#positioning

[adnopes]

[tennis-out-of-context]

[jhsharman]

"focus"

[nonspeakerlibrary]

What I Wish People Understood About Non-Speaking Autistics Who Spell to Communicate - Reframing Autism

In this remarkable guest blog by 14-year-old, non-speaking, Autistic advocate Patrick Saunders, he shares how he learnt to communicate throu

I remember when a teacher yelled at me because I could not answer the question via a PECS card. It made me feel stressed and upset. I was six years old and it happened all the time.

I require a communication and regulation partner to help me voice my thoughts. They help me regulate by supporting the letterboard. They support the letterboard to aid my physical limitations and to help my motor planning. They change letterboard colours and stencils as it provides more stimulation and gets me back on track. My favourite letterboard colour is green because it is easy to see and it makes spelling easier.

The letterboard is not placed on the table because I need help with my hands. They have a mind of their own. If it was placed flat on the table my finger would point at the wrong letters because I need the letterboard up high to accommodate my needs.

[wanderingmind867]

I still bite my nails a lot, since it's a habit I've formed over many years. Today I ended up biting st them a lot again, and now my fingers hurt again. At least half of them seem to feel weird. My middle fingers usually get it pretty rough, but I think all of them have it a little bit rough. I'm struggling to focus right now though, so I can't go into too much detail.

On top of my nail biting (which means that something like half of my nails are feeling weird right now), I also have dead skin on my face. I think I picked it off, but now my face is stinging. So that's not pleasant either. It's apparently a lose lose situation here. I'm a bit shocked I have dead skin on my face, though. I've developed it in other places (including my wrist once, I think), but my face is an area that somewhat commonly develops dead skin but shocks me every time it does.

So I have dead skin and nails that are sore. You'd think that'd be enough, and it kind of is. But it's also not, since I'm also dealing with a struggle to type right now. Maybe that means I'm overwhelmed or something, and my brain can't focus without nearly suffering a meltdown for some stupid reason. But it could also just mean that the dead skin and bitten nails are making things rough for me. Nevermind how I hold my phone with both hands and affect this whole weird stance when I use my phone sometimes (it's super hard to explain, but it's not great most of the time). So yeah, it's becoming hard to write and focus, for whatever reason. I don't like it, but I don't really see anything I can do about it.

[schar-aac]

"positioning"

image: a blue circle with a red arrow above it, below it, and on each side of it.

[macgyvermedical]

Home Nursing Advice Column #5: Patient Positioning

The position a patient is in has a great deal to do with their comfort. It can also help prevent complications like pneumonia and pressure injuries.

The following are positioning strategies one could use to improve the health and comfort of patients and prevent complications:

Comfort:

Someone spending a long time in bed will probably eventually want to sit up comfortably in that bed. Make it easy to do this by taking a straight-backed chair and laying it "seat down" at the head of the bed, so the patient can lean back on the back of the chair. This allows them to sit partially upright while reading, eating, watching TV, or working on a computer.

If the person has pain in their abdomen or back or if they have a tendency to slip down in bed, put a pillow or two under the knees. This will stop them sliding and help relax the abdominal muscles, which decreases pain.

Elevating an injured limb on a pillow or five can help with throbbing-type pain.

Place a small pillow or folded towel in the small of the back to help with back pain. Bonus points if it is a warm towel or hot water bottle.

Someone with cramping pain from arterial insufficiency in their lower legs can benefit from hanging their legs over the side of the bed.

Someone who has difficulty breathing may feel better sitting straight up or even leaning forward slightly. A fan blowing cool air in their face helps take away the feeling of air hunger.

Elevating the legs in someone with heart failure or venous insufficiency can help the water in the swelling re-enter circulation and be urinated out normally.

Prevention:

Someone who has difficulty moving in bed should be turned (or reminded to turn) every 2 hours to prevent pressure injuries. Pressure injuries are wounds that occur when constant pressure to a certain spot prevents good blood flow and causes the skin and the tissue below it to break down. To keep the person turned in the direction you want them to be in, place a pillow under one side of their back.

Help people who "scrunch down" in bed pull themselves up frequently. This helps prevent pneumonia. Coughing forcefully and taking deep breaths every hour or so also helps keep small passages in the lungs open and prevent pneumonia.

Sitting straight up while eating helps prevent people who have trouble swallowing (such as after a stroke) from breathing in their food and water. Breathing in (aspirating) food or drink increases the risk of choking and pneumonia.

Someone who snores or has sleep apnea while on their back may benefit from sleeping in "recovery position" or on their side. Help someone stay on their side by placing a pillow between their legs.