Hi
I did a search on this post under "irrational fears" but didn't quite find a
match for my son's (3yrs PDD NOS) behaviour for the last couple of days:
First I need to point out that my son has so far not shown any sensitivities
to loud noises in general (he loves wailing sirens, loud rumbling subway
trains, and even obnoxius car alarms), no evident fear of the dark (doesn't
sleep w/ night light) or any objects in particular.
Anyway starting 2 days ago he started to stare at a particular space in our
apartment, namely, the archway above our hallway which leads from the
kitchen to the dining room. His expression when he does this is straight
out of the movie "The Sixth Sense" when the little boy is seeing ghosts
that other people can't see. Now he won't go near the hallway and won't
sit at the dining table to eat because it is near the archway. As a matter of
fact he's been practically glued to the living room couch when he's not
playing (to avoid looking at the archway)
The only thing unusual I can think about the archway is that the smoke
alarm is there and it went off accidentally about a week ago when
drippings from the oven fell off the pan and smoked up the kitchen.
At the time I was frantically trying to turn the alarm off (w/ a wet towel)
and I noticed that he had curled up on the couch w/ a dazed look.
However the first few days immediately after that incident he was totally
fine with the archway.
Is this some sort of delayed response to the "trauma" of the smoke
alarm?
I am at a loss! How can I help him get over this new phobia? (He has not
been able to verbalize the fear, doesn't know the word 'scared' or 'afraid')
Thanks for listening
It could be a little bit of fear and sensory.
I don't think it's uncommon for kids to have over and under sensitivity at the same time.
Mason loves loud music, sirens and lots of other loud sounds, but at the same time he covers his ears when we go into a store or even at home, when we are just sitting here talking.
Maybe if it is fear, you could move the smoke alarm to another spot and see if that helps??
I'm almost certain it's the smoke alarm. When I was about 2-4 years old, I acquired a phobia of hand dryers. I once was in the restroom with my grandma and a hand dryer made a funny sound and stopped working and from then on, I wouldn't go NEAR a public restroom and would send mom in ahead of me to check for the dreaded hand dryers. When things happen unexpectedly, especially if they involve loud or strange noises, it can have a long-lasting effect on ASD people. I also went through a period of being afraid of telephones and vacuums...I wonder how common it is to be afraid of electronics/appliances? Anyway, I can relate to what your son is going through.
The phobia may worsen with time or may go away altogether, there's just no way of knowing. Most of my irrational fears went away with time and socialization. Also, sound sensitivity in ASD people can be weird and random--for instance, I can listen to blaring rap music for hours but am very bothered by loud, unexpected sounds like the phone ringing or someone yelling/screaming. I hope you find a solution to the problem...if you have any further questions, feel free to Private Message me. Good luck!
My son looks at our smoke detecters because there is a light on it. There is one in every bedroom, and he turns the lights on and off to look at them. He probably just didn;t notice it until it went off. I wouldn't worry too much about it.Sure -- why not? On the delayed reaction.
Tuhina has no time sense, regarding her memories. A year ago is the same as this morning or two minutes ago, for her recall. I am really aware of this this summer -- and she is just now starting to apply concepts that she was "supposed to" be learning in school, TWO MONTHS after school let out! While she is in non-academic summer camp ... a FASCINATING development.
Well folks, it is definitely the smoke detector- yesterday while I was atI'd say it's very likely that the fire alarm incident triggered it. Here are my thoughts:
- the high pitched noise has a very different frequency than the other loud noises you mentioned. While he can handle loud noises, he may not be able to handle high-pitched noises. You might want to consider switching to a smoke alarm that you can record your voice on. They say that kids are more likely to wake up to a voice alarm and know what to do.
- smoke alarms usually have a little red light that blinks every once in awhile. He may have discovered that light a couple days after the incident, and is wondering if the light blinking will be followed by that awful sound he heard.
- your frantic reaction to the alarm might have made him feel uneasy. You can read more about this on Stickboy's topic on phobias, here's the link:
http://www.autism-pdd.net/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=18152&am p;KW=phobias
Good luck with everything.
I agree, smoke alarm. My daughter has a gap of time on occassion from the fear inducing experience to an actual response. Sometimes it may be weeks and I'll have to wrack my brain trying to figure out what's going on.Probably the smoke alarm. My son is very sensitive to other people's responses to things. It really freaks him out if WE act out of the ordinary. I would move it and not say anything about it. My son became afraid of a cross on his wall and wouldn't sleep in his bed for weeks afterward when he was 3. The weird thing was he loved the cross for a few weeks and would ritualistically touch it every time he went in his room. Then all of a sudden he refused to sleep in his bed near it and would sleep on the floor by his closet or by his door. We put the cross away in my drawer and he was less afraid but still wouldn't sleep in bed. We moved his bed to the spot he was sleeping in on the floor and it was like magic. No more problems since and we put the cross back 6 months later with no problem and moved his bed aftter that with no problem. Maybe move the smoke alarm and see what happens. Also, maybe talk to him about what happened and why you were trying to turn it off etc.