Dear friend...
I heard that you have a little super hero a bit like mine. That you dread the after school melt-downs… hope to find the right words to bring calm… and scramble to get ahead of transitions and change?
I know that feeling… when you dread even simple things like getting them in the car in the morning… when you secretly hope someone else will magically appear and take care of it today.
I have spoken to SO many of you over the last few years… and I want you to know that I hear you… and I am here with you… and you are doing an amazing job!
If we sat down for a coffee together, I would happily admit that my special little Chloe… with all her beautiful quirks… is a big time MOVEMENT SEEKER… and a SQUISH SEEKER.
She will always be upside down, running around, swinging off the pantry cupboard doors, jumping on a bed, or from my bed to my bedroom chair and back again… over . and . over . and . over!!! I would tell you that the biggest game changer was getting to know what her brain needed to feel “just right”, and making sure she had the equipment at home available so she can do ALL the things in a SAFE WAY, but more importantly in a way where she wasn’t getting into trouble constantly!
I would tell you that I gradually started enjoying the little wins, and as we went along our journey I was able to trial-and-error my way through SO many resources (with the help of some amazing therapists) and a HEAP of reading, in-person workshops and product research.
One of the first things we added to Chloe's home environment was a crash bag. I designed it myself as I wanted something uniquely perfect for Chloe, and I couldn't find anything similar in my online search within Australia. I now ship them Australia-wide to families just like mine, and they all say what I already knew... a crash bag can be a LIFE CHANGER!!!
A crash bag is ideal for a movement zone in your home or covered outdoor area, and popular for schools, day care centres and therapy clinics. They provide a fun way for little super heroes to get their heavy work and deep pressure input needs met. They can be used for crashing into, rolling across, laying between two layers, or simply relaxing.
So if your little one is constantly on the move, like our Chloe, or they need to crash into you or your furniture a lot, or they're always flipping upside down... they may be needing MORE movement input than others in order to feel "just right" and need a safe place to do this.
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Hi Jenna
PLEASE HELP! My 6-year-old Autistic & ADHD daughter has a lot of meltdowns and violent outbursts. She struggles with transitions between activities at home and school, getting in and out of the car, and staying seated long enough to eat food or do something quiet like reading, painting, or settling for bed.
I’ve had a few people mention that a small weighted blanket might be something to get for her. Can you tell me more about it and how it might help?
I’ll never forget those early days of Occupational Therapy with our strong movement seeking daughter Chloe. I loved going into the sessions with her, trying to remain quiet and just observe (this was tricky at times due to my ADHD… lol).
I loved watching and listening to her OT Deb as she helped Chloe explore her sensory systems and explain why she loves certain things, like why heavy weighted blankets make her brain feel safe.
For my daughter the school environment can be very noisy and overloading at times. As she has auditory hypersensitivity, wet weather lunches and events (like sports days, incursions, and assemblies) can easily put her into auditory overload.
'Auditory Overload' is when the brain becomes so overwhelmed by the amount of sound information it needs to process, that it cannot focus on other things it's supposed to be doing, cannot predict what will happen next because it cannot process the sensory info for the moment), so therefore cannot keep us safe, and if it stays there long enough pops us automatically into a 'fight flight freeze' response which can look like anxiety, shallow breathing, grumpiness, faster heart rate, trouble completing a task already started, trouble remembering the steps of doing a simple task, and needing to leave the room quickly etc.
