Here's many 'essentials' that may not have thought of trying before,all part of one autistic kit.
First off........
Ear defenders
These ones have had all the padding chewed off the headband,but can get them from places like B and Q- building shops,these help so much with sound when combined with ear plugs,but do not recommend constant or long term use of them,it causes tinitus.
There are childrens ones available online.
Ear plugs
These are laser lite earplugs,made of smooth foam,there are better ones out there ,as in ones that have silicone in the middle,but am use these under ear defenders which makes a huge a difference.
Both ear defenders and ear plugs take some getting used to to be able to wear themwithout thinking,and a lot seem to give up quickly on them but keep trying,may find get used to them,it took am two years to properly tolerate wearing ear plugs.
Helmet
Highly recommended for those who regulary head bang or punch/hit their head.
The one am have is a Nike-Bauer ice hockey helmet [no face cage though some may
find these helpful-for biting problems etc].
These can be bought in many places,but mum and dad had got am that one from Altrincham ice rinks' ice hockey/skating shop,am assume then that most rinks
should have a shop or one near them.
It provides better protection than padded helmets,and they cover all of the
head,the only downside to them is can't wear ear defenders with ice hockey helmets, whereas padded are customiseable.
There are other helmets available that offer some protection against head banging/hitting,such as rugby helmets,but the problem with those is they're split at the back-a weak spot in them.
Gloves
These are finger less wheel chair gloves,and are great for protecting against hand biting.
It is ok to wear full length gloves but a problem with them if relie on laptop a lot, is their tracking pads don't track movement through them so a comprimise is wearing
fingerless gloves.
TTS [Text To Speech] program on laptop
For those who need speech backup,or don't have any at all-TTS gives communication independance to those who are limited verbally.
The one am using there is JTalk which is completely free and completely customiseable.
The main problem with TTS on laptops or PCs is windows [the latest/vista] now has only has one voice to use,whereas with XP had had a choice.
And although it does understand most words am use,the speech engine doesn't say some words right.
For Autists who are completely verbal,but have a reading or writing difficulty such as dyslexia-try STT [speech to text] instead,of STTs-am only know of Dragon-which costs,
but there should be some free STT out there.
Medical ID
Am wear this because of 'absconding' regulary,so the police can find out am not a drunk, illegal drug user or pysch ward runaway,and explains why they think am ignoring them.
Recommended for both children and adults,it doesn't matter how low or high functioning an autist is,emergencies can be very different to normal for autists leading to wrongful
arrests or restraint,it's also good for paramedics to see,and other emergency people.
Favourite sensory and stim toys
There are childrens ones available online.
Ear plugs
These are laser lite earplugs,made of smooth foam,there are better ones out there ,as in ones that have silicone in the middle,but am use these under ear defenders which makes a huge a difference.Both ear defenders and ear plugs take some getting used to to be able to wear themwithout thinking,and a lot seem to give up quickly on them but keep trying,may find get used to them,it took am two years to properly tolerate wearing ear plugs.
Helmet
Highly recommended for those who regulary head bang or punch/hit their head.The one am have is a Nike-Bauer ice hockey helmet [no face cage though some may
find these helpful-for biting problems etc].
These can be bought in many places,but mum and dad had got am that one from Altrincham ice rinks' ice hockey/skating shop,am assume then that most rinks
should have a shop or one near them.
It provides better protection than padded helmets,and they cover all of the
head,the only downside to them is can't wear ear defenders with ice hockey helmets, whereas padded are customiseable.
There are other helmets available that offer some protection against head banging/hitting,such as rugby helmets,but the problem with those is they're split at the back-a weak spot in them.
Gloves
These are finger less wheel chair gloves,and are great for protecting against hand biting.It is ok to wear full length gloves but a problem with them if relie on laptop a lot, is their tracking pads don't track movement through them so a comprimise is wearing
fingerless gloves.
TTS [Text To Speech] program on laptop
For those who need speech backup,or don't have any at all-TTS gives communication independance to those who are limited verbally.The one am using there is JTalk which is completely free and completely customiseable.
The main problem with TTS on laptops or PCs is windows [the latest/vista] now has only has one voice to use,whereas with XP had had a choice.
And although it does understand most words am use,the speech engine doesn't say some words right.
For Autists who are completely verbal,but have a reading or writing difficulty such as dyslexia-try STT [speech to text] instead,of STTs-am only know of Dragon-which costs,
but there should be some free STT out there.
Medical ID
Am wear this because of 'absconding' regulary,so the police can find out am not a drunk, illegal drug user or pysch ward runaway,and explains why they think am ignoring them.Recommended for both children and adults,it doesn't matter how low or high functioning an autist is,emergencies can be very different to normal for autists leading to wrongful
arrests or restraint,it's also good for paramedics to see,and other emergency people.
Favourite sensory and stim toys
These are own favourites,a koosh ball from the shop at knowsley safari park,a dog chewy toy,and a rat teddy from ikea.
Am chew them all,feel them and spin them,the rat teddy tail feels very close to a real rats tail.
Make sure have got enough sensory and stim toys,and cannot go wrong with fibre optics either! am not able to buy any anymore due to smashing them all,but the NAS often book the sensory room just for am and them at victoria house-another option am recommend,if are able to access them [sensory rooms].
The meltdown/incident rucksack
This is kept in bedroom and is what staff will take out with them if they remember, everytime they take am out.
It's a rucksack full of emergency things,there's a big foldable warning triangle they bought from a car shop in case am have a meltdown or seizure on the road,there are some squashed in pillows to help against head banging or kicking out.....a meltdown/incident rucksack could be tailored to anyones needs.
Xbox360
When they're not RRODing,they play great games,great for autists because they are calming,and have games for all abilities and ages,the ultimate stim toy.
The xbox in the photo is a halo3 painted limited edition 360, nearly a year old and not one crash.
Am chew them all,feel them and spin them,the rat teddy tail feels very close to a real rats tail.
Make sure have got enough sensory and stim toys,and cannot go wrong with fibre optics either! am not able to buy any anymore due to smashing them all,but the NAS often book the sensory room just for am and them at victoria house-another option am recommend,if are able to access them [sensory rooms].
The meltdown/incident rucksack
This is kept in bedroom and is what staff will take out with them if they remember, everytime they take am out.It's a rucksack full of emergency things,there's a big foldable warning triangle they bought from a car shop in case am have a meltdown or seizure on the road,there are some squashed in pillows to help against head banging or kicking out.....a meltdown/incident rucksack could be tailored to anyones needs.
Xbox360
When they're not RRODing,they play great games,great for autists because they are calming,and have games for all abilities and ages,the ultimate stim toy.The xbox in the photo is a halo3 painted limited edition 360, nearly a year old and not one crash.
