Postcards From My Mind: Perspectives of Asperger's Syndrome

External Sensory Processing

Output stage (result of information taken in)

• Motor Movements / Self Stimulatory Behavior: I have very little ability to internally control my sensory environment or my reactions to sensory input and hence have learned to control them externally. Think about the aspect of change and how difficult that can be for the person diagnosed on the spectrum. Think about yourself and the last time you got caught in the rain, or were startled by a harmless event, or saw an accident on the highway, or had to go to the bathroom… Each of these events caused a biological change in your nervous system. Most people acclimate these changes within seconds and it the coping strategies go unrecognized. For people on the autism spectrum physiological changes prompted by internal or external stimuli can cause enormous anxiety/agitation because the physiological sensation is felt intensely and may or may not be logically comprehensible to the person experiencing the sensation.

  I have read several studies which all imply that people diagnosed on the spectrum do not self-stimulate when they need input. I didn’t participate in these studies, however I don’t see how that is correct. I know for a fact that my self-stimulatory behavior significantly increases when I’m under or over aroused.
  

• Behavior: As you can imagine, many behavioral outbursts occur due to poor sensory processing. If one can participate in sensory integration therapy and develop a repertoire of coping skills, one is much less likely to engage in inappropriate behaviors.

  The only thing that helped me tremendously, and I always emphasize this to students, is developing my own repertoire of coping skills that is transportable and independent (such as a brush, sucking candy, etc.). A swing is my favorite coping skill, but the majority of time I feel like I’m going to melt down a swing isn’t present. The swing is one of a number of tricks in my bag.

  A student may have developed coping skills, but unless s/he is able to recognize when s/he needs to use them the skills are incomplete. To keep myself on track I use a simple mathematic equation – I’m on a sensory budget. How I determine if I need something or can participate in an activity that particular day all depends on how much of a deficit I have accumulated. Each day I have 100 sensory points that I keep track of in my head. The number is derived from a sensory input algorithm that I designed. Every activity from looking at the wind blow to going to the bathroom is assigned a numerical value. The values are divided up into two categories: stimulating and calming, but both use up sensory points. Once I’ve reached 100 points my day is over and I need to sleep to recharge (sleeping is the only thing that recharges my points). My day can be over one hour after I get up or I may have a credit left over at the end of the day causing me to run around the house because I can’t sleep. Due to a knee injury, until a short while ago, I used to ride my bike everyday. If I didn’t ride I couldn’t sit still.
  

  
  

 

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