Getting ASD child to wear earplugs??

[thumpersfriend]

How did you get your child with ASD to wear earplugs. It sounds wonderful for them but my dgd who is 3.5 is just now letting us brush her hair like we want with out her pulling away. So any suggestions how to do this and when to do it? She won't put the earphones on yet either, except she is now putting a phone up to her ear to listen to me when I call. I know you will have great advice.

 

[LMC]

My son would never wear the earplugs either. He also does not like to wear walkman or cd headphones. He is 11 yo now and I just got him some noise reducing earphones to wear in the school lunch room. The kicker is that these particular ones also have a radio and he will listen to it (but not the reqular headphones you would use w/ a cd player ???)
Does you dgd need them for use in water or noise reduction?

 

[zumbergc]

I'm not sure what stores have lots of different type of headphones.

Maybe if your child could try a bunch of different styles on they could find one that felt more comfortable, tolerable.

Same w/ the earplugs, there are lots of different styles. Although w/ these I suspect once you try you buy. Some earplugs are more comfortable than others. Would color help or hinder the situation. Would the color help the situation?

Good Luck,
Connie

 

[OKWMom]

Honestly, if she has severe sensory issues, you may not be able to get her to wear the earplugs at all. I tried for several years and tried every brand on the market. My DD will wear headphones because she became used to them by wearing them in the car watching her movies. If all else fails, you can try that route.

During her first trip to Disney, we found the parades way too loud for her liking. The best we could do for the noise was earmuffs, a hat, and our hands over her ears. It was a real shame because she really liked Spectro otherwise but she couldn’t tolerate the entire parade. We have just tried to be creative with her. Last year, we made ADRs at Tony’s for dinner and watched the parade from the restaurant. We watched the fireworks from the resorts instead of the parks. Not an ideal solution, but it worked best for her.

My DD’s sensory issues are better some days than others and it would show when on some of the rides. For example, some days, she loves Pirates and other times, she would cover her ears the entire ride. Same for Small World and Pooh. But we wouldn’t have known if we hadn’t kept trying. Also, we found if we gave her some calming sensory input in the room prior to leaving in the mornings, she did a little better. That may or may not work for you. If your DGD has a good OT, I would ask him/her for suggestions.

 

[hookedup]

I gave up on earplugs for ds, but he LOVES his noise reducing headphones. We searched around and found many different types. I actually ended up getting him some very nice ones ($$$) but then this past month the Sharper Image had their nice travel noise reducing headphones (mid priced ones) for half off if you buy any other item (even batteries) which made them around $40. These are nice as they have their own batteries and can be used w/o plugging them into anything.
Now I keep the expensive Bose ones with me (so I can supervise him) and let ds use the Sharper Image ones at school or less supervised. The Bose ones are really nice because the go around the ear instead of on it (which he likes better). The Bose ones also still work for noise reduction even w/o the plug/cord attached.

 

[thumpersfriend]

Thanks for the great suggestions. Normally she wouldn't need earplugs but this past 4th of July she was afraid of the fireworks, assuming it was the noise. Mostly concerned about the loud parades and fireworks and maybe the whistle of the train at WDW. Thanks again!

 

[Zoie]

We're having trouble with my 4 yr old niece whenever there are loud noises around lately and were concerned it's going to be a problem at Disney and ruin the experience for her. We too thought about earplugs and though we haven't tried them yet so don't know if we're going to have issues getting her to wear them, our plan was to wrap them up (we're going at Christmastime anyway...) with a note from Mickey and give them to her when we get there, the note saying something like he heard that loud noises upset her and he really wants to make sure she enjoys his parks so he has given her these magical Mickey earplugs so she can put them on whenever noises bother her.

We're really hoping that works -- she ADORES Mickey so she might just do it for him...

 

[lovemickeya]

My DS5 with autism-Hates headphone for cd player and earbuds but LOVES his sound reducing headphones-(ones that hunters were) We use them when we go out to dinner or to Walmart- where there is TOO many people for his liking. I think it is the pressure (since they are heavier than normal) + the sound reduction. A Total Godsend.

Just an example:
http://www.basspro.com/servlet/cata...rClassCode=4&hvarSubCode=10&hvarTarget=browse

 

[Tissa]

My son would never wear the earplugs either. He also does not like to wear walkman or cd headphones. He is 11 yo now and I just got him some noise reducing earphones to wear in the school lunch room. The kicker is that these particular ones also have a radio and he will listen to it (but not the reqular headphones you would use w/ a cd player ???)
Does you dgd need them for use in water or noise reduction?

What brand did you get? My ds 8 won't wear cd headphones and I bought the kind that hunters wear and he chunked them at me when I tried to get him to wear them. Our biggest problem is in the bathrooms, he is terrified to go into public restrooms because of the hand dryers and turbo flush toilets then he ends up having accidents.

 

[winniethepoohsmom]

I would suggest to get your child used to the headphones, see if he will listen to the music with you sitting next to him and keep the headphone near his ear but not on it and each time try to do it for a little bit longer and then eventually see if he will wear them. It could take a while, some kids take much longer than others to get used to them. If that does'nt work you may want to take a break from it and try again in the future and maybe he will be more willing to try it then.

 

[stenickar]

My 10yo also likes the heavier, tighter head phones. For many years he would not let anything or anyone touch his ears. When we got the heavy headphones we reinforced him for keeping them on for even just a second. He quickly learned that he liked the pressure and quiet. If your child has not worn headphones before, you might want to consider trying them where he/she is comfortable(not in new environment such as WDW. If you can give him/her lots of positive reinforcement your chances of being sucessful will be greater. At WDW things are hectic and you may not be able to reinforce as much as in a familiar setting. Just my 2 cents! Lori

 

[andijean]

We have used earplugs every time we have gone to the world. They have made the trip much more tolerable for my DS. It is constant noise there, so he would wear them as soon as we got to the park and through the entire day. He especially needed them for any restaurants. The vaulted ceilings with echo drive him bonkers. We have tried many types and what seemed to work the best was these moldable ones that they use for swimming. They have them at most drugstores and are like a putty. They aren't as bothersome and don't fall out. We have also worn headphones over these in intense situations. The headphones we have that I like the best are from LLBean. They fold up easy, very adjustable so they fit small heads well, and they are lightweight and slim profile so they are not too bulky when he is wearing them. I would try some of these suggestions b/f you go to see what your child will tolerate. Make a game out of it or make it fun. Any distraction to take attention away from the fact they have them on. Trying ones with music first to get used to them is a great idea! Good Luck!

 

[thumpersfriend]

What great info, I really appreciate it. Will start slowly and see what works. Thanks again.

 

[zumbergc]

Just a suggestion. If you want to see the wishes MK fireworks from a great distance. Maybe watch them from the Grand Floridian boat dock area, or at the poly beach area.

It doesn't solve the loud noises everywhere else, but you can see the
fireworks really well, and there isn't much noise from the fireworks there.

Good luck on your trip.