When I was a young person, I doubt if anyone would have called my sensory issues "clinical". I was notably sensitive, and certain sounds like food processors and lawnmowers have always bothered me, but as an adult I am driven mad by thousands of sounds I don't think existed with any degree of frequency in the landscape of my youth.
For instance, I recall being able to go to a fast-food restaurant without hearing televisions or the incessant blaring beeps of timers in the kitchen. It was even rare to hear music playing. Now those sounds are inescapable, even in many "better" establishments. Having grown up in a desert, lawnmowers were only occasional annoyances, and no one owned a leaf blower. But now that I reside in Virginia, I find I cannot even step outside on a nice day without encountering the troublesome sound of such equipment.
When I was a child in the 1980s and 1990s, my home environment was largely calm, comfortable, predictable. My parents kept the house quiet, they stuck to a routine. My neighborhood had the occasional ruckus, such as when there was a large picnic at the park across the street, but by and large it was fairly quiet, even though it was accessible to downtown. Now, as an adult, I am married to a man with ADHD who couldn't keep a routine if it was forced on him, and I have a delightful young son who, nonetheless, makes lots of noise. My neighbors are constantly mowing lawns and blowing leaves (my neighbor will not desist from blowing the leaves in my yard, as well. My husband says he's just being "neighborly"). Plus, there is the traffic noise of my inner city neighborhood, which is only a few blocks from the fire station and police headquarters. If I go to work, the sounds of the maintenance crew on the grounds of my college persist. If I go out to eat, forget a peaceful meal. And now that we have "power flush" toilets in almost every public restroom, a sound that was always disturbing is now absolutely traumatizing.
I wonder if more children with ASDs are being recognized early because our everyday environments have gotten to the point that they are unbearable from a sensory perspective, and this sensory onslaught is frequently inescapable except with ear plugs and noise canceling headphones (used together, because each on its own is rarely sufficient)? My own stress level has increased dramatically in the years since I left home, and even when I visit my parents there is a din in the larger environment which was not there when I was a child. If we want to improve the behavior and functioning of young people and adults with ASDs, why aren't we looking at the obvious stressors which we've proliferated in our overstimulating environment? The same psychologists and psychiatrists who will tell you the list of things which aggravate people on the spectrum, seem to keep clinical waiting rooms which are filled with fluorescent lights, the sound of a television, and the blare of a loudspeaker, as well as office phones with ringers on the highest possible volume. If we really wanted to create a movement for better functioning in autistic children and adults, it seems an easy place to start would include the conscious reduction of the incessant auditory and visual stimuli to which mainstream America is now addicted, and which appear to have negative effects on the health and stress levels of even "neurotypical" individuals, causing everything from insomnia to anger management difficulties and mood disorders. (Yes, I need to cite my sources but I'm reluctant to leave the page, don't wish to lose what I've written. Maybe I can edit soon?)
The environmental movement encourages days where people turn off electric lights; what would happen if, for Autism Awareness month, we eliminated the extra noise and visuals from our public spaces? I doubt very much it would be only autistic people who would be grateful.
For instance, I recall being able to go to a fast-food restaurant without hearing televisions or the incessant blaring beeps of timers in the kitchen. It was even rare to hear music playing. Now those sounds are inescapable, even in many "better" establishments. Having grown up in a desert, lawnmowers were only occasional annoyances, and no one owned a leaf blower. But now that I reside in Virginia, I find I cannot even step outside on a nice day without encountering the troublesome sound of such equipment.
When I was a child in the 1980s and 1990s, my home environment was largely calm, comfortable, predictable. My parents kept the house quiet, they stuck to a routine. My neighborhood had the occasional ruckus, such as when there was a large picnic at the park across the street, but by and large it was fairly quiet, even though it was accessible to downtown. Now, as an adult, I am married to a man with ADHD who couldn't keep a routine if it was forced on him, and I have a delightful young son who, nonetheless, makes lots of noise. My neighbors are constantly mowing lawns and blowing leaves (my neighbor will not desist from blowing the leaves in my yard, as well. My husband says he's just being "neighborly"). Plus, there is the traffic noise of my inner city neighborhood, which is only a few blocks from the fire station and police headquarters. If I go to work, the sounds of the maintenance crew on the grounds of my college persist. If I go out to eat, forget a peaceful meal. And now that we have "power flush" toilets in almost every public restroom, a sound that was always disturbing is now absolutely traumatizing.
I wonder if more children with ASDs are being recognized early because our everyday environments have gotten to the point that they are unbearable from a sensory perspective, and this sensory onslaught is frequently inescapable except with ear plugs and noise canceling headphones (used together, because each on its own is rarely sufficient)? My own stress level has increased dramatically in the years since I left home, and even when I visit my parents there is a din in the larger environment which was not there when I was a child. If we want to improve the behavior and functioning of young people and adults with ASDs, why aren't we looking at the obvious stressors which we've proliferated in our overstimulating environment? The same psychologists and psychiatrists who will tell you the list of things which aggravate people on the spectrum, seem to keep clinical waiting rooms which are filled with fluorescent lights, the sound of a television, and the blare of a loudspeaker, as well as office phones with ringers on the highest possible volume. If we really wanted to create a movement for better functioning in autistic children and adults, it seems an easy place to start would include the conscious reduction of the incessant auditory and visual stimuli to which mainstream America is now addicted, and which appear to have negative effects on the health and stress levels of even "neurotypical" individuals, causing everything from insomnia to anger management difficulties and mood disorders. (Yes, I need to cite my sources but I'm reluctant to leave the page, don't wish to lose what I've written. Maybe I can edit soon?)
The environmental movement encourages days where people turn off electric lights; what would happen if, for Autism Awareness month, we eliminated the extra noise and visuals from our public spaces? I doubt very much it would be only autistic people who would be grateful.
