Activities for Autistic Children on Communicating Sensory Needs

Communicating Without Talking

• You̵7;ll be hard-pressed to differentiate the ritualistic behavior of your autistic child from the sensory-driven behavior. For example, if you find your child repeating the same words or loud actions, such as constantly flipping through pages in a book, you might wonder whether the action is one of an OCD-like ritual or one of sensory enjoyment. To gain a better understanding, join in with your child, imitating his actions and noises. If you find him following along, he̵7;s likely doing so because he gains sensory pleasure from the noises involved. In this way, he̵7;s indirectly communicating to you the sounds he likes.

The Triad of Sensory Needs, Emotions and Expression

• An autistic child acting on her sensory impulses will rarely announce to her parents how she feels about such sensory stimuli. For example, she may reach out and rub your face for the mere pleasure of feeling the soft texture of your skin. Autistic children at higher levels of functioning can internalize or verbalize the emotions they feel, with the help of their parents, of course. Verbalize her monologue, uttering the words that most likely are going through her head, such as by saying, ̶0;It feels nice to touch smooth skin, doesn̵7;t it?̶1; By doing so, you̵7;re showing her how to link her sensory needs, emotions and the expression of those needs and emotions.

̶0;If You Were in His Shoes̶1;

• Autistic children love to analyze. When a discussion completely focused on the child̵7;s individual emotions fails, you can switch over to a more analytical discussion of sensations. This is particularly helpful in the areas in which most autistic children are weak, such as in body language. For example, you can take your child out for a people-watching session and discuss with him why people stand, talk or smile the way they do. According to the article, ̶0;The Empathy Imbalance Hypothesis of Autism,̶1; published in the journal, "The Psychological Record" in 2009, because autistic children lack the theory of mind, the ability to empathize with others, they will usually use their own emotions to judge how others likely feel. In this way, their positing of another̵7;s emotions and needs is usually just a way of vicariously expressing their own sensations when imagining being in someone else̵7;s shoes. You can learn more about your child̵7;s sensory expectations for certain actions by asking him how he would feel if he were one of the people you two are observing.

Pushing the Limits of Novelty

• An autistic child̵7;s propensity for routine and rituals often precludes novelty seeking. On the one hand, this makes autistic children easily satisfied -- parents know what their children like. But on the other, autistic children might be missing out on the basic human need for new sensory experiences. By gradually introducing your child to new sensory experiences, you can test the waters, checking how he reacts to new foods, smells and textures. And you can do so gradually, such as by adding a few new vegetables to his standard salad or by introducing him to a new television show. In this way, you can get a better picture of the range of sensory novelty your autistic child is willing to accept.