Designing a product for ASD people

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Hi all forum members!

I am currently doing my final year project (Honours thesis) on Autistic Spectrum Disorder and am in the midst of developing a product for them to better cope with sensory overload. My final prototype will be due in May 2013. I have went to a charity school with ASD kids as well and observed them as part of my research process. I was hoping that you all could provide me with inputs which will be of tremendous value to me.

Targeting the 5 senses, what do you or perhaps your family member (with ASD or Asperger) likes and will calm them down in the event of sensory overload?

Example:

Age: 5 ASD
Sight: Water flowing
Smell: Rosemary Scent
Touch: Sandpaper texture, Kiwi fruit texture
Hearing: Barney Introduction songs, Classical music?
Taste: Taste of papaya


Your inputs would certainly help me steer my product in the right direction. I would love to create one that would benefit the Autism Community. Thanks for taking the time, really! And kudos to this forums for bringing everyone together



Yours,
Leonard


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I understand it is very individual and am looking at ways it can be customized for every user. Knowing what calms you down would matter.

The problem you'll be finding is that everyone has different preferences - and it varies from time to time even for the individual. For instance, I find lavender very soothing most of the time, but if my sense of smell goes into hyperdrive it suddenly seems very harsh.

To the best of my knowledge, there is no common soothing sensory experence. I would warn you against the "Barney" one, since that would top the list of annoying ones right there.

The sound of running water seems to be calming in most cultures, and I've never heard of any objections. That might be your best bet.

Honestly, when I'm in sensory overload the best I can do is try and make every input as minimal as possible. Particularly sound and smell. Mostly I turn my bathroom light off, run myself a bath and lie under the water for as long as possible to calm myself. Works for me, but its obviously not for everyone.

Mostly I echo the previous posts. Sensory overload is quite individual.

Honestly, I don't think this will work. As many people said, overload is very individual. One person might be calmed down by a certain smell, an other might be overwhelmed by it. I'd recommend changing your project goal.

Maybe make less expensive weighted blankets...? :/
I wouldn't mind a soundproof dark room.

Think of things in nature that are universally pleasing.
And calming.

Then shoot for that.

The thing that will calm me down in sensory overload is for sensory input to be reduced.
A kit with earplugs, dark glasses, something to stop things brushing against my skin, and nose plugs would be the most useful thing.

thanks for the replies, i was worried no one would reply before I went to bed last night.

Yes i understand that it is very individual and certainly a million and one ways out there. So i am aiming at creating something that can be customized for the individual preferences but obviously i can't create one that would suit 100% percentile of the population. My scenario is based outdoors, how to cope when you're in sensory overdrive outdoors at a new place.

Maybe just telling me what you (or your family member) would like to do when you are in sensory overdrive? Then I will try to collate and organize the data.

@agentpalpatine, sorry I saw a kid that was stimming to Barney songs and I thought that would be a good example, apparently not.

I like playing Bejeweled Blitz for sensory overload.

Good idea! I agree with most people that it is a personal thing but I think you could make something.
For me:
Sight: nothing. Just wearing a sleeping mask.
Sound: Also nothing. Silence is golden for me.
Smell: Lavender is pretty soothing.
Taste: Chocolate
Touch: Soft blanket-like material

When I have sensory overload in public, I usually go somewhere private where I can just enjoy solitude and the escape from noise..

Sight: I've always found those little LED Christmas lights soothing.
Sound: Sound of Rain or surf.
Smell: Vanilla but I also loved the smell of wood smoke. I still find both very soothing.
Taste: Chocolate
Touch: I liked both hard bristled brushes on my palms or soft/fluffy material.

anymore comments from the community wld be appreciated!

Really curious to see how you're planning to make it customizable, but ok. Here's what would do the trick for me:

Sight: Nothing, actually. Darkness would be best.
Sound: Sound of Rain (and thunder), or a female voice whispering.
Smell: Forest, rain, the smell of certain old books.
Taste: Vanilla
Touch: Either soft touch in the shoulder area, or some kind of massage.

Though I'm not sure if either of those would actually help me calm down in an actual overload. As others have said, the best thing would be completely sensory deprivation. Silence, darkness, isolation. Maybe you could build a sensory deprivation tank instead.

There was a computer game called 'Echo The Dolphin' that had really nice graphics and the music was really nice and soothing - that's the kind of music and imagery I like a lot. You often hear it on relaxation CDs - it's sort of new/space age electronic stuff. It's also on the soundtrack to 'Bladerunner' by Vangelis - that's very relaxing too.