavior, sometimes called "stereotypic" behavior. In a person with Autism, stimming often refers to repetitive behaviors like flapping, rocking, spinning, or repeating words and sentences. Although stimming is seen in almost all cases of Autism Spectrum Disorder it is also a behavior many people do. Biting your fingernails, pacing back and forth, twirling your hair, rocking your leg, and tapping your pencil are a few such examples. The list goes on… The difference between autistic people and the general population is that those with Autism will typically choose a stim that isn’t as socially acceptable or it lasts for an unusual amount of time. Twirling your hair or biting your fingers nails may not bother those around you but jumping and flapping over and over probably will, especially if you are older then 5 years of age. Many with Autism will also struggle with their ability to stop or control the stim and this can affect their ability to participate in many daily activities.
Stimming is done for various reasons. To cope with anxiety, fear, anger, and emotions, just to name a few. Like many we know, people on the spectrum may stim to cope with overwhelming sensory stimulation, (too much noise and light, to many people, etc.). Various treatments have been helpful reducing the stimming behavior, medications and therapy for example. I’ve spoken to other parents in the support groups about this and some have also shared that they or their loved one just grew out of it. This makes a lot of sense too since some things in general are harder to cope with when you are younger. As you get older maturity and experience can help you learn skills to cope and this is true for everyone, whether you have Autism or not.
In Hunters case most of his stimming is done to express happiness and excitement, although he will also do it when he is overwelmed or nervous to regulate his system and cope. I am grateful that it is not disruptive or distracting (yet). I say that because his jumping flapping is pretty tolerated right now seeing that he is under 5 years old but when he becomes a teen or adult, his jumping and flapping will be concerning so hopefully he too will outgrow it or have better control of it . When Hunter is scared or upset he stiffens his entire body. He has been known to occasionally hit or tap his own face but that is somewhat rare. When he was younger he rocked and swayed but it isn't seen as much now. If you turned the vacuum on he would spin in circles until you were done. This went on for about a year. Ironically when we purchased a new vacuum he never did it again, the sound it makes now is slightly different then the other vacuum and I can't help but wonder if the noise pitch isn't as stimulating to him now. He expresses now screams and covers his ears, getting very upset by it. He says it's "to loud!" so I know he doesn’t care for the new sound like he did with the other vacuum. I make every effort to vacuum when he isn’t nearby or home since it usually leads to a screaming fit until I have turned it off. No sense in stressing him out if I can avoid it, a few extra dog hairs from Yellow Dog, (aka Jasper-Jax our yellow Lab), on the bottom of my black socks wouldn’t do any harm. And yes, for those of you who are avid General Hospital fans, he IS named after Jax. I’ll save that story for another day…
Why is stimming associated with Autism or Sensory issues? I’ve searched many sites online for a good description and this seems to sum it up best.
Stimming is short for self-stimulating behavior, sometimes called "stereotypic" behavior. In a person with Autism, stimming often refers to repetitive behaviors like flapping, rocking, spinning, or repeating words and sentences. Although stimming is seen in almost all cases of Autism Spectrum Disorder it is also a behavior many people do. Biting your fingernails, pacing back and forth, twirling your hair, rocking your leg, and tapping your pencil are a few such examples. The list goes on… The difference between autistic people and the general population is that those with Autism will typically choose a stim that isn’t as socially acceptable or it lasts for an unusual amount of time. Twirling your hair or biting your fingers nails may not bother those around you but jumping and flapping over and over probably will, especially if you are older then 5 years of age. Many with Autism will also struggle with their ability to stop or control the stim and this can affect their ability to participate in many daily activities.
Stimming is done for various reasons. To cope with anxiety, fear, anger, and emotions, just to name a few. Like many we know, people on the spectrum may stim to cope with overwhelming sensory stimulation, (too much noise and light, to many people, etc.). Various treatments have been helpful reducing the stimming behavior, medications and therapy for example. I’ve spoken to other parents in the support groups about this and some have also shared that they or their loved one just grew out of it. This makes a lot of sense too since some things in general are harder to cope with when you are younger. As you get older maturity and experience can help you learn skills to cope and this is true for everyone, whether you have Autism or not.
In Hunters case most of his stimming is done to express happiness and excitement, although he will also do it when he is overwelmed or nervous to regulate his system and cope. I am grateful that it is not disruptive or distracting (yet). I say that because his jumping flapping is pretty tolerated right now seeing that he is under 5 years old but when he becomes a teen or adult, his jumping and flapping will be concerning so hopefully he too will outgrow it or have better control of it . When Hunter is scared or upset he stiffens his entire body. He has been known to occasionally hit or tap his own face but that is somewhat rare. When he was younger he rocked and swayed but it isn't seen as much now. If you turned the vacuum on he would spin in circles until you were done. This went on for about a year. Ironically when we purchased a new vacuum he never did it again, the sound it makes now is slightly different then the other vacuum and I can't help but wonder if the noise pitch isn't as stimulating to him now. He expresses now screams and covers his ears, getting very upset by it. He says it's "to loud!" so I know he doesn’t care for the new sound like he did with the other vacuum. I make every effort to vacuum when he isn’t nearby or home since it usually leads to a screaming fit until I have turned it off. No sense in stressing him out if I can avoid it, a few extra dog hairs from Yellow Dog, (aka Jasper-Jax our yellow Lab), on the bottom of my black socks wouldn’t do any harm. And yes, for those of you who are avid General Hospital fans, he IS named after Jax. I’ll save that story for another day…
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