Have you ever stopped to smell the flowers? Listened to music? Felt a nice warm blanket? Ate/tasted the best meal? Saw the most beautiful sunset? All of these things have something in common, it's the way that we view and experience the world around us. As human beings, we are all given the abilities to use our senses. There's:
- Sight
- Smell
- Touch/Feel
- Taste
- Sound
People with autism experience these sensations sometimes too much or not a lot. It seems like a lot of the time, when people with autism misbehave, they are wanting sensory input of some kind.
An example of this would be: Jenny is a 5-year old whose mom just had a baby. Jenny's mom has been spending a lot of time with the new baby, which has meant that Jenny hasn't been able to spend time with her parents like she used to. Jenny has been getting into more trouble than she ever been in. She will calm down when her parents give her a hug.
In the example, we learn that Jenny seeks the sense of touch and when her parents can't give her that, so she asks for attention to receive that sensory input.
We should implement and create healthy ways to match the sensory-seeking needs of autistic individuals, we can find ways to match the sensory seeking behaviors that each person has. With Jenny, when mom can't give her cuddles, she can have Jenny sit next to her with a teddy bear and teach her that giving the teddy bear hugs is like giving mama hugs.
