Comments on: Nigel Vs. Grocery Store

By: Teen Autism » Blog Archive » The Wonderful Thing About Tigger

Teen Autism » Blog Archive » The Wonderful Thing About Tigger — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 04:13:59 +0000

[...] a recent trip to the grocery store, I was curious if Nigel remembered how traumatic it was for him to be in them when he was younger, how his sensory issues were so [...]

By: Teen Autism » Blog Archive » Sensory News

Teen Autism » Blog Archive » Sensory News — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 06:34:42 +0000

[...] their sensory input, and most of the issues are no longer as extreme for them. Nigel can go into grocery stores, public restrooms, and restaurants now. Aidan rarely throws up in the car and no longer cries 80% [...]

By: Teen Autism » Blog Archive » Look, Ma - No Hands

Teen Autism » Blog Archive » Look, Ma - No Hands — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 01:16:50 +0000

[...] and I watch. Not because I think I need to, but because, once again, I marvel at his ability to filter all the sensory input that used to be agonizing for him. The luxury of this – to me – never wears off. The sheer joy of [...]

By: mama mara

mama mara — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 13:57:54 +0000

Rocky doesn’t remember, either, but it’s tattooed on my brain. Our big meltdown triggers included: the sound of a floor polisher or vacuum, which sent Rocky into hysterics; the sight of telephones, which were his first big obsessive TOPIC and caused him fits if he couldn’t touch and play with every single one he saw; and the torment of waiting in lines.

Wow, am I glad those days are past.

By: Tanya Savko

Tanya Savko — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 05:41:59 +0000

Hi Chapati – Yes, even at the time I knew that it was his sensory issues causing his behavior, but I felt powerless to help him. Now that he’s older he can wear earplugs when he needs to, but I don’t know if he would have at age three. He never had the typical toddler tantrums – at that age he didn’t really care about toys because he didn’t play with them the way typical toddlers do. All of his meltdowns, even at that age, were due to sensory issues or frustration at not being able to communicate.

By: M

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 03:52:46 +0000

just reading through various blogs, it’s always interesting to me the way the sensory issues slowly evolve.

sometimes drifting from one sense to the next, other times just beginning intensely and slowly fading.

grocery stores are one of the worst. generally so bright…and the sounds are just completely different from what you hear anywhere else. something about the little motors in the freezer section, tiny wheels from carts, the oddly distant music, the way people drift around like they’re in a daze.

it’s a weird place.

By: Fearless Females

Fearless Females — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 18:10:12 +0000

oh my, youre a better mom than I am..I still cant even consider taking Meghan to a store alone (just me and her), I think we all have a nightmare story and it is hard…as of a few years ago, we would go food shopping as a family–so an adult could be there in case she bolted…but then she startd eating food before we purchased it…Ugh!!

By: Em

Em — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 13:20:54 +0000

wow…really tough. We’ve never had as many sensory issues to cope with. The biggest for us was tactile stuff. Son18 would sometimes have to sit down in the middle of a store and put his shoe and sock on and off 15…20 times….crying in frustration….only because it suddenly didn’t feel right.

By: hellokittiemama/MT

hellokittiemama/MT — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 12:51:56 +0000

Oh Wow.
We have a similar grocery store “cycle” here.

When Alex was a baby he always shopped with me. Loved it – sat in the cart and ate (little piggie) and played and tried to stick his hands up my shirt LOL.. Then, once he became big enough to figure out how to climb out of the cart – right around the time his autism came out…. forget it. Impossible. Except, I still needed to shop and conveniently (NOT) this was also the time my marriage was not good and my husband took a job in a different state leaving me with an autistic 2 year old and essentially alone except for 2 weekends a month. I had to figure out how to shop, so I would do it late at night or early in the morning when the store was pretty much empty – it was a 24 hr Wegmans and I’m sure they were really wondering why I was shopping with a 2 year old at midnight. Anyways, I did what I could. Then when I moved here to NJ to be with hubby for his new job and I was pregnant with my daughter at the time – I had backup and I started shopping by myself again. My son got older and I got brave to try bringing him shopping again. We had some bad trips but also some good ones. Now a few years later – we have mostly good, very few bad – and Alex loves to grocery shop. he loves the “green” reusable grocery bags and he insists on helping me by doing the self-checkout. However, he will meltdown if the coupon dispenser at checkout isn’t working because he just has to have that coupon for baby formula or catfood! Hey, whatever works.

I love reading about Nigel. It gives me a glimpse of what could come next. Alex turns 8 on Thursday and I find myself filled with more hope than gloom and doom this year because of bloggers and friends like you.

~MT

By: Chapati

Chapati — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 09:47:18 +0000

Wow, that sounds tough. You seem to have a really good understanding of why he behaved the way he did at the time though – did you know back then too?

Also, did he ever throw ‘normal’ toddler tantrums, i.e. because he wanted that toy…