If your child does wake up, the sound might be soothing to them and help them to fall back asleep. White noise doesn't work for everyone, but it's definitely worth trying! Unfortunately, it's common for children with autism to have difficulties communicating how they feel and what they need.
Some researchers claim that white noise can lead to children developing auditory processing disorders. This is because the brain quickly adapts to the sound and stops acknowledging it as something worth listening to. The long term effects of this can lead to issues with learning, speech and language.
Pink noise and brown noise
Pink noise has some of the higher-pitched tones removed. Brown noise is more of a deep rumbly sound and is my personal favourite to listen to as I fall asleep. White, pink or brown noise may not only block out household noise but can help your child to relax and fall asleep.
Among children who took part in the Simons Simplex Collection autism research project, about 68 percent had unusual sensory interests and 65 percent were sensitive to noise.
Autistic children and teenagers are sometimes oversensitive to things like noise, crowds or temperature. They try to avoid sensory experiences.
Hyperacusis (say it with me: HY-per-uh-CUE-sis), is an increased sensitivity to sound that is commonly found among people with autism. This means that certain noises, such as classroom bells, the radio or the TV, may be uncomfortable for your child to hear.
Many children with autism are unusually sensitive to loud noises and hate being cuddled or touched—yet they sometimes under-react to pain. Note their focus: Do they tend to fixate on a favorite object, or part of an object, to the exclusion of other people, including other toddlers?
In such situations, you will find your children asking for your help for the simple tasks they could easily do on their own. A child with autism may not to know how to perform a certain task. The use of a simple phrase, "Look at me! Look at this!" more often than usual, will hint toward the attention-seeking behavior.
Children with autism spectrum disorder have good vocabularies but unusual ways of expressing themselves. They may talk in a monotone voice and do not recognize the need to control the volume of their voice, speaking loudly in libraries or movie theaters, for example.
Many of the behaviors that are typical of children on the autism spectrum might be deemed problems in other kids. For example: Kids with autism may screech or yell when overwhelmed or frustrated. Some autistic children bolt from the room, hit others, or even injure themselves when upset.
Likewise, a child with autism may not speak, look at other people or play with their peers. Both shy children and those with autism may appear quieter and more reserved than other children, and may find it harder to make friends.
In the case of vocal stimming (or verbal stimming), the child might make noises such as groaning, grunting, high- pitched screeching, squealing, humming, or repeating random words, words to a familiar song, phrases, or lines from a movie.
Bedtime routines, regular bedtimes, healthy sleep associations and comfortable sleep environments can help autistic children settle and sleep. Healthy daytime environments can help autistic children feel ready for sleep.
A steady background noise improves concentration in people with ADHD. There's a counterintuitive effect called stochastic resonance (SR) that's believed to improve ADHD symptoms in combination with (white) noise.
The study brings hope to those parents who worry that children who are not talking by age 4 or 5 are unlikely to develop speech at all. Some children with ASD develop meaningful language after age 5. "There is a burst of kids in the 6- to 7- age range who do get language," Dr. Wodka said.
By age 8, 70 percent had developed phrase or fluent speech, with 47 percent speaking fluently. “Phrase speech” means a child will use a two-word statement appropriately, such as “want cookie” when he would like a snack, Wodka explains.
Some will start talking between the ages of 2-3 years. Other children talk even later, and some children never learn to talk. Why can't they talk at the same time as other children? This is because the young child with autism isn't learning the same way as other children.
They usually prefer to play alone and have challenges working together with others. Various types of therapy are available to help kids with autism and their families to play together and build relationships.
In children with autism, such phobias can arise from heightened sensory stimulation such as loud noises (for example, fear of popping balloons at an early age can develop into a phobia). Typical phobias like the dark or needles can also develop in children with autism.
Specifically, studies have suggested that children with autism may experience difficulty with over- or under-sensitivity to sound, difficulty processing oral directions, deficits on auditory tests of temporal processing, and poor speech recognition in the presence of background noise.
If your child has autism, they may have delayed speech, use few or no gestures, repeats words or phrases, and give unrelated answers to questions.
Children on the autism spectrum often keep crying as long as it seems to work for them. When it doesn't, they eventually quit. If they are upset about something, we want them to learn to handle their feelings in more powerful ways.
Level 1 is the mildest, or “highest functioning” form of autism, which includes those who would have previously been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome. Individuals with ASD level 1 may have difficulty understanding social cues and may struggle to form and maintain personal relationships.