As a special needs teacher I thought I would share some information dealing with the sensory issues of my students. As with many children with Autism they may be highly sensitive to smells and in my class of 9, over half of my students craved extra stimulation through smell. My students would smell inappropriate objects (toys, bowel movements, others clothes, hair) and would become fixated on the smell. I came up with necklaces and pins (brooches) that I would scent. The students would wear the scented pins and necklaces and were attracted to the scent of their necklace or pin and not a smell from an inappropriate source. I had interest from parents and Occupational Therapist so I started a website, www.morristoadconstructibles.com . Please take a look if you have an interest in redirecting an inappropriate smelling behavior into an appropriate one. Thanks!
My son loves the smell of crayons. My daughter does not like people who smell a certain way. She'll say , ew dirty out load in public over and overThe book "Raising A Sensory Smart Child" discusses a sensory diet for smell input. They do point out that certain smells can either stimulate, calm or send a sensitive child into sensory overload. Lavender, vanilla and rose are generally calming. Peppermint and lemon are usually invigorating. They recommend using things like soaps, bath oils, lotions, or oils in a aromatherapy machine. They also recommend carrying your child's favorite scent with you to use if needed.
This is a brief segment in the book. To me it sounded like they were talking about having the scent in the environment of the child, not that the child was actually sniffing the soap or scented oil directly.
spectrummum - I understand your points. Unfortunately, my youngest would probably take the jewelry apart, or use it in a way it wasn't intended for.
Tracy James - Does the jewelry simply introduce an appropriate scent into the child's immediate environment that fulfills their sensory needs?
This wouldn't work for B either. He would freak out for one...hates his neck to be touched. Secondly he'd probably try to eat it. He mouths everything he smells. Maybe it would work for some...but I don't see it for my son.hi i have four on the spectrum and have as myself
not all smells will work well some will go the other way
and i challange anyone in the world to get a necklace round my auties necks or stick something to them the would rip them off immediatlty
and really it is not a good idea because all these smells could become an addiction to these kids what then
do they abuse it like solvent abuse
no im sorry i would not try this with any of my children
or recommend it to any of my parents on my group
my apologies is offence is caused
shell
Thanks, Karrie! I really do love my job and the kids I work with. It can be a very hard job and I have a LITTLE taste of what parents of a special needs child may go through and the KUDOS goes to the parents!I've been trying to think of a way to modify this for my son...and short of sewing something on his clothes...I can't see it working. He would pick at a pin on his shirt all day. Maybe aromatherapy pullups lol...that might work for him.Rhosyn - If you go to the link, they have small, scented stuffed animals. Would he go for something like that?With all the different therapies (ABA, Floortime etc.) nothing works for all children. You have to find a scent that they like and for children where the necklaces didn't work you can pin the pins on the shirts and then put the shirt/bibb on the child. I can say that as a teacher I deal with lots of special needs children AND their parents. A lot of parents are desperate to try and make it easier to take their children places and include them in activities without their child having a breakdown or in some cases stick their hand down their dirty diaper to enjoy the smell. Giving these children something appropriate to smell, does work in forming appropriate behaviors. Let's face it, we go through all these therapies so that our kids can have more appropriate behaviors! If pins and necklaces don't work, you can always find a scent they do like and spray it on their clothes. If you have a child that sticks everything in his/her mouth make sure the scent is non-toxic. Small drops of candy flavoring may work. Also, careful of peppermint scent if your child is prone to seizures. I hope this helps!
Thanks for the tips! I do think the jewelry is very cute and could work well for the right child.To WIMomOf2
Aromatherapy does work well to introduce the smell into the environment, but because the aromatherapy machines are not yet portable it is nice to be able to have the scent with you in the form of a pin or necklace. The necklaces and pins are made out of soft felt and the necklace itself is not easily dismantled. The students don't wear them all of the time. Just like the pressure or weighted vest, it's a tool used for calming (the lavender/vanilla scent) or to redirect inapproriate smelling of people or objects. But truly, I'm sharing an idea that works for my students, if you like the idea you may need to tweak it to work for your child.
Tracy,
I think it's just wonderful that you have come up with a product that you have used, and know works with some of our children. BRAVO to you!! Are you still teaching special needs?? I would imagine that all of your parents are just thrilled to have someone as caring and problem solving as are you. Throwing lots of kudos your way. Thanks for the website.
Karrie
By chance, I happened to run across a social story involving inappropriate smelling today. Here's the link, if anyone's interested. It even has pictures.