Noise in the class room

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Hello
Does any one have a problem with noise in the class room . My 9 yr old son J ( who has Aspergers) has told me 2night most of the reason he miss behave's at school is because the noise of the other kids & teacher's talking or shouting make's him angry. J love's the time's he get's 2 work away from class. Is this a common thing with Aspergers

D has problems with sounds in the classroom. The sound of someone else's pencil is enough to distract him. Too much noise, like in the lunchroom, can actually make him sick.

We have had a heck of a time getting a handle on how to work on this. D tried "The Listening Program" tapes and it did very, very little for him. Its not an issue now since he is in a small self classroom and takes "adapted" phyed (the gym was driving him nuts) but I still wish we could build up his tolerance for noice.

BeeBee

Yes, I do believe it is a sympton of Asperger's. My son R is 6 and will cover his ears if sound is sudden and loud, like a gym setting. I am undiagnosed but I wear ear plugs because some noise makes me physically sick. I get angry when I can't make it stop and it doesn't have to be loud, the buzzing of an electronic toy will do it. If you think D could stand wearing the ear plugs, it's worth a try. Get ear plugs for swimming, they are just a filter. They don't actually block out all the sound just make it manageable.

Another trick is replacement, I get R to slip an ear bud into one of his ears with some instrumental music or simple tunes. He can directly focus on that when he can't stand the other sounds, but also hear if he needs to. (I sometimes sing, not good for the classroom I know, but it does get the annoying sound out of my head.)


If D's response is a behaviour that has you worried, then you can try allowing him to briefly refocus with something he likes. I tell R to count something. He loves numbers and sometimes it's enough to help until the situation passes. I don't think you can build up a tolerance, it's like saying I wish I didn't hear so well. You just need coping strategies, I take alot of deep breaths.

Good Luck

Jetgirl

Have you tried headphones to block out some of the noise? Noise bothers my daughter very much and the headphones help her block some of it out and makes it more tolerable for her. There are some very expensive ones that actively cancel noise, but there are less expensive ones like those used with noisy power tools or when shooting firearms to protect hearing.

Does J have a statement? (I hope this is the correct word for it.)

Could the teachers have him do his work that needs intense concentration somewhere quieter?

Hey

Just one more note. D will do what it takes to relieve the situation (this might be to leave the room), he may not realize he does it, so keep an eye out. I just realize what helps for me. I love,love, love the sound of my cat purring. I'm not sure if it's the frequency or pitch but it completely relaxes me. If you can do the tape recorder thing find the sound that helps D... I guarantee there is one. It might be the sound of a drum? or cat? maybe a heart beat? Let him think about that. I would suggest ice cream truck (positive link to early memories), my son likes the sound of trains. It's nice if it not only cancels out the irritating sounds but also leaves the child calm.

Later
Jetgirl

Thanks 4 the tips.
J listen's 2 program tapes at school which he loves & works well with them ( it's a pity J's teachers could'nt make day's worth of teaching on a tape so J could just work through the tape for that day).
The ear plugs sound a great idea ( some thing i will buy for J 2morrow), this way J could wear them with out any one noticing. j has a habbit of sitting under his desk at school, he does'nt no why he does this but may be it's away of getting away from the noise .

J got his statement a few yrs ago ( for learning problems) but only got his diagnosis for as last yr.

We have a brilliant school nr to us for kids (which J would love) with more severe autism, & we have pushed & pushed to get J into this school but because J only has Asp he does not qualify 2 go 2 that school, which is so annoying.

My son has problems with noise as well. J asked his teacher for a three sided study carrel (desk with walls). This has been tremendous in helping him concentrate. The teacher makes it available to everyone in the classroom.

Hello J S Mom
Three 2 camp had mentioned this 3 sided study carrel (in my other post), i mentiond this to J's school but the best they can do is sit J facing a wall ( the school tables r to big & there r 2 many kids in J's class 2 make it possible).I actually tried puting J in a corner to do extra home work ( as a punishment) at home & j worked brilliantly. I hate J's school there useless. I am considering home schooling.

P.s Jet girl i got J's ear plugs 2day, fingers crossed they'll help

OMG that's not the best they can do! How hard or expensive is it to get a study carrel??? If the school won't provide it maybe you could get one and make them use it as part of his IEP. If that doesn't work maybe a letter from an attorney (if you can afford to push the issue) might work! If they won't provide a simple desk, my guess is there are other things they are not providing your son.

I guess I'm lucky. I have read about all the problems many of the parents face. My school has bent over backward for J and for that I am grateful.

What about content mastery...do they have that at your school? It's a place where it's quiet where J goes to get extra help on assignments that are done in class. J's teacher sometimes sends him there when he is having difficulty focusing and the study carrel isn't working. Plus, if he doesn't understand the instructions the content mastery teacher helps tutor a little bit.

fox1028- My son has oversensitive hearing also. We knew he did because when he was a toddler we'd call his name and even clap loudly behind his head and he wouldn't flinch but if you crinkled a candy wrapper from another room, he'd come running. He was always the first one to hear a plane or train coming. He was also afraid of public bathrooms because of the echo and the flushing. (I'm still afraid of public bathrooms!)
We alerted the gym teacher to this fact. His "behaviors" become magnified in the gym because of the noise and echo. I think he could work more efficiently in an empty room; at home-school he had his own desk under a window in a quiet corner of our basement schoolroom. The school has been good to him and they think he should be mainstreamed as much as possible, regardless of the distractions and corresponding low grades. I can see the wisdom in this but I'm not sure how much longer we'll be willing to wait for some better academic progress. On the one hand, we want him to grow academically but we also want him to be adjusted to common environmental stimulus. It's hard to know how to balance all of this. Also, how much does the child want to stand out? Does he care? Does it bother him? I think that's also a factor.

I don't know what the UK equivalent of an IEP (individualized education plan) is, or if you have people to work as advocates for your child, but if so you should get with them to discuss this matter. Many people with AS either have a comorbid dx of SID (sensory integration disorder) or suffer from heightened sensory load, so that perhaps for your son as it is for mine, the sound of pencils scratching on paper would be equivalent to nails on a chalk board to you and me. This often follows through in their choice of clothing (sweats and tshirts, the older and softer the better) and occassionally even eating issues.

It seems that there is more however that can be done for your son. Ear buds, a 3 sided study carrell, as well as training to help him overcome this. Moving him to a class with children more severely afflicted (IMHO) would not be of benefit. Yes, the days would be easier for him, the nights easier for you. However those will be the peers he will model, and their future will be his. Again, just my HO.

The classroom noise affected me tremendously when I was in school. Many times I would just give up trying to pay attention and draw pictures or read a magazine.
Its still a problem at work. I work in a busy medical lab, and my desk is effectively in the middle of the freeway. The problem is hearing discretion. I can hear every word of every conversation in a room of approximately 50 people, but focusing on the one who is talking to me is almost impossible. I just can't pick them out of the clutter. I've recently found that staring at one spot on the floor helps. This isn't always acceptable at work (that darn eye-contact thing) but I would think a teacher would be ok with it once it was explained to her. I also just got an Ipod shuffle (much cheaper and smaller than the full blown version). The earbuds pass conversational voices quite well, but reduce the background chatter to a level where the music covers it. Somehow I'm able to pay attention when someone is speaking directly to me, but ignore others. I'm not sure whether its the music or the earbuds. But I would love to have had the opprtunity to try this in school.

My understanding is that there is a type of hearing aid device that "cleans up" the background noise, I don't know how effective it would be for you but might be worth a try if the ear buds don't work out.

We tried various ear bud/headset devices with my son, but those that worked well enough to keep out the annoying sounds (pencil scratching, ceiling fan whirs) also then closed out the teacher's voice. I give my son great credit for making it through the days as well as he does given the bombardment of noise this culture finds acceptable. Oddly enough, he is what I'd call "visually needy" in terms of needing lots of visual stimulation at all times. He can't stand when a room isn't bright enough, and when we took down pictures to paint the living room he was trying to rehang them while the paint was still wet. His walls in his room are painted different colors, and then covered in various artworks he's done, plus of course his calendar collection. LOL

I would think tho that for the original poster, while one is still in school, especially grammar school, that accomodations shouldn't be hard to come by.

Hello... my son's both have sensory problems in the calssroom. Have you requested a school OT eval through your IEP channels? I also suggest doing everything in writing, even if you have a great relationship with your ds school.
My son uses his folders and has been seen by many people doing this (during observations) this was helpful for them to make the OT recommendations. Without formal recommendations through the IEP meetings you will probably be unable to obtain adaptive equipment for your son. Or they may make your son share it with other students.