Once in a while, you come across a thing in life that you didn’t know was a real thing until you met someone who had that thing. Not that you scoffed at that thing, you just weren’t even aware that thing existed. Sensory Processing Disorder is one of those things.
The completion of even life’s most mundane tasks requires all five senses and their ability to communicate with your brain in a way that produces appropriate responses. If you touch a hot stove, the heat on your fingers travels through the nervous system to the brain which sends back to the hand the impulse to pull the hand away from the heat. The brain also sends the impulse to your mouth to speak “French”.
Sensory Processing problems happen when sensory inputs get log-jammed somewhere in the nervous system, prohibiting an appropriate response. Many children with Autism either under-respond to stimulus (their hand could be on fire and they wouldn’t know it) or over-respond (a slight change in temperature is literally painful). The inability to appropriately respond to stimulus makes things like balance, physical touch, eating certain tastes and textures, and general performance of simple tasks rather difficult.
Like many other kids on the spectrum, Matthew over-responds in some areas and under-responds in others. Sounds are things that he can be sensitive to. If we’re in a crowded place with a lot of hustle and bustle, the noise can be literally painful. Lights don't usually cause him trouble, but a combination of lights and sounds can cause a meltdown of biblical proportions. The display of expensive watches at the jewelry counter of a department store has been saved more than once thanks to noise-canceling headphones. That and a quiet room with the Berenstain Bears is usually enough to bring him peace and tranquility.
On the other side, Matthew under-responds to touch and taste. For some, just a gentle pat on the back can be painful. By contrast, Matthew loves a good hug. If he is really weepy for no good reason, a good squeezie squeezie is enough to recalibrate his system. In fact, there have been several times when at small gatherings Matthew continually circled the living room and gave hugs to everyone again and again and again and... . If you are sad and in need of a warm embrace, Matt is your man.
Small wonder, then, that his favorite clothes are his Under Armour. They are meant to be a little constricting anyway, and when you consider that what he calls his “tight shirts” are two sizes too small, it’s like getting a perpetual hug.
But by far, his favorite method of sensory input is spicy food. Taste seems to be a sense that he under-responds to, and we can somewhat realign his taste buds with a little kick. Matthew single-handedly got his brother to eat our salsa for the first time. Nathan didn’t even want to try it because it had jalapeños in it. When I offered it to Matthew, and he had three helpings, Nathan couldn’t be one-upped by his little brother; So he had a whole bowl full, even though he didn’t want to, only to show he was as tough as Matt. Since then, Nathan is no longer interested in proving a point.
More than loving pancakes, Matthew loves hot sauce. Frank’s Red Hot’s motto is “I put that (splat) on everything” and Matthew does. Eggs, Mac ‘n Cheese, toast, chicken, fish, hot cocoa, waffles, pizza, corn on the cob, salsa ... you name it. Nothing is off limits when it comes to hot sauce (except pancakes). We even used to feed it to him by the spoonful At His Request.
The point of all this is, for a child with Autism, or someone who has Sensory Processing Disorder, they may over-respond to some stimulus and under-respond to others. So if you know an Autistic kid, do not, under any circumstances, give him or her a hug, high-five, or pat on the back until you know for certain they do not over-respond to touch. If you see Matt-Man, the only thing you can do for him that will be better than giving him a big squeezie-squeezie is if you give him food and put a little splat on it.
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| Matt Man wearing his favorite shirt |
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