Hey everyone! Last week I was interviewed by the lovely Thomas from @aspergersgrowth on his podcast ‘Thoughty Auti’.
It went live last Saturday so go check it out! It’s everywhere you’d normally listen to podcasts and also on his YouTube channel too! Was such a nice chat and we talked all things sensory and autism related. Let me know what you think 💭
Links to the podcast:
Or search ‘Thoughty Auti’ wherever you usually listen to podcasts!
Aspergers Growth / Thomas’s links:
So I received this super awesome ‘lil zine in the post from the super lovely Megan Rhiannon’s Etsy shop this week! It’s intricate illustrations are beautiful and give a little insight into ‘Some autistic feels’. Have a little click through the slideshow of images above which give a little sneak peek of some of the pages!
Follow Megan here: Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Etsy UK Shop
Some of my own autistic feels:
So there are some of my own autistic feels – let me know what little things you use everyday to self-soothe or distract yourself in the comments below…
Why on earth am I writing a blog post about a Fluorescent jacket I hear you ask…just bear with me and read on:
Picture the scene: I am working away at my desk and at around 9.05am one of the company directors get into work. All normal and well so far. He then proceeds to hang up his fluorescent bike jacket on the hook by his desk. Now this jacket is visually brighter than the sun to a sensory being like me…(I realise this sounds utterly ridiculous but stick with me).
This jacket is in view just behind my laptop screen and is immediately screaming at me visually. It is so loud almost like a noise to me and is instantly distracting and grates on my mood.
I think back sometimes on how I feel when things like this affect me. They seem so big at the time and engulf me, taking up all my thoughts and feelings. How crazy is that? A bright neon jacket can affect me that much! In hindsight it’s a teeny tiny small insignificant part of my life – it affects me but I learn to cope and move on (through distracting myself and repositioning to face away from the indoor sun…!)
How do you feel about bright coloured objects, clothing and environments? Comment below with any stories and coping mechanisms!
And for more of my ramblings why not check out my podcasts? Links below!
Firstly I just want to say a big thank you to the lovely Bec for nominating me. I would definitely recommend popping on over to her blog here. Her blog focuses on anxiety/mental health and she shares some amazing thoughts and ideas on it!
This award was started by Okoto Enigma on her blog, it’s an award “for amazing bloggers with ingenious posts.” Click the link to the blog for details!
Here are the rules of this award:
Okay here goes…3 things about me:
If you could have the perfect 3 course meal, what would it be?
Ooooh. Okay erm…I’d say dough balls and garlic butter for starter (I love bland meals!) Veggie Spaghetti Bolognese for main meal and then definitely some form of ice cream for pudding!
What’s your biggest fear?
Now this is a tricky one. At the moment my biggest fear is socialising with people and loud noises! I am more then happy with great heights, rollercoasters, bugs, etc!
What would you say is your best characteristic?
Hmm. I love helping people out and problem solving things for people so I would say hopefully my best characteristic is being helpful 🙂
If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?
I love anywhere by the sea so I’d either say maybe somewhere in Devon or Cornwall or even somewhere on the coast in Italy!
How are you today? (Strange question, but I want to know how you’re doing)
I think I’m okay today. I’m also excited because it’s Friday tomorrow which means the weekend and less work stress!
Okay here are my 10 nominations:
And my 5 questions for the nominees to answer:
Lastly my five favourite blog posts I have written:
So you may have heard my recent check in via the app Anchor (if you haven’t it’s a podcasting app for mobile – I’m going to be doing more recording of my sensory experiences and advice on it, scroll down my blog for the post I did!) anyway on my latest podcast I mentioned that I was going to be doing a book review soon on my blog and I mentioned how I think it might be helpful for others to read too!
So as you’ve probably seen by the heading (and the shiny image above) the book is called ‘Almost Adulting’ and it’s by a super lovely lady called Arden Rose. She is an Actress, Producer, Comedian, YouTuber and now a published author as well!
So Arden’s book centres around how to survive your future adulthood. This is written in the form of journal-like-sections relating to different topics such as:
Arden documents her own struggle with OCD in the form of trichotillomania. Trich is defined as having a compulsive need to pick out or pull out your hair. At the age of 13 Arden realised that after pulling out all her eyelashes and eyebrows she was struggling with Trich and needed help. It became a habit for her in times of stress and she started as a freshman at high school with carefully drawn eyebrows and a cover-up coat of eyeliner. I won’t mention anymore because the book explains it much better than I ever could but the way she copes and distracts herself with other mechanisms definitely makes this book a worthwhile read.
I really do recommend it especially to teenagers as it does give you a heads up of things to come later on in life but even as a 23-year-old I found it useful (I don’t feel like I’m an adult yet but all the little adult things I find myself doing add up I guess.)
The book involves a real mix of essay-like chapters, great advice in the form of motivational lists and also features a lot of quirky illustrations. Arden writes in a very open and honest way which is enlightening but also put me at ease – it’s hard to do adult things all the time!
After reading this book I felt kind of more content because it occurred to me that adulthood creeps up on us all. And nobody knows what on earth to do in the start. It’s all about practice and challenging yourself to go out into the big wide world (and trying to keep up with all the bills, chores and socialising at the same time!).
Image credit: Carolyn Suzuki (whose awesome illustrations are on the cover!)
Today I visited a Japanese Zen Garden and thought I would document my experience there! It was a very quiet and calming place with lots of bamboo, wildflowers, wooden decking, carved benches and waterfalls.
There was a huge zen garden with tiny pebbles that could be raked into different patterns and a viewing deck to look out from. Large wind chimes kept blowing in the breeze and being shaken gently by visitors as they went past them. There was a smooth lake with huge Koi Carp fishes swimming just beneath the surface (although they seemed to like to hide under the bridge!)
Overall it was a super peaceful and calming experience and I could have quite happily have sat in the garden for a while longer if it hadn’t been raining a lot on and off here!
Where is your nearest calm spot to walk or sit in? Is it your own garden? A public play area, field, garden centre, allotment, beach, etc? Comment below with the place or space that brings you the most calm. Also feel free to comment below any questions you might have for my up and coming Sensory Q&A blog post – thanks!
Filmed using an iPhone 6S and edited using Instagram Stories: 📸 @21andsensory
I was lucky enough to go on a little adventure a few weekends ago to the Isle of Wight (UK). It’s a lovely little island with loads to see and do – so much so I already want to go back and explore more!
Whilst I was there I went to an AWESOME water show called Waltzing Waters which I thought I would do a little review about.
Here is some more information:
“The world’s most elaborate water, light and music production. “It’s like nothing you’ve ever seen before”…a triumph of artistry and engineering. Visitors are overwhelmed by thousands of dazzling patterns of moving water synchronised with music in spectacular fashion.”
Anyways: it was SPECTACULAR. So kind of think of it as awesome music throughout the ages coordinated to a water display. There were hundreds of nozzles spraying ridiculously high-powered jets of water so high and then falling and twirling into phenomenal shapes.
I know these sorts of water shows can be quite popular at resorts in America and especially in places like Dubai in shopping centres and public places. Somehow I had never really come across one before and because this show was based on the Isle of Wight only a handful of people turn up to each set time – which was fab as no crowds and lots of seating to choose from!
I just wanted to do a little write up to almost sort of say as a sensory being how lovely I found the whole show and that I really recommend seeing a show whether you have sensory problems or not 😊
One of my next blog posts will be a Q&A on all things sensory! Feel free to comment below with any questions you might have – tweet me or comment on my Instagram!
So I thought (seeing as I watch a lot of videos and tutorials on Youtube) it might be quite good to put together a list of helpful videos / YouTube channels to share on my blog…
Megan Rhiannon: Megan is a 19 year old Autistic girl who makes fab Youtube videos and autism talks on her channel. Be sure to follow her for great tips and advice.
Routines can often leave us feeling bored and uninspired. Sonia is a brilliant YouTuber and artist who explores the importance of Escape as part of the creative process. Cheer up after a bad day or week with some of Sonia’s suggestions!
Lucy Moon is a fab YouTuber who openly discusses her battles with anxiety and mental health. She does a lot of chatty videos as well as vlogs and provides some great advice.
Becky (presenting the videos) is the founder of Sensory Spectacle. Sensory Spectacle share lots of information on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and also provide experiential learning environments which can be used in workshops, at events, etc. Becky also is invited to speak at conferences about sensory processing difficulties and the experiential work she is doing.
This video is part of a ‘Homelife’ series is a short video each week sharing information about why we might see some of these characteristics in people with sensory processing difficulties.
Conan Grey is a young creative and Youtuber. In this video he discusses how to deal with mood swings, anxiety and being able to relax (as well as get on with your day) no matter how you are feeling.
Amelia and Grace Mandeville are two sisters who enjoy making Youtube videos about their daily lives, experiences and even film the odd comedy sketch too! This video discusses how to survive school and some top tips.
Charlotte is a lovely YouTuber and also a fashion promotion student and intern, occasional blogger and veggie enthusiast! This is a great video describing her first year at uni. She discusses a range of topics including loneliness, excessive working and anxiety.
ASMR / Relaxation videos: I can’t not mention them! If you search on Youtube for ASMR videos (and google their definition) they are some of the most relaxing videos out there!
So there you have it – 8 brilliant YouTube channels which I have found super helpful – let me know of anyone I should be following and that I can add to my list!
I received a super interesting email about a research study into Sensory Processing Disorder from a lovely lady called Stephanie. Stephanie is an Assistant Professor in Sociology at Indiana University Kokom in the USA. Have a little read of the info below and contact her to participate in the study!
Are you a parent or caregiver of a child with diagnosed or suspected sensory processing disorder or “sensory issues”? Do you write about sensory processing disorder on public websites (e.g, The Mighty, Scary Mommy, Huffington Post, Mommyish, Babble, Baby Center Blog), your personal blog, or on social media?
If so, I would like to invite you to participate in a research study on talking about sensory processing disorder conducted by Stephanie Medley-Rath, a sociologist at Indiana University Kokomo. You are invited to complete a survey and participate in a private, online focus group on Facebook. This research explores how people make the invisible visible. In particular, I aim to learn how parents, caregivers, and individuals disclose invisible conditions (i.e., sensory processing disorder) in various settings.
I intend to have participants describe how they make their child’s invisible condition visible to their child’s teachers, doctors, parents of friends, neighbors, other family, among others. The purpose of this study is to examine the content (i.e., what) and the process (i.e., how) of narratives about sensory processing disorder.
If you would like to participate, please contact Stephanie Medley-Rath at smedleyr@iuk.edu. I will then send you an email with more details about your participation, an attachment of the informed consent document for your review, and a link to the survey to begin your participation. Thank you!
Stephanie Medley-Rath, Assistant Professor – Sociology.
Disclaimer: I have popped this research study up on my blog as I feel like its something interesting and potentially useful to anyone reading up or living with SPD too – I have not been paid or sponsored in any way.
I have managed to finish the book ‘Baking for Dave’ (see my previous blog post – I’m known for my slow reading and slow processing speed so apologises for the wait!) so here is my book review…
Okay so firstly let me give you a little background in terms of the characters and storyline. The book is centred around a young girl called Iris Heller. Iris is 15 years old and has Sensory Processing Disorder. She finds it hard to cope with the outside world and becomes easily overwhelmed by lots of things such as loud noises, new places, meeting people, ordering at restaurants and changes in the weather.
Iris has coping mechanisms she uses in these situations such as humming, beatboxing, and making musical contraptions out of items around her. Iris lives with her mum Maisy but the book focuses on her quest to compete in a national bake-off contest. It’s the getting there that proves challenging though…
I don’t want to spoil the book incase you’d like to read it but below is a brief story description of the book taken from Amazon:
Iris Heller runs away to compete in a national bake-off contest. In order to get there, she “borrows” her mum’s car, travels through several states, and does the most terrifying thing of all — interacts with actual people! Iris has never been like other girls, but she’s not about to start letting that get in the way.
Iris has this profound fascination for the musician Dave Matthews, and she feels a compelling need to compete in the bake-off for Dave. It is this talent that gets noticed at several road stops along the way, which leads to her inevitable “gone viral” glory. At a donut shop, Iris sings like an angel. At a coffee shop, she plays a symphony using cups and the soda fountain. At a restaurant, she builds a glorious musical fountain out of dishes and pans.
Iris’ mum (Maisy) and her best friend Eric set out to find Iris. All lives converge at Happy World, the Disney-esque paradise, where the bake-off takes place…
This book is absolutely ideal for anybody to read whether you have or know somebody with Sensory Processing Disorder or not! Also brilliant if you know someone who is a little bit sensory or autistic so I highly recommend to parents, carers, guardians, teachers, therapists and everyone in between.
I will be honest and say that I found it hard to read sometimes because of the sensory things mentioned so I stuck to reading it in small chunks and often. Iris tackles the most terrifying thing of all – interacting with new people along her journey. What I love about Iris is that although she is not like other girls, she doesn’t once let her sensory problems get in the way of her ambitions. Her family, friends and even new people she meets along her journey do their very best to try and accommodate her quirks and understand her more deeply which really was refreshing to read.
I was worried about how the book would end (what can I say, I hate a sad or happy ending I get emotional either way!) but this book surprised me by ending (no spoilers promise) in just the right way and it tied everything together nicely.
So what did I think overall? I saw so much of myself in Iris’s character. The way she struggles with new environments and forgets to breathe is a bit like me too! I learnt a lot from the main character actually, she comes across as the most genuine kind-hearted girl who brings the best out of the world and situations around her without knowing it. Despite the fact her life has been one of isolation and misunderstanding, she really does find out just how much she is loved in the end – definitely worth a read!
Buy a copy of the book in the UK here and in the US here
Note: I was given this review copy of the book free (which was super kind) but everything I have written really is my honest opinion ☺️
21andsensory 