Don’t Desensitize,
teach how to Recognize!
By Jaclyn Hunt
Desensitization
is the reduction of an emotional response to some sort of negative or aversive
stimulus. The purpose of desensitization
in autism is to unlearn an anxious response in the presence of an annoying but
probably safe situation. For example, an
autistic child has an anxiety attack during a thunderstorm because of the noise
associated with the crashes of thunder.
Or, an adult on the spectrum throws a temper tantrum due to the presence
of a crying baby in a restaurant. Yet
another example could be a young autistic girl being afraid of the vacuum
cleaner because of the unpredictable loud noises it makes and the ominous
presence it has in the house. The situations
are endless, and it is important to realize that although these situations are fairly
safe, they are extremely scary and unpredictable to the person on the autism
spectrum.
Personally,
I am not a big fan of using desensitization techniques for those with
autism. Frequently, many with autism
have memory issues and are very rigid when it comes to patterns and behaviors
that often times render desensitization methods useless. I believe that in some cases when you attempt
to desensitize by placing that person in the uncomfortable situation over and
over again, it only increases his/her anxiety, perhaps even solidifies it
further. Instead, what I like to do with
my clients is teach them how to be more aware of their surroundings, recognize
the various possibilities in every given situation, understand the importance
of aversive situations, and accept that they must be capable of tolerating
these temporary occurrences. For
instance, one of my clients had an intense reaction to the train horn whenever
he went for a run in the park. The sound
always caught him off guard, and he would carry the anxiety of the situation
with him for the remainder of the day.
Usually, he would forget about the experience by the time he went out
for his next run a few days later. The
cycle would then repeat.
Our first
course of action was to go to the park together so that I could assess the
situation. Once there, I observed how he
was completely unaware of his surroundings, was focused on his cell phone, and was
very much dedicated to his run. He
wasn’t paying attention to people, animals, or even the objects that surrounded
him. To attempt to desensitize him when
he was so absorbed on the task at hand would be downright cruel, and counter
productive. So, my first thought was to
take a look at myself and understand why a train would not scare me if it came
by at any particular moment in that park.
I discovered that whenever I am somewhere I take a look at my
surroundings, assess the people around me, and I look for potential dangers and
any possible positive interactions or activities that may be available for me
to enjoy. This comes automatically to
me, so I had to break it down into smaller pieces in order to teach my client
how to do the very same thing.
To begin, I
started talking to my client about the park’s surroundings. “Take a look at those people over there, they
look like they might be having an argument. We better give them their space.” He would then look and agree with my
assessment. Then, I would say things
like “It is very sunny out right now, looks like we’ll have good weather for
the duration of your run.” He would then look at the sky and agree with that
assessment as well. Soon, I would point
out the train tracks and tell him that there’s a very good possibility that a
train will be coming by soon. He would
then become aware of the train tracks, and check out the situation. I could see him looking for a train with wide
eyes and nervous anticipation.
Eventually, after many visits to the park and various experiences with
the trains coming by, he became aware that it was a possibility and that there
was no danger to him. In fact, he
learned that the train horn is a warning signal so that people or cars are not
near the tracks when the train comes by. This fact actually provided comfort
and security to my previously anxious and stressed out client. Finally, he understood that the train horn is
a temporary discomfort meant for the greater good and safety of him and all
those who frequent the park.
Fortunately,
this technique can be translated to any number of situations that cause fear or
anxiety in a person on the autism spectrum due to a seemingly unpredictable
situation. We need to make the
unpredictable, predictable. For example,
think about fireworks on or around Independence Day in America. If reminded of the month, and the possibility
that the neighbors might shoot off fireworks because of the holiday, the person
on the spectrum will at the very least not be taken off guard. Likewise, Halloween is another holiday where
many things are out of the ordinary.
People are out and about in strange costumes, flashing lights, and scary
masks. Typical behaviors are replaced by out of the ordinary ones and very
unpredictable to someone on the autism spectrum. Doorbells can be rung at any given moment,
other loud noises, unfamiliar odors, and even some vandalism can occur from
even the tamest of people. All of these
situations can be terrifying to not only a child on the spectrum, but the
adults as well.
What I
would suggest in this situation is to first educate the person about the
tradition of Halloween. Talk about the
history of the holiday, watch videos of different situations that can occur on
and around the day, encourage participation in the day’s activities, and tell
stories of your own experiences as a child on Halloween. Next, remind the child or adult about the day
on a regular basis, covering the days before and the days following where
residual activities can take place (parties, weekend celebrations even if the
holiday falls during the week, etc.). Also,
when taking your child trick or treating, or to a Halloween party, discuss as
many likely scenarios as possible. Indicate
the presence of various costumes, foods designed to look scary but are still
the same foods your child loves decorated in different ways, and the
possibilities of spooky sounds or music to add to the ambiance of the holiday. Finally, it is important to stress that
Halloween will not last forever. It is a
holiday that comes once a year, although the celebration may last a few days,
and then it is gone until the following year.
When a person on the spectrum knows that it is only temporary, instead of
fearing that this new unpleasant situation may last forever, they are more
likely to be able to tolerate and accept the activity knowing that it will all
be over soon.
All in all,
preparation and explanation is key when dealing with fears and anxieties due to
unpleasant, unfamiliar, and unpredictable circumstances. Do not desensitize someone on the spectrum
who hates babies crying by having them watch a video of a baby crying over and
over again. It is out of context and
holds no meaning to the real life situation.
Instead, talk to them about the reason why babies need to cry, prepare
them for the possible situations where babies may be present, and teach them to
tolerate it because the baby will not cry forever. It is merely a temporary situation that will
end very soon and will not harm your child in any way. To reiterate, teach your
child or adult on the autism spectrum how to be more aware of his/her
surroundings because awareness makes for more predictable situations. Show them how to recognize the various
possibilities in every given situation by utilizing this newly found awareness. Furthermore, make them understand the
importance of aversive situations, and accept that they must be capable of
tolerating these temporary occurrences just like everyone else does. Most importantly of all, realize that we must
be the ones to give our autistic children and adults the gift of awareness and
understanding so that they can be free of fear and anxiety. This opens them up to a whole new world to fearlessly
explore.
Jaclyn Hunt is a Life Coach specializing in the Autism and
Special Needs Population. She works with adults on the spectrum, parents of
autistic children and adults, spouses of adults on the spectrum, and anyone
affected by autism or other related special needs. Visit her website to learn more:
Twitter: @asnlifecoach
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AutismAndSpecialNeedsLifeCoach
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