Autistic Coach @hmm_cook@universeodon.comIf your nervous system is always ramped up, it doesn’t take a whole lot to push you a little bit too far.
Recent searches
Search options
#Sensory
1 post1 participant0 posts today
Autistic Coach @hmm_cook@universeodon.comAutistic Coach @hmm_cook@universeodon.comUnmasking My Wardrobe Color Choices
I am so happy I bought an airfryer. I often have to cook 3 separate meals at dinner ( with a common ingredient like pasta/ rice) for my #sensory #RestrictedEating household plus some vegetarian/ some not. The airfryer has made life so much easier. Absolute convert.
Autistic Coach @hmm_cook@universeodon.comBelieving that your wants exist, matter, and can be met, is the first step in learning to figure out what you want.
Autistic Coach @hmm_cook@universeodon.comMost of us, to varying degrees, learn to suppress our wants in order to live around other people. Or, we become so convinced that our wants are inappropriate that we suppress them.
Now up on YouTube, an #OnlineAutscape2025 “More Autistic Joy” presentation: “Sensory joy to the rescue: emotional containers and portable safe spaces” by Alicja Nocon.
Watch: https://youtu.be/1ArUdA_ZJio
Worksheet: https://www.autscape.org/2025/programme/handouts/sensory-joy-worksheet.pdf
“It's well-known that having a more sensitive nervous system means that autistic people experience more sensory triggers and are more easily dysregulated. But what if we could use our sensory sensitivity to our advantage to bring a sense of peace and joy to helps us get through difficult experiences? In this presentation, I will share a number of practical ways using sensory joy to help contain overwhelming emotions and prepare for unfamiliar of predictably stressful situations, based on my own experience and the experiences of my clients.”
My biggest struggle as a #neurodivergent adult due to #sensory sensitivities and #taskoverwhelm is #showering.
THERE ARE SO MANY TASKS. It's a full-on project. I always feel better once I'm clean but the path to get there takes like half my spoons for the day (even though I shower at night).
I have many #routines around showering that I have a hard time skipping to lessen the task burden.
Autistic Coach @hmm_cook@universeodon.comThings like knowing what you want or need, what help to ask for, how to make sensory overwhelm better, and how to get energy back are all easier to figure out when you have real time feedback from your body about what it’s experiencing.
What if this approach is seriously arse about. And we can do better.
#Hypersensitivity to and #avoidance of certain flavours & textures is part of our #sensory profile for many #ActuallyAutistic folks. As with all of our sensory issues, the ways we devise to deal with them come at a cost, socially, emotionally & physically. Being pressured to let go of strategies that have protected us can feel life threatening. Especially if we don’t understand where they’ve come from & how they’ve helped us (hard to do when our various unusual behaviours are examined in isolation from each other & each set pathologised with an unhelpful diagnosis).
In my experience, we can change the habits & routines that protect us only when (i) we feel safe & (ii) it is our choice to do so. In our own ways, at our own speed, on our own terms. This profound need for autonomy gets pathologised as ‘demand avoidance’ but it’s another manifestation of the strategies for survival that we develop & cling to for dear life. Take this from me & I will die.
How about, for kids & adults ‘with #ARFID’, we approached interventions by starting with respect for autonomy. This means learning about how this person experiences sensory pleasures & discomforts around eating & taking them seriously. Then developing options for change that can be chosen by that person, or not. At their own pace.
It worked for me. As in so many areas of my life, this is the only approach that does.
Like so many folx who grew up undiagnosed I learned to be ashamed of my struggles (in denial about them, intolerant of their manifestation in others) & embarrassed about my gifts. Wish I’d understood my #neurodivergence, & that of my family members, when I was parenting kids.
So glad we can do better now. I wish the support systems whose funding rests on adopting pathologising diagnostic categories would catch up!!
@actuallyautistic #AutisticElder #AutisticParent #disability
ABC News · ARFID is almost as common as anorexia, but most people don't know it
My roller derby team has just sent a questionnaire to everyone in the league to learn about any sensory issue that could affect our training sessions and how we learn new skills.
I love this so much, it's such a lovely inclusive environment 
Autistic Coach @hmm_cook@universeodon.comA source of energy gain comes from lessening your environmental stressors so that you don’t have to waste energy fighting off the world around you.
Good article on a “#sensory diet” (mainly not about food, btw!): #actuallyautistic
Autism Awareness · What is a sensory diet? - Autism AwarenessA sensory diet, first created by occupational therapists Wilbarger and Wilbarger (1991) , is an individualized plan of physical activities and accommodations to help a person meet their sensory needs. This plan provides the sensory input needed to stay focused and organized throughout the day. For example, some people may feel overwhelmed or overloaded and need to get to a…
Autistic Coach @hmm_cook@universeodon.comOur autistic sensory experiences are just different from a lot of people’s. And when we get messages that it’s not okay to be different, we try to ignore that instead of actually meeting our needs.
Hacking Haptics: The 19-Sensor Patch Bringing Touch to Life - On November 6th, Northwestern University introduced a groundbreaking leap in hapti... - https://hackaday.com/2024/11/18/hacking-haptics-the-19-sensor-patch-bringing-touch-to-life/ #tactilefeedback #wearablehacks #hexagonal #feedback #wearable #haptics #sensory #haptic #patch #touch #news
Hackaday · Hacking Haptics: The 19-Sensor Patch Bringing Touch To LifeOn November 6th, Northwestern University introduced a groundbreaking leap in haptic technology, and it’s worth every bit of attention now, even two weeks later. Full details are in their original a…
Autistic Coach @hmm_cook@universeodon.comUse anything that you can, any physical thing around you, to ground yourself in the present moment and focus on one single sensory experience.
From: Autism Awareness Aus
For #autistic people, the experience of grief is much more complicated than moving through its famous five stages. Learn about how #sensory sensitivities, communication challenges & a lack of care options can isolate & harm people with #autism.
Psychology TodayThe Spectrum of Loss: Grief Through the Autistic LensThe unique world of autistic grief demands a closer look at tailored support and understanding.
Autistic Coach @hmm_cook@universeodon.comIncreasing your internal awareness is about having more accurate info about what’s going on inside, and what you want or need. And that allows you to make more appropriate tweaks in your life and get feedback on how these tweaks are affecting you.
Autistic Coach @hmm_cook@universeodon.comAutistics have very different sensory experiences, or different intensities of experiences from the perceived norm, and we’re taught at a very young age (in large and small ways, intentionally and not) by the people around us to ignore those experiences.
Autistic Coach @hmm_cook@universeodon.comIt is possible to recover energy that you used to use fending off the world around you and to use that for other things.