My Toolkit Pt2

Ready for more?

Here are some more of the tools that make my life and that of my family easier, I hope you can take away a few to help yours.

• Books and Social Stories - many Aspies find it easier to learn from written material than from another person, I figure this is because there is only one source of information to process.  Just the words rather than words, tone of voice, facial expression, body language, the reflective surface behind the speaker, the smell of the dog that just walked past. 
  There as countless books written for and by autistic people and their family, friends, and carers.  I have several that I've LOVED and many many that I really didn't like at all. 
  Feel free to contact me if you'd like a specific recommendation, I will be posting a list soon.
  Social Stories are simply stories that explain step by step what a person can expect in a particular situation.  This is very helpful for children and adults who struggle with unknown expectations. 
  I've found that writing down my instructions or expectations, or writing a quick social story, is the best way to get my message across when communicating with my son.  He learnt to read at a very young age and absorbs information like a sponge and takes anything as gospel IF it's written down. 
  He's recently started using a mobile phone and we've found that sending him a text is much more effective than asking him to do something in person or over the phone.
• Heavy Work - this is a term used by Occupational Therapists and the like.  It doesn't mean you need to sign your special person up for the local chain gang - though if you find one that takes minors please slip me an email with their details... ya know... just in case.
  The aim here is to really get their muscles moving.  Exercises that involve lifting and pushing.  Some ideas you could try might be
  - animal walks, I name an animal and they have to walk up and down the hall way or lawn in the manner of said animal.  Bear, crab, duck, lizard, dog, dinosaur, unicorn, whatever you like!
  - lifting and carrying the laundry basket (empty or full, wet or dry depending on ability)
  - pushing the trolley at the supermarket (if you're feeling especially patient - I am not. ever.), or unloading the groceries from the car.
  - holding the dog's lead while going for a walk
  - bike or tricycle riding
  - gymnastics lessons or kindergym is AMAZING for heavy body work
  - yard work such as raking leaves, pushing the wheelbarrow, mowing the lawn, building a shed - depending on ability of course.
• Photos - I love taking photos. Aside from being a good excuse to play with my camera, I have found taking photos and having pictures to be a useful tool.  We can practice facial expressions buy taking lots of photos. We can use photos for social stories (especially good for those who are not yet confident readers).   AND I, personally, love having photos of anything that makes me smile around me to keep my own spirits high as much as possible.
• Water - there is an old saying that says something about crabby kids need to be put in water.  Truth.  Bath, sprinkler, pool, creek, bucket, rain. Water is an easy sensory tool. Even just drinking it can help switch a mood.  Try icy cold water for sensory seekers. Water through a straw can be a small 'heavy work' exercise.
• Colours - one of the very early tools we learnt with my son was labelling his moods with colours.  Most of us can assign a colour to how we feel; blue=sad, red=passion/anger, yellow=happy etc. Ratbag wrote down which colours he associated with which feelings (they still don't make any sense to me but that doesn't matter) and this made it easier to identify his moods. - Miss Froggy LOVES rainbows, sometimes we hunt a rainbow for mindfulness.  To help her refocus and ease her overwhelm, we think about all the colours of the rainbow and look for things around us for each colour.  The can be anything or they can be a particular category; flowers, cars, clothes, fruit and veggies.
• Quiet Alone Time - doesn't that sound amazing? And it is exactly what it sounds like (sorta exactly anyway).  This is something we started when Ratbag was little and would.not.nap.  In the interest of setting boundaries and picking battles we held on to the after lunch nap time until my hands and head hurt.  If he wasn't going to nap he had to at least be quiet and alone... Which meant *I* got to be quiet and alone.  He could read, or play with his toys, or just rest but it had to be for an hour or more and it had to be QUIET and ALONE. We continued this ritual until he started school and did the same for Froggy.  It's still a tool we keep in the back of our minds for those days we all need a time-out.
• Animal Therapy - if they're even a little interested, give your special someone any opportunity you can to be around an animal.  We have a Spoodle and a Domestic Short hair Kitten.  If you cannot have pets, visit petting zoos, or ask strangers with dogs if it's OK to pat as you walk by.  Look into horse riding if you can afford it - it could be the best therapy you've ever tried.
• 5 Sensed Check-in - similar to the rainbow mindfulness, this is a quick check-in with ourselves to help alleviate anxiety and overwhelm.  It's so simple and can be done anywhere and any time.  We take some deep breaths and think about each sense, one at a time. What can I see? What can I smell? What can I hear? What can I taste? What can I feel? If we're not feeling better yet, do it again!
• Weighted Blanket - this is a new one in our house. I put off buying one for YEARS and now I cannot remember why.  They're so comfy! Like a giant hug but without all of those pesky human interactions. Shown to reduce anxiety and induce calm.
• Essential Oils - I started with oils in desperation but now I use them everyday some that are especially helpful for Autism and related conditions are:  lavender, vetiver, copaiba, and cedarwood.