[Donald North]

I recommend some Peltor earmuff hearing protectors. They reduce sound but not block it out 100%. They're comfortable, available in youth sizes, and will last a long time. Price is around $20. Some are available in different colors (search the internet), allowing you to find one in your student's favorite color.

 

[steaxauce]

I was going to say, if he can tolerate them cheap foam earplugs seem like the easiest solution. You can buy them in the drug section at a grocery store. I wasn't aware of the custom ones--those seem nice. If you're really wanting extreme isolation, he can wear ear muffs over earplugs.

 

[Tiemen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kb1gra /img/forum/go_quote.gif the pure silence induced by wearing hearing protection may not help. "The sound of silence" may not be tolerable for him either. The unfortunate situation of dealing with autistic children is that there is often no easy solution. You take away the chewing pencil but introduce the headphone issue. Not being able to hear people may be as intolerable to him as hearing them. What do the child's parents have to say on this one? they may have some clever solution and not realize it might be adapted to the school environment.

Being an autist myself, the "sound of silence" or the sound of good music are one of the things that calms me. And no, I don't have to hear people, the lesser the better.
You are right about the headphone issue, those things on the head can be annoying.
I think this child is too tensed and focussed on surrounding noises. That's why all kinds of sound irritates him. Take away some tension is the way to go IMO. Easier said than done...
Giving 'silence breaks' with headphones will probably help, but if possible it's best he chooses the phone that suits him best for comfort.
When I'm at work (office job) and the surrounding noises like a radio are starting to become too loud, I'll put earplugs in my ears that blocks out everything, or I'll put on closed headphones, listening to pink noise I have on a little MP3 player.
But my two autistic sons can't stand the sound of pink/white noise.
My youngest son (12 year) comes home often with a headache because it was too lively and busy in his class. There's not much that can be done about that.

 

[komi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by always learning /img/forum/go_quote.gif I am a public school teacher near Seattle who needs your help. I have an autistic 5th grade student, 10 years old, who gets very disturbed by the sounds around him. Chewing, pencils being sharpened, notebooks opening, pages being turned, stirrings of movement set him off- he experiences these gentle, relatively low volume sounds subjectively as explosive and disruptive. His coping skills are different than yours & mine based on who he is. I'm looking for inexpensive noise cancelling headphones which will isolate & calm him in a more silent world when he's disturbed. I will have to buy them from my own pocket to help him, so I'm hoping you have inexpensive recommendations (unless someone wants to generously donate a pair of isolating, noise reducing headphones to a good cause) Which reasonably priced, closed ear headphone will isolate this young man into a more silent world? He and I appreciate your suggestions & help.

You are looking for advice on wrong place ...

You should get advice from occupational therapist specialized to work with kids AKA Pediatric Occupationa Therapist ...

You should be really carefull with this kid ... Something what looks really good to us, can be disturbing to him ...

My wife is a occupational therapist - now program manager in EDIS - Educational & Developmental Intervention Services in US army Military base in Germany ... Educational & Developmental Intervention Services


Gonna ask het tonight about this particular problem and send you PM ....

 

[Omega17TheTrue]

Have you try putting a low volume relaxing music in the background with a cheap boombox-like ? Should worth a try.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IPodPJ /img/forum/go_quote.gif I doubt the young student (not his son) would be content with things in his ears all the time.

Oops. And I'm not happy with things in my ears all the time, either.

What about a regular noise protection headset, like what you use when shooting guns or running a tablesaw?

 

[komi]

Hi, Komi's wife here. I work as an occupational therapist with developmentally-delayed children. I think involving the parents is a good place to start--they know their child best and perhaps have ideas that have worked in the past. Each person with autism I've worked with has been differently affected, so it makes it difficult to have specific answers, but you're on the right track by thinking outside the box. If the boy is at least somewhat verbal, don't forget to ask HIM what he wants to try...headphones, ear muffs, ear protection...and introduce things slowly, letting him get used to the different sensations they all provide (and avoid). What about something the whole class may benefit from, such as a white noise machine (near the student?) which might drown out the typical classroom noises but allow him to hear the important ones. Just thinking...if I come up with any other suggestions, I'll post again. Enjoy your class--it's a great age!

 

[ecclesand]

My nine year old son is high functioning autistic. He has extreme sensory integration issues. Certain noises...regardless of volume...completely set him off. We have learned many of these sounds and avoid them. When we go somewhere that he may encounter these noises we always take earplugs with us. These are the soft silicone plugs that can be inserted into the ear much like an IEM. If you want to play music as a distraction to the noises (my son really calms down with Lenny Kravitz....I know...weird), you may want to look into some canalbuds. We tried circumaural (over the ear) and supra-aural (on the ear) headphones and he hated all of them. We experimented with earbuds and canalbuds and found that he likes the JVC Marshmallows. They are soft and very comfortable when inserted into the ear and they are very inexpensive.

Good luck and kudos to you for trying to help this boy! You are a credit to your profession!

 

[chud]

i don't know what route the OP is going to go with, but Amazon has the Etymotic earplugs on sale for $6 to $7.50 depending on the model.

Amazon.com: ETYMOTIC RESEARCH ER20BP High Fidelity Ear Plugs ( Clear ): Electronics

 

[jvlgato]

Agree that you can't decide on your own that headphones, ear plugs or anything would help. If he is formally diagnosed with autism, then you need to inform the parents that his autism is preventing him from adequately attending to your class. It is common in autism to be less able to tune out recurring stimuli which most of us can simply ignore after a short period of time. I think all public schools are obligated to provide reasonable assistance and accomodation for children with special needs. Your principal or school nurse/health professional in conjuction with the child's doctor should be able to provide appropriate referrals to the proper professional.

 

[Nigel79]

Here is what you need I think. Adjustable volume electronic ear muffs. I use them at the shooting range. Electronic Hearing Ear Protection Muffs Tactical Muff + - eBay (item 250490626047 end time Sep-29-09 10:48:37 PDT)

 

[Cianyx]

Maybe try giving some etymotic earplugs. Downside is that you're gonna have one hell of a time trying to get him to listen to you

 

[always learning]

To those with helpful thoughts, suggestions and ideas. Thank you.

To those "contributors" who hikjacked my request for help and took it in your own direction: in the future, why don't you start your own thread or find a different thread to discuss your own topics? There's room for all on the net. You've forced me to tune out of this unpleasant thread now.

 

[dugforeva]

why not just get some ear plugs?

 

[kwkarth]

I've attempted to remove some of the off topic clutter from this thread. Let's try to keep it clean and focused.
Thanks
k