Noise canceling headphones are great at cutting out low frequency sounds like the hum of a jet engine but can be less effective at the higher frequencies. Because of this, if higher frequency sounds bother you, you may have better luck using cheap ear plugs and ear muffs that you can find on Amazon. But without active noise cancellation, cutting out bass sounds will be tough so if you’re sensitive to bass, you may need to shell out some money for headphones with active noise cancellation.

1 – Sony WH-1000XM2 $350
These do an incredible job of cutting out all frequencies. While they’re close to Bose in noise cancellation, I think they actually do a better job at higher frequencies and also have a lot more features, like disabling noise cancellation of voice so you can talk to people and still block out bass.

2 – Bose Quiet Comfort 35 / 20 $250 – $330  (QC25 – $130+)
Bose is the king of noise canceling headphones, but also the priciest. They were the first to popularize noise cancelling headphones and also create professional sets for pilots. Bose also make in-ear headphones that cancel noise even better than over the ear headphones, but they may be more or less comfortable depending on your preferences. Check out the QuietComfort 20. The wired version of Bose’s over the ear headphones (QC25) are still available and sometime can be found for as low as 130 dollars on Amazon, which is a steal, considering their noise canceling is just as good as the bluetooth headphones that cost at least a hundred more. These are what I use and they’re life changing.

3 – Sennheiser PXC 550 – $300
I have owned a few pairs of Sennheiser over the years and they’re my favorite headphones. I believe they sound better than both Bose and Sony in terms of audio reproduction. Sennheiser also make noise canceling headphones that cost less than this model, but they aren’t as good.

4 – Cheap ear muffs – $15
In terms of getting rid of sound, ear muffs provide the most protection. You’ll see airport workers on the runway wearing these for that reason. You can put earbuds under them and still listen to music. They can be uncomfortable if you’re wearing glasses with thick legs though and they can hurt your head because they press very firmly against the side of your head. Because of this, they can become irritating after being worn for a while.

5 – Ear plugs – a few cents
Ear plugs are good for getting outside noise levels to go down, but they don’t do as good a job of blocking out bass. You also can’t really listen to music unless you put over the ear headphones on and that doesn’t sound so good because the plugs block out some frequencies more than others.

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The 10th Annual The International Meeting for Autism Research (IMFAR) will host nearly 2000 researchers, delegates, autism specialists, and students in the world’s largest gathering of researchers and clinicians devoted to a better understanding of autism.

At the official press conference, scientists discussed key studies to be presented during IMFAR. David Amaral, Ph.D., the President of the International Society for Autism Research, led with opening remarks. Speakers included Eric Courchesne, Ph.D., Antonio Hardan, M.D., David Mandell, Sc.D. and Irva Hertz-Picciotto, Ph.D. Dana Marnane, Vice President of Awareness and Events at Autism Speaks, moderated the conference.

Check out more IMFAR coverage at the Autism Speaks blog.

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Autism Talk TV is finally back from our extended holiday hiatus. This week we’re interviewing Bud Fraze, president of Playability Toys. We met Bud at the ASA conference in Dallas and instantly hit it off.

Bud shows us various toys he’s created for children with special needs. You’ll get to learn about a Buddy Dog, a Rib-it-Ball, and a Brain Gear. Playability Toys are designed to stimulate an autistic child’s sensory needs.
We originally wanted to include Bud’s interview in our famous toy episode but decided he deserved his own show. Aspergian girl and production assistant Kirsten Lindsmith is guest hosting this episode with me. You may remember her from the original toy episode.

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Alex and Jack are back in episode 9 with an entire episode devoted to stimmy autism toys! Autistic individuals frequently have sensory issues. Consequently, toys that stimulate the senses are very popular among those with Autism. We went to the Autism Society of America conference in Dallas and show you a variety of toys being sold in the exposition.

We even have Kirstin Lindsmith, a special aspergian girl guest who blows up a skushi ball! And Alex wields the powerful and precise Chinese YoYo!

Read on to watch episode 9 of Autism Talk TV!

The post Autism Talk TV Ep. 9 – Autism Toys appeared first on Wrong Planet.

“These devices can be programmed to monitor where the child is, or whether the child has said anything, and then to say something appropriate. In other cases, the robot head will spout things randomly. Prof. Scassellati said that with three year olds, nonautistic children will continue to interact with a robot that is responding appropriately, but will quickly tire of one that isn’t. Autisti. . .

“These devices can be programmed to monitor where the child is, or whether the child has said anything, and then to say something appropriate. In other cases, the robot head will spout things randomly. Prof. Scassellati said that with three year olds, nonautistic children will continue to interact with a robot that is responding appropriately, but will quickly tire of one that isn’t. Autistic children, however, show no such preference, and will be equally fascinated by each.” Link to article

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