Many people with Aspergers Syndrome find sensory overload (hypersensitivity / overstimulation) a real challenge in day to day life with certain sensory experiences proving to be just too much and often a particular scenario provign traumatic or just too much for people with the condition. Example of this might be the smell of a packet of crisps or the bright lights of a disco ball room.
We are fortunate to pick up different ideas as we speak to people all across Ireland and indeed beyond and also occasionally come up with a few of our own! So, we are going to regularly provide one idea or potential coping method for each sense, tonight starting with the senses of hearing and smelling. All we can say is that each one has worked for someone on the spectrum and so are probably worth a shot, though the spectrum being as broad as it is and with every person on it unique in their own right we cannot guarentee that any of the suggestions will work for you, so that is why we plan to regularly suggest different approaches.
We would of course love to hear your own ideas and successful methods too and you can share them with us on the forum discussion page which is linked below.
1. Sense of Hearing
For a lot of people with the condition the fear and hatred of noises such as a piercing shop metal detector’s alarm or a belting fire drill is something more than familiar. Equally day to day noises such as loud children in a playground or the wail of a baby can be very disconcerting for people with Aspergers Syndrome and other autistic spectrum conditions.
So, what can be done to alleviate these noises?
Suggestion #1: The first port of call for this particular irritation is to get away to a calm place out of reach of the noise. If this can happen well it the ideal solution but this is of course not always practicle in day to day life where, for example, as fire drill goes off and you just have to stay with everyone or your at an important meeting and you just have to try and work through the noise.
With this in mind, many people have different ideas as to how you can deal with this but one which seems popular is a set of noise reduction earphones/ear plugs, which can be purchased in a hairband variety or indeed in more discreet plug form and will reduce noise while also enabling the person in question to listen to instructions etc. Some people feel that they “stick out” too much wearing these adn do not like it for this reason but many feel that when only used in “noise emergencies” and discreetly they can prevent the anxiety and potential trauma which a noise could otherwise cause.
If you are interested in giving them a go, here is just a small variety of options, with both plugs and earphones listed:
2. Sense of Smell
A strong odour or the smell of certain foods can really get to people with Aspergers, and this can be a particularly challenging issue to address as smells of many varieties are literally constantly around us in day to day life: at school during lunch time, at work in the cafeteria or even as we are out and about when we pick up the fumes and smells coming from various industries and homes.
Here is our first suggestion as something worth trying:
Suggestion #1: Once again, disengagement is useful and if you a person is in a position to get away from the smell to an environment they are more confortable in well then this is the natural solution, also useful for all concerned is that for example, if a family or friend or work mate is aware that a certain smell makes a person on the spectrum uncomfortable that they inform them if they are about to introduce that smell by, for example, eating a packet of crisps. That way the person with the condition is not left in an awkward position and is given a fair opportunity to introduce any coping skill they may use or to get out of the environment. With all this in mind one idea which has benefited othes has been to carry an equally strong smell that you like and to use that as a means of countering the other smell.
So for example, if there is a fragrance such as a soap or even a food that you like if you can keep a small swab of that with you or perhaps even spray that particular smell and focus on that then this may go some way in distracting from the smell you detest in the background.
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