Your Favourite Autism Product

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I've always been a fan of squishy stress balls, especially the fluid-filled ones. When I was a kid, my mom avoided buying them for me because I always played with them so much they burst.

I love cat videos too, I can watch hours' worth of them on youtube. The funny ones always have me in stitches.

I need music playing almost all of the time, but it has to be music I like. When I get really stressed, I like solo cello, but if it goes beyond that, I need the sound of water flowing or wind in the trees.

Ah! I got the wrong end of the stick. I understand now why you said getting past feeling embarrassed or awkward , I have to say I would struggle wearing ear defenders ( thats what I call them ) in public and not feel self concious but if it helped me I would overcome it.

...I have nothing ...........

ha ha , I have nothing either although I may not be autistic

I've heard about weighted blankets - how do they feel different from, say, sitting or sleeping under two regular blankets?

I like the idea of the weighted vest and the weighted blanket. I have a real German helmet that I like to wear and the weight on my head helps to calm me.

They are considerably heavier than regular blankets, typically 10-20 pounds for adults depending on your size and weight. If you like the feeling of being squeezed or wrapped tightly, or having animals like cats or dogs sit on you, you would probably benefit from a weighted blanket or lap pad. I've been experimenting for quite some time with the kinds of sensations I enjoy, and while I like weight, the amount of pressure I need to feel really good and fully relaxed is way more than a weighted product could give me (it would literally have to be 30-40 pounds of concentrated compression directly on my chest) so I've turned to compression garments, which squeeze without being heavy.

I like keeping my weighted blanket, which weighs ten pounds, folded on my lap when I'm sitting watching TV or at the computer, it makes me feel more safe and grounded, in the same way that hiding under blankets makes me feel protected and separated from the world around me.

The "Gif Jam" extension that I use on my Chromebook. No more spinning, flashing, animated, avatar gifs!

I didnt even know that there were any such things as "autism products".

I think I would be very uncomfortable with a weighted vest. However, I find the weight of one thing very comforting. It moves, meows and purrs-my cat.

I don't use any autism specific products but whenever my left hand is idle I like to slowly twirl a writing pen like a drum stick.

Yes. I have a few. They have plain, textured (but hard plastic) and even a kind of foil covering version. The tangle Jr is generally what I like as they are about the same diameter of circle but the plastic is much thinner.

I've also found that if the table I'm working at has some eraser shavings I find myself playing with them every time.

I have a nice blue pair I got on sale at a hardware store, but you can paint what you have, or do a neat job with tape. My cheap noise-cancelling ones were no improvement, but I have added little speakers and an MP3 player to both the "Mickey Mouse" set and to a winter hat I like.

Favorite General-Turned-Autism Products:
• Ear buds plugged into cell phone playing song on repeat. This reduces overwhelming audio input to one predictable, comforting tune.
• Sunglasses with mirrored-coating, blue-tinting, and non-prescription lenses. This reduces overwhelming visual input to only what is right in front of my face (I am very near-sighted), reducing visual sensitivity and brightness.

Favorite Disability-Turned-Autism Products:
• American Sign Language for communication. This helps in noisy environments, when following multi-step instructions, or working-around selective mutism (I sign to my sister and she speaks for me).
• Literary Braille Code for reading. This helps in dark environments, when reading visually overwhelming material (some fonts and illustrations can be too distracting), or as a tactile stim.

Favorite Autism Products:
• Text-to-speech translator application. This helps slow down the speed of the conversation so that I can follow along, gather my thoughts together visually, and working-around selective mutism.
• Anubis, my Autism Service Dog. Everything! He does guide work when my brain is overloaded, including finding any family members with me in public or exits. He alerts before meltdowns and to stop self-harming stims. He does tactile stimulation and deep pressure therapy.