Sensory Seeking Behaviours and Autism

There are certain sensory activities that are really important to a person on the spectrum.

Certain sensory activities become hugely important or attractive to a person with ASC. It might involve flapping, spinning, twisting, tasting, whirling, rubbing, chewing or just staring.

As with most behaviours there are a few likely factors that will operate singly, in pairs or sometimes all together to ‘cause’ it:-

1   Being on the spectrum sometimes can mean the buzz you get from something doesn’t always fade with time. The person doesn’t experience ‘satiation’. Sometimes, they don’t get the feeling of ‘that’s about enough of that’ as readily as other people do.

2   "If I’m experiencing this then I’m not experiencing that"! Blocking out an unwanted stimulus with some other kind of stimulus. What might they be trying to block out? It could be anything but noisy domestic equipment, harsh lighting, smells like perfume, the feel of clothing can be problematic. We also need to also consider our own sensory impact on the person i.e. proximity, speech, body-language etc.

3   "It’s gotta be big"! Individuals whose hypo-sensitivity to the sensory world means that not a lot of external stimulus ‘reaches’ the brain often seek out quite intense stimuli in order to ‘re-connect’ to the world around them.

So what might be our approach? Firstly we have to acknowledge that for the person the stimulus is functional. It means a lot and achieves a lot for the individual. It is possible to reduce reliance on the target sensory activity by finding other activities that are just as functional but are less risky, harmful, antisocial or all consuming?

What kind of thing might fit the bill? Well there are three rules.The replacer must be:-

Safe?

Structured?

Same, similar or better stimulus

‘Safe’ is simple. Eg if it’s something to chew that we are using as a replacer then it must be non toxic, bits mustn’t break off it and there’s no way on earth a child could swallow it (this child or any other child in the vicinity).

‘Structured’ means things like time limited and part of an overall structured scheme of really interesting, stimulating and useful learning/leisure activity.

‘Sensory same’ means it must have as much if not more of the same kind of buzz to it as the ‘real’ thing. Anything less won’t work for the person! It has to relate at a sensory level to the thing that is being replaced. Like for like will work.

As with all advice, safety is paramount. Don’t go it alone. Occupational Therapists can be great at this kind of thing. Insist that you get help and advice from one and start tackling the difficult stuff together.

Chris Barson

www.positiveaboutautism.co.uk