sensory tools/toys?

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I am having a *lot* of various sensory issues lately. I need more pressure and tightness, smells are really bothering me, the electronic sounds from the TV (that other people in my house can't hear) hurt more, other sounds hurt more, I'm needing to chew a lot and fidget too. Light is also bothering me.

what are some tools/toys you use for your various sensory issues?

I have a pair of headphones that block a lot of noise, I use those. I want to get a tangle toy with bumps on it, and this awesome sensory necklace that you can chew.

hi there
i cannot sleep without there being a soft blue nightlight on somewhere in the room, and i also need a white/pink noise source such as an electronic air cleaner or a humidifier/fan going on in the background also. i also need to wear those black eyeblocker thingies over my eyes when i sleep, i feel "naked" without 'em.
when my neighbors play their cruddy music at top window-vibrating volume, i have to turn on my own music that i play just loud enough to block 'em out. when i have to do any mental calculations [filling out paperwork, adding figures, etc.] i have to have white or pink noise in the background, the sound no matter how faint, of a tv or radio totally distracts me from my thinking. i have been known to wear walkman headphones to block-out another person's objectionable music or talk radio.

when you say you need to chew things, it remind me of when i had my sinus infections and that noxious drainage down to my teeth roots would make my teeth "itch" and i would get relief by grinding my teeth, and the only way to distract myself from this "itch" and to stop the jaw and teeth-damaging grinding was to brush and wash with stiff mouthwash often.
i have to avoid green bananas for multiple reasons but the most important one is that they make my teeth squeak, and i hate that. the same mouthwash-rinse trick is effective there, or just avoiding green bananas.

ShadesOfMe, you have said a lot that i also am feeling. i have long been hurt by bright light and always wear shades outside and have dim lighting inside. regarding the need for "pressure and tightness", my guts sometimes feel like a bunch of snakes wrigling around inside and secreting some substance which makes my viscera feel achey all over. wearing a girdle-type "fat-sucker-inner" thingy seems to aleviate this discomfort for me.

but it seems to me that if your "tools/toys" are losing their effectiveness as paliatives, then you might consider investigating some type of therapy to help you with the increasing distress you described feeling about your various sensory issues. i'm no expert but there must be a drug or other fix for it.

take care

Last edited by auntblabby on 26 Mar 2010, 1:01 am, edited 1 time in total.

I have the sleep problem too. I can't sleep without at least one light on. I also have the thing with the fan, I do not like the sound of silence, and I can't sleep (or really be in my room) if the fan isn't in the background. The girdle thing might work!

I'm really excited, because my mom is helping me find sensory things. I take Horse Therapy lessons, and after my lessons I feel much better. I'm more balanced now and just all around happier. I started in october. My dog died last week so it's been much harder for me to cope with things.

when i get very excited, I tend to hyperventilate, and my stomach turns into the snake thing you mentioned.

I found out about something called a weighted stuffed animal last night. I'm having a hard time finding a lot of them, but I found instructions on how to modify a stuffed animal to be weighted. it's like a weighted lap pad, but not. I found some on some Autism/sensory websites. I'm probably going to make my own. I got so excited and started hyperventilating, and needed the pressure. I could have used the weighted animal right then, and the funny thing was I was excited *over* the animal!

There is a really nice large stuffed bunny at target I'm thinking about. But I would also need a small one for when I go on the plane and visit my boyfriend.

The chewing thing is more like i need to chew, because it keeps me calm. I have to be careful though because i'll put plastic things in my mouth and not really even realise it. not often though. stuff like bottle tops.
Gum doesn't have the right feel.
also, I have this awesome little ball, it's plastic and bumpy and nice and when you drop or squeeze it it makes pretty colors. it's a good hand stim.

I have heard hobermans spheres help some on the spectrum. http://www.hoberman.com/fold/Sphere/sphere.htm I have a medium sized one that i;ve had for a long time. It's just fun to look at. right now I have it on the post of my bed because it has pretty colors.

Earplugs that fit inside the ear may be more convenient than headphones, although might be less effective - I don't know how good your headphones are. I've not got a pair of decent noise-blocking headphones yet, but i have some earplugs that I can sleep in if I don't have to wake in response to an alarm clock. Any tips on how to find a really good pair of noise-protecting headphones? I need a really good pair as I living in 'halls' at uni, and the fire alarm keeps going off and the noise is horribly loud.

Light is a difficult one - I recently got some prescription sunglasses but they can't make them very dark and I still find bright summer sunlight difficult in them. I don't really know what to recommend there. I know there's such a thing as tinted contacts which are made for people with visual problems - perhaps look into this?

I wear a corset sometimes. I like the feeling. Not sure they're the best thing when hyperventilating though!

I've heard of weighted blankets for autistic children. I don't have one but they sound good.

I use both earplugs AND noise canceling headphones for when I'm really uncomfortable. The combination really drowns out the sound.

Weighed blankets are fabulous.

For the tightness, you know the slimmer tank tops they make for women? Those are great, if you're a woman, lol. If you're a guy, try an Under Armour shirt under your regular clothes. Either one makes life much more comfortable.

I love those squishy, stretchy toys. I like to spin them.

I have a Tangle Jr. with bumps on it, and that's good for when I'm sitting in church and need to concentrate without moving around.

I like wrist weights when I have trouble finding my body. They help to calm me down.

I have a tendency to chew on my hands, so I was given a chewy tube, and that helps some. I think I still prefer hands, though it does help when I remember to use it.

That's all I can think of for now. Hope something helped.

I have my 'snuggles' which are basically terry towel material that I snuggle, I've had those since I was a baby, and I find the texture of the material combined with my smell on the cloth incredibly soothing...I use these to go to sleep, without them I would be unable to do so.....I like to sniff the scent, rub the fabric against my face, between my fingers, pull it taught over my face and rock my head back and forth, I've always done this, and I think I always will.....

In places that are busy with the throng of people, I also like to wear headphones as I find cancelling out one of my senses slightly helps deal with the overload...there's one less sense to deal with, I find that I get overload/meltdowns as every sense becomes overloaded, smell/sound/touch/sight, so the less of my senses are exposed to tough situations, the longer I am able to tolerate them, sunglasses also help, they blot out the most painful part of light, and also give me a feeling of safety in that others cannot see my eyes....

I like to stroke my forearms, back and forth along the length of them until I get goosebumps, certain peoples' voices combined with the arm-stroking is incredibly relaxing....dare I say it, Danielismyname has a voice that is ideal for me to relax to, so soft, so tickly...it's very embarrassing to admit this behaviour but it helps me loads, I'm told I also do this forearm stroking-thing in my sleep, I can't explain fully, it just feels so very good.

sports bras are also good. I think they make longer ones too. when I exercise, I use one and it is awesome. I wear it other times too, just because the tightness level is nice. I forgot about that.

when you say slimemr tank tops do you mean the stretchy ones where the sides are cut in a little, so it's tighter?

My Blanky is my main stim. It's just like that. I've had her since I was a baby, too. she's really small snow. she gets nice scents on her, and I love to rub the different ridges in between my fingers. I can't sleep without her either. do you have problems with washing your towels?


I didn't that other people had stims/sensory problems just like mine.

Heh, yeah, the only problem with them is that they slowly wear out over the years, my favourite one (an old dressing gown) is now in 6 pieces, and I can see right through the fabric it's gotten so thin

(one cool thing though, my partner has actually had a star named after her! Napzthalla!!)

I HATE having them washed, they feel all stiff and they smell of the washing powder, so for a while they only look like my snuggles, but feel and smell alien to me....it takes quite a few weeks to get them back to feeling 'right'

Do you also use terry cloth towels? I love terry cloth, it's so wonderfully snuggly, my dream would be having all my bedding made from terry cloth too!!