Being autistic and knowing how to give comfort to each sense can be a minefield. In this blog, I’m going to break down each sense and what you can do to look after yourselves.
Sense 1: Touch
The advice for touch differs depending on whether you seek or avoid certain fabrics. If you seek out certain fabrics, it might be a good idea to have a self-care bag with you that has items with those fabrics. It might be you have a fluffy toy, a scarf or a bit of fabric you could just play with that helps to relax you when stressed. Finding what gives you comfort is really important to help alleviate any stress you may be under. Weighted blankets are also a great comfort if you seek out weighty things.
If you’re an aversion type on touch, this may be more of a decision on your outfit. From personal experience not being able to cope with a certain texture of clothes, it comes down to clothes shopping. If I like the look of something, I’ll feel the fabric the item is made from. Is it scratchy where buttons or details are on the inside? Is there something attached to it or sewn in that has a sharp point? I try and choose cotton-like fabrics or really fluffy things. It needs to be your choice on what you can cope with. Don’t overload yourself just because the clothing has something you love printed or sewn onto it if the fabric isn’t right.
Sense 2: Smell
Smell is a bit of an interesting one to try and give comfort to. If you know what smells you like, this may help you further down the line. Annoyingly, a lot of clothes washing products advertise they have a smell lasting for somewhere like twelve weeks. As I can’t cope with that amount of smell, I avoid those as much as I can. Instead, I go for the supermarket own brand ones because they’re usually mild enough I don’t feel like the smell is filling my nostrils.
If you struggle with processing smells out and about, this idea might just work for you. When I suggested in the previous sense to have a self-care bag, there’s nothing stopping you having something in there that helps with masking the other smells with one you like. On my desk, I have a a vanilla scented candle I was gifted. I’m not really a candle-lighting kind of person, but it’s a lovely scent. When I feel the need, I can just take the lid off and give it a sniff and the vanilla smell helps relax me.
What I would recommend when you need to get things like soaps or moisturisers, try and smell them in a store first if you can. Check what the packaging says the smell is first and if it smells strong enough, or weak enough depending on your preference. It needs to be at a level you can cope with. If it’s too strong, it could mean you’re less likely to keep using it.
Sense 3: Sight
Sight comfort can be a little bit of an odd one to think about. If you find the sunlight out and about or indoors like classrooms or workplaces, try things like sunglasses or tinted glasses to take away some of the glare. At home, see if you can have softer lighting through lightbulb choices or put light shades on to keep some of the brightness contained.
Sight can also be a little bit of a hindrance when trying to go to bed. I’m talking about sunlight streaming through the sides of the curtains, lights under the doors or anything else that gives off light you don’t want to see. What I’ve ended up trying myself is using blackout curtains and an eye mask. The eye mask blocks out the light around your eyes so all you see is darkness. Just to warn you, I’ve had a few times when I’ve woken up in the night and found I’ve removed the mask at some point when I started wearing it. Having to rummage in my bedding to find it was a bit odd, that was for sure!
Sense 4: Taste
Taste comfort is a bit of a difficult one. We’re all so varied in what food textures and tastes we can cope with. You may love spicy things, hate slimy textures, love squishy textures, hate bland things. There are so many alternatives. I know I struggle with the texture of whole tomatoes but will have them in pasta sauces or as tomato puree or tomato soup (adore the last one).
I know our diets can be limited because of the requirements we need for a food to be acceptable. From experience, what you need to do is stock up on what may be deemed safe foods. These are the ones you know you can cope with. Be that crackers, chicken nuggets, crunchy carrots, whatever it is you know you’ll eat happily.
If you want to try anything, see if you can find a friend or family member to join you. Then, if you don’t like something you may or may not know they like, they can take it with them so you don’t have to keep it. If you like certain textures, like crunchy things, see if there’s something you’re happy to try. Carrots raw are pretty good as they’re often the same texture. Know what textures you like and don’t like and ask family and friends for foods they like with similar textures. You could even do it as a tasting session with family and friends where you all try something to see if you like the flavour and/or texture.
Also, don’t be afraid to have the same things over and over again. We love a good bit of repetition. It’s one less thing to think about and make a decision over when we make so many throughout the day. Having safe meals means you know you can eat something no matter what your energy levels are like that day.
Sense 5: Hearing
Hearing and sounds are all around us the majority of the time. Being able to give yourself comfort and block it out as and when you need to is really important. This could be you are constantly bombarded by noise and you can’t focus unless you have complete silence. Or you could be the complete opposite and love as much noise as possible, even sticking on your favourite tunes to keep you interested in your task/s.
If you’re looking to block sounds out, I’d recommend something like ear plugs (if you can cope with something in your ear), ear defenders or wireless headphones. Ear defenders tend to cut out a lot of the noise. These are what I use when I get overstimulated with sounds, cutting off all sounds until I’m ready to return to what I was doing. Wireless headphones do a similar job, but they can also connect to your phone so you can play some of your favourite music to help calm you if just cutting the sound out doesn’t work for you.
I hope this blog has been useful in sharing my insights on giving comfort to your senses. Being able to find ways to look after yourself is one of the most important things you can do. So, I wish you the best of luck in your hunt for what makes you happy.
Happy hunting!