#sensory tips

[false-normie]

some jobs you have to wear uncomfy shoes for, or else you look “unprofessional”

just pack those uncomfy shoes in your bag

they dont have to know you wore your slippers for the whole drive/ride/walk to work. you can bring the uncomfy shoes just for walking in the building- and most likely you can get away with discreetly changing right back to the slippers when youre at your desk. just remember to switch back when you get up.

note - it IS socially acceptable to have slippers you change into AT your desk. meaning if someone sees you walking around in your slippers and says something, you can just say theyre your “desk slippers” and haha whoops you forgot you put them on. the only lie you need to tell is pretending you dont wear them often, act like its just for those particular few days when your feet reallyy hurt. it cant just be that you wanna be comfy to work all day. that’s seen as lazy, but “emergency” comfy shoes are fine.

desk slippers are more socially acceptable than bag slippers. theres a very specific social rule at play here. you can in fact walk through life prepared to take care of yourself- but you cant look “THAT” prepared. “THAT” is vague and hard to define. but ive figured it out:

in an office/formal kind of context, its autistic to “have to” have comfy shoes on you at all times. the normies may even freak out and escalate it into you being belligerent and a problem. for being comfy.

but having a preparation you pretend to use much less often is better than letting them know you do it all the time. the desk slippers get a pass by being a part of your desk. its seen as smart. it shows how focused you are on optimizing your work space if you have desk slippers. even an extra cushion on your chair or a tasteful blanket can be passable in the confines of your cubicle. many offices run cold, and plenty of normies keep a blanket or cardigan on hand for that reason. if these articles are all grey or black, you definitely fly under the radar. theyll be practically invisible in the workplace and im not exaggerating.

dont hurt your feet for social rules. also dont get flack for being “unprofessional.” do wear the uncomfy shoes, but only for as little time as you have to.

[savetheupholstery]

Idk if anyone else with sensory issues finds the microscopic Things in their bed super aggravating/overwhelming when trying to sleep or just exist, but just going over the sheets with a (sticky) lint roller before you sleep seems to do wonders!

[chronicallyc00l]

hey guys, just a quick tip for keeping up with hygiene! :)

if you want to get soap, toothpaste, face wash, lotion, etc. but the smell is overwhelming then i’d recommend getting whatever says “doctor recommended/approved”. i know lots of things say that but i mean try to look for the most medical, made-for-people-with-health-conditions, type of stuff. brands that your doctor would recommend to you.

those typically have a less strong scents or an option for unscented, and they’re typically pretty good for skin! they can also help if you’re feeling overwhelmed with all the choices (especially with skincare or makeup) so you know which brands might work best! also don’t be afraid to use kids or babies brands. they’re made for super sensitive skin/teeth so will most likely not be overwhelming :))

hope this helps :))) /gen

[autism-resources]

Any stim toys or tips for crunching? I keep over eating because of needing the sensory feeling of eating crunchy foods. I don’t know how to get this same feeling in a different way??

Hey I know this was a while ago and might not be relevant anymore, but in case it is I want to respond.

If you like crunching outside of the mouth you could use stim toys such as a fidget with buttons/gears that “crunch” (link bellow) or a sort of springy mesh marble fidget (link bellow) depending on what you enjoy. Another option is rubbing rocks or sand together which personally I really enjoy for the crunching aspect. Some people use crunchy slime or “pop tubes” or stress balls with like rice or flour inside to get that texture outside of the mouth.

An activity which can help is cooking. For the crunch sensory feeling I like to cut stuff like carrots or mix stuff that has an uneven texture. I also find that I crave the crunch texture less if I’ve had a lot of rough sensory input on my skin that day such as wood, non-polished rock, rope or thread, bumpy plastic or rubber, wool or cotton fabric, etc.

Sometimes something like being a frequent sensory urge is because you are under stimulated and seeking more texture, or trying to regulate because you are overwhelmed and it comforts you. Often it’s both and definitely doesn’t have to be one of those things necessarily, sometimes you just like something 🤷🏻👍🏻. It is very useful if there is a trigger or some sort of cause you can find out what it is and try to target the dysregulation.

As for oral stimming only, non food crunch stuff is quite difficult to find. I found 2 companies on Amazon for oral crunch stimming: one is a y-shaped chew, the other is a hand held circular one. If you want something wearable/smaller I found some necklaces on Etsy. I also found a fabric chew bracelet on Etsy if you like that kind of sensation. Chew stixx were also a frequent result in my search.

1st chew: Amazon y-chew

Buy ARK's Y-Chew XT Oral Motor Chewy Tool (Turquoise) on Amazon.com ✓ FREE SHIPPING on qualified orders

2nd chew: Amazon groovy hand-held chew

Buy TalkTools Groovy Chewy (Ocean Blue) 2pk | Oral Motor Sensory Tool for Kids and Toddlers | Therapy Tools to Improve Chewing and Biting on

3rd chew: Etsy chew necklaces

3-pack Stress Straw for Kids Silicone Mindful Breathing - Etsy Canada

This Learning & School item by StressStraws has 199 favorites from Etsy shoppers. Ships from United States. Listed on 23 Jul, 2022

4th chew: Etsy Fabric chew

BEST SELLING Chewing Necklace or Bracelet Fabric Chew - Etsy Canada

This Necklaces item by LoveSomeGear has 579 favorites from Etsy shoppers. Ships from United States. Listed on 23 Jul, 2022

5th chew- Chew stixx

CHEW STIXX CS1000 Sensory University Original Non Flavored Chew Stick, 0.63" Height, 4" Width, 4.75" Length, Blue : Amazon.ca: Baby

Other Links

Fidget cube,

AUTUMNCLOUD Fidget Cub Stress for Kids Teen Adults - Antsy Anxiety Pressure Relieving Toy Multicolor (Black&Black) : Amazon.ca: Toys & Games

Mesh marble stim toy

Amazon.com: 50 Pack Marble Mesh Fidget Toys,Sensory Stress RelieveToy,Marble and Mesh Fidgets for Adults and Children with ADHD Autism Depre

[effervescent-influenza]

(Important note: I do NOT celebrate the 4th of July and i do not like the holiday. That doesn’t change the fact that i’m forced to hear the fireworks so these tips are helpful)

To neurotypicals, fireworks are a fun way to celebrate a holiday. To autistic people, fireworks may range from bothersome fun to a painful,

(also there’s a lot more than just three tips in there, there’s just three sections)

[gettinstripsy]

Sensory Integration tips

Well i feel like shit tonight so here's some random sensory integration solutions I use that might help y'all, though some of them blend in with executive dysfunction advice too. Not all of them will work across the board- other hair textures will come with different sensory integrstion needs and solutions, but I'm sharinf these in case it helps anyone <3 also cause I cant sleep cause im sober after two very drunk nights

1. For skin that heats up uncomfortably at night, keep a jug of cold water and a spray bottle of rose water by tour bed. If moisturizer is something you can handle comfortably, keep those within arms reach at night as well. Spray your arms hands and legs w rose water, drink some cold water and put moisturizer (th closer to a gel and further from a cream the better) on your face to cool off- if you can have a fan on to blow air on you afyer this, that should also help.

2. Keep a thin headband in your purse, on your nightstand and at your desk in case your hair has gotten oily and is starting to stab your forehead and neck. Additionally, have a cut piece of ribbon or twine with bobby pins on one surface in every room in case of hair tickling emergency.

3. If your face skin is irritating you while trying to sleep, and/or you are having trouble not picking your face in bed, try and have a stock of cheap sheet masks to put on when you get in bed and leave on. It's not as good for your skin as taking it off after 20 min but its better than tearing your skin open w your nails.

4. If your skin always seems to be irritated after showering, moisturizing and getting dressed, you may want to consider taking a bath w oils and oatmeal and foregoing moisturizing to save skin irritation- once you dry off you'll still be aoft but might have better luck with irritating clothing materials.

5. Some folks w sensory problems love fluffy stuff but then we wear fluffy socks and somehow our fwvorite thing betrays us and becomes uncomfortable, clumpy, crusty etc. Consider wearing cheapo thin socks underneath your fluffy winter socks and winter slippers, so you can touch the fluff w your hands but your feet don't hate you.

6. Try and get in the habit of washing your sheets once or twice a week. It really improves sleep even for those of us who arent necessarily able to get a lot done, it's kind of a godsend.

7. If you have a hard time doing chores, maybe decide on a few songs and attach them to tasks. Like play a song while doing dishes, every time you do them, and rhen if you're having a hard time motivating yourself to do dishes, throw that song on. Its not fullproof but it helps lmao.

8. Set a time to make your bed every night, esp in the early evening. Makes you feel like you got something done and makes you feel better about going to sleep later. And once you do go to bed later everything feels comfy and even.

9. Own several different materials of blankets so that if you ever start to feel weirdly uncomfortablr on your bed, you can change blankets and see if it was the fabric irritating you. Invest in them from goodwill, a little wash and they're good as new.

10. And sometimes the best way to get sleep when sensory problems are arising is to get under the blanket, get extremely still and say "well this is as good as its gonna get, i can still sleep like this" and if you wait long enough you can often sleep even through strong discomfort. I learned that by having to sleep in an upstairs dorm that was often in the 90degree zone INDOORS lmao.

Anyway I hoped something here was useful, I'll add some more later and yall feel free to add what works for you!

[ripvanwaffles]

Autistic life hack!

Shop at thrift stores for clothes because everything is already broken in and comfy! + bonus points because it’s cheap!

[autism-resources]

Autism tip: if you are unmasking, or just wanting to stim in general some good ways to get yourself to stim are:

Get a “prompt” object such as: a pack of bubbles, a 3d changing image, something stimmy to do with your special interest (a plushie/stuffy, a figurine, etc), something that’s a good texture.

Listen to music. A special or favourite song or music from a movie/tv show you like (often there are playlists of soundtracks). This can help trigger your body’s “natural” stimming.

Read about or watch videos about a special interest. This can make you stim without realizing! Because stims are a form of emotional expression anything that induces strong emotions can make you stim!

Use a fidget/stim toy. Particularly helpful for people who like to know what to do or are wondering “how to stim”.

Watch videos of people stimming. This will help especially if you’re feeling embarrassed about stimming.

Please know that all stimming is valid and that everyone stims! So even if you feel like you aren’t stimming “right” there is no way “right”way to stim.

P.s. that feeling of stimming “wrong” probably means 1) you’re embarrassed of your stims or hiding them and/or 2) you aren’t stimming in a fulfilling way for you.