Noises bother my son

by Jane
(Pennsylvania)

Hello,




I have a 9.9 yr old son with autism and severe SPD. He has a very hard time with noises, be it, vacuum, blender, he leaves the room. But with other kids, either babies or peers in school if they get upset he will to and he reacts out of fear. (he's said before, 'scared')

In a restaurant if a child is whimpering my son starts to get upset, kicking flailing and quickly needs to leave the room. On one end he is hypo sensitive, needs a lot of proprioceptive input, yet auditory processing issues have gotten worse. It's as if he can't handle his emotions of others or that of his own and he gets out of control.

I am wondering if there is anything out there to help him. He did AIT last summer but I was wondering if there is anything else left to try... Life is very difficult with his behaviors acting up at any time he's so unpredictable. And sometimes his behaviors are uncontrollable. What would you suggest I do for him. A sensory processing evaluation? or another round of AIT? or tomatis??? A social story? It seems what really sets him off is kids crying, screaming, whimpering, even whining gets him upset. I also believe it's the suddenness of the noise that scares him too. We are at our wits end... Please help us to help him...
Thank you...

I thought perhaps it's hormonal, etc. but it never goes away....



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Dec 03, 2010
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starstarstarstarstar 		sound sensitivity
by: Anonymous

Hi,
I wanted to make a comment regarding the mom that did the AIT. My son who is also 9 is also sensitive to certain sounds along the sound spectrum. A lot of what you see and read on the web for sound sensitivity treatment is AIT, Tomatis. However, in my case, my son has hyperascusis, a type of sound sensitivity found in PDD kids. The treatment is not AIT. In your case, you may have been misdiagnosed because AIT would make it worse. See the website www.hyperascusis. com for more information on sound hypersensitivities treatment. So far, I am in the process of getting more information on treatment on my son, but definitely, the audiologist and OT said it is not AIT.
Jun 04, 2009
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starstarstarstarstar 		noise
by: Angie

My son has the ear buds because he doesn't like headphones. He can't stand them around his head.
Jun 04, 2009
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starstarstarstarstar 		re: noise bothers my son
by: Anonymous

iPod is a great idea! He can create various menus of music to meet his sensory needs in that moment.

Do you have actual headphones for it instead of the ear buds? FYI There are a multitude of studies out there expounding upon the damaging effects of ear buds. The full headphones that surround the ears may help blocks additional noise as well.
May 22, 2009
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Headphones
by: Kim Sullivan

We bought some noise blocking headphones. They make them for hearing protection but you can still hear people talking. I bought several pair. One is for the car, one for the cafeteria at his school and one he has in the classroom. He can decide when he needs them. We had a festival thing at school so he and I both wore a set in. I figured they would think I looked more weird than him so no one would say anything.

He did really well after a while and by the end he actually took them off. His teacher will say things like "look Sid had to get his headphones out, that means we are getting to noisy". It's just something we all deal with. My favorite brand is Peltor Kid, it does not play music, just blocks noise.
May 22, 2009
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starstarstarstarstar 		Noises
by: Dee

Hi,

My daughter is 6 and 9 months old. She is exactly the same. She hate her baby brother or sister cry. She gets really upset and start to cry, scream and ask me to shut them up. She has Dyspraxia, but now, the doctor thinks she might have Autism. She is very troublesome girl. There is any ongoing test at the moment with her. Do your son attend to OT? Maybe you show talk to your OT about it, I am sure she will give him a very calm music to listen. Does he like music? My daughter doesn't music. She is Deaf as well and suffer Convegent Squint and wearing glasses. Talk to your OT!
May 21, 2009
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		noise
by: Angie

My son is like that a little bit. If his brother is upset or another child he will get upset and cry. If we are at home he will go shut himself in his room. He is also 9. I bought an iPod for him so he uses that with headphone when noise gets to be too much.

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