Sound-blocking headphones
As someone who goes completely nuts if I hear more than a second of static and has been known to become enraged if a family member stirs a cup of coffee too vigorously or too long, I have sympathy for sensitive ears.
We discovered quite by accident that a pair of ear-protecting, sound-blocking headphones, like those you can pick up at any hardware store, can be lifesavers.
Quinn wears them when I vacuum of if I’m outside mowing the lawn.
She wears them to the movie theater, although she takes them off once she has acclimated to the dark and the picture – usually about 30 minutes into the movie.
She wears them if we go to the grocery store or to Wal-Mart. And, frankly, I would like to wear them when we go to Wal-Mart.
Not only does it do the work of protecting her from being over-stimulated, it gives her a chance to be proactive in her coping. If I say, “I’m going to vacuum” or “We’re going to the grocery store” she says, “I can get my headphones.” She feels like she has a little control over the situation, and she can take the steps to cope by herself.
They don’t have to be anything elaborate – or expensive. Depending on your kid’s sensitivity, you don’t have to cancel the noise, you just have to tone it down. Hardware stores carry them and Amazon has a few choices for under $20.
We have a generic orange pair from the hardware store, and a pair that says “Winchester,” for times when we want to look tough.
“Talking Hands” DVD – Consumervision
“Talking Hands” gives a great variety of signs with interesting scenes of social interaction, contextual narration and not a lot of creepy eye contact.
We like the Baby Einstein sign language DVDs. They are colorful and fun and they are good for teaching nouns.
But “Talking Hands” uses the signs in context, shows families interacting, and verbally describes what is happening in the scenes while showing the signs.
It also goes beyond simple nouns and shows signs for “please” and “thank you,” “stop” and “go,” “help,” “love” and other useful, everyday words.
Some of the kids who demonstrate the signs look directly into the camera, but most of the demonstrations are done in a three-quarter view, so kids who are freaked out by people looking at them can be at ease.
I saw signing that way for Quinn. Dividing her brain’s busy-ness between the hands and the speech seemed to allow her to focus. “Flower” with the sign the second time around was every bit as exciting as her first word – “ball” – more than a year earlier.
(Also, the different signs for happy, scared and excited are all a lot like hand flapping. When those hands start flapping, you can redirect. “Are you so happy! Are you excited!” I like the idea of short-circuiting those compulsive actions from the outside.)
Share your favorite products! Books, DVDs, toys, the kitchen utensil that saved your life…I’ll put them on this page.
talksmall@talksmallforkids.com
