As many of you know my young grandson has Autism.

One of the main issues he faces involve his senses. He has a great deal of difficulty dealing with simple things like sound, lighting, touch, smell & taste. At times he will become extremely anxious

The trick with autism is to intervene as quickly as possible to try to minimise the impact sensory stimuli has on the child. This is not an easy task as often a child’s sensitivities change throughout the day, so believe me when I say that you have to be on your toes.

With my grandson one of the first things he complains about is too much light & sound. There are some shopping centres you just know that you shouldn’t take him to unless you really need to. We’ve found a pair of sunglasses helps, to wear while shopping & an MP3 player or radio with headphones. These props help him to stay in his world & feel safe. When he doesn’t have them he will begin getting agitated – first you will see him trying to cover his ears to block out the noises… then he might begin to ‘flap’ his arms around, etc… He may begin to make a humming noise, or some other repetitive sound like snorting, etc – this noise gets annoying but it’s an autistic child’s way to try to block out the things that are bothering them. Sometimes we’ve been able to distract our little one at this stage by offering him a drink; we take him aside to a quiet place to calm down & re-direct his thoughts. We’ve learnt to carry a water bottle all the time as the act of drinking seems to soothe him. If we don’t get the behaviour under control at this stage we are in for a fun time at the shops! We’ve had him running manically around the store, throwing things, having screaming fits where he has thrown himself on the floor & literally started screaming at the top of his voice. He may demand something & if you say no, repeatedly chant in a loud whinny voice ‘I want it… I want it…’ Until you go crazy.

I used to think he was just an uncontrollable child & judged my poor daughter because of it. Boy have I had a learning curve this last year!

I’ve noticed sometimes when you walk with him that his eyes will dart from side to side. This is because he is nervous with all the people around. When this happens I put my arm on his shoulder & re-direct him to the other side of the mall where it is quieter… he just can’t handle crowds. This follows through into school life. This year he had an award ceremony to attend before 5 classes of kindy. It was too much for him… you could see him trying so hard to control himself on stage & then after the ceremony the poor kid went manic & hit out in class. Sometimes he won’t eat food or wear clothes of certain colours, some foods he can’t handle the texture off… He can’t handle socks at all. There are even times he can’t handle being touched. This is upsetting to his mum as he says she hurts him when she hugs him, so she leaves it to him to come to her when he’s ready. One method I’ve found that will calm him down fairly quickly is to ‘tickle his back’ – I lay him down on the sofa & just gently with the lightest feathery touch run my finger up his spine. This always puts him to sleep & is a good way to bring peace to the household if he’s had a bad day.

I admit that I don’t understand everything that seems to affect this little boy but I try to assist where I can. It really helped me to have these things confirmed by the paediatrician as my poor kids would never have survived if they had acted like my grandson when they were kids; my ex would not have allowed it. I give my daughter top marks as she is a single mum & our little GFG (Gift from God) can be quite a handful.

I’ve learnt

• To look beneath behaviour for underlying causes. When these children exhibit emotional responses or mannerisms, to consider their sensory needs & offer them choices to relieve their stress.
• To predict sensory / environmental changes, allowing adequate time for the child to adjust to new circumstances. We usually give our boy adequate notice on what is happening, especially if we are going out
• To allow the child to have a calming fidget item to use for his sensory issues… our lad likes his bottle of water & has touchy feely things in a bag in the car that make him feel good & calm him down
• Not to try to reason during a meltdown… it is better to try to re-direct the thought pattern to an entirely different subject – eg We point out something that we know he will find interesting in order to change the subject. 
• Not to put the child into a crowded, chaotic area;
• Not to make assumptions; raise my voice; Say I’m the boss; Insist I am right; Preach; Command, demand, dominate; Mimic;