Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Moved from Facebook - A good explanation on Stimulus overload

Originally Posted to Facebook as a note on Tuesday, December 1, 2009
The best explanation I've heard yet...

To understand [autistic children's sensitivity to simuli] further, have someone lead a game of "Simon Says" with you with the expectation that you must remain mute throughout but participate and attend fully. The catch is, while that's occurring, someone else needs to rapidly flash the lights in the room on and off at the same time another person is drowning out your leader with static and loud music from ever-changing radio frequencies. After less than a minute, you'll feel like giving up, throwing a "tantrum," or running out of the room because of the way in which your senses are being assaulted. This is how a person with sensory sensitivities may feel. If you were a child with autism and acted out those behaviors in a classroom, you'd be called "noncompliant" or a "behavior problem."

From: The Autism Answer Book: More Than 300 of the Top Questions Parents Ask
by William Stillman
Sourcebooks © 2007

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