![]() ![]() If you’re super wet and sticky, then that’s a sign that the air is very humid. Are birds flying lower? This is because the air is heavier due to the humidity.Įven the behavior of sweat is an indication of moisture in the air. They can easily be found for under ten dollars online or in hardware stores.Įven without a hygrometer, there are ways to gauge the moisture in the air. You can also buy a hygrometer, which measures how much moisture is in the air. If you’re feeling industrious, he says simple DIY is great for making your own from things you probably already have: JP Kalb says this one, for just under $20, would work fine. If it’s falling, a storm is likely coming. Get a barometer to measure the atmospheric pressure. It’s entirely possible that your child is sensitive enough to things like atmospheric pressure to have a sense of when a storm is coming. The type of cloud associated with thunderstorms is cumulonimbus. Learning to identify types of clouds by sight and feature is a great way to help kids learn to predict storms. Teach them what thunder is, literally, and don’t make the mistake of leading them to believe that their behaviors can impact thunder– or anything that is out of their control. It won’t be received as fun or funny if you do this to autistic kids, and it may cause them to develop OCD trying to police their thoughts and actions in an attempt to avoid angering a punishing deity. I was trying to understand the pattern in my behavior against the pattern of thunderstorms to learn what I could have done to cause them. ![]() I remember when I was a young child, people told me that thunder was G-d’s way of letting me know he was angry at me.Įvery time a storm came, for years, I would obsess over what I had done to deserve such anger, and I started developing fears of making mistakes and even experiencing emotions. You can use a stopwatch to measure the time between visible lightning and the sound of thunder to help you figure out how far away the distance is. JP Kalb says this decibel meter, for only $17, should be fine for measuring thunder. Buy a decibel meter to measure the volume, which can give clues to how far away it is. For thunder, learn about different types: peals, claps, rolls, and rumbles. If your Autistic child is afraid of something, teach them the science behind it. Having a plan in place to manage anything fearful for the next time will also dramatically reduce anxiety. If your child is autistic, understanding the logic and science of anything is likely to greatly reduce anxiety around it. Science is a journey more than a destination. I’m sure that some of the skeptics’ ancestors were there to scream PSEUDOSCIENCE! for that one, totally murdering the artful finesse of weather forecasting, but I digress. The leeches were thought to be agitated when a storm was coming, and they would shake and move enough to ring a bell. Take the “scare factor” away with scienceįun fact: one of the earliest pieces of meteorological equipment was called the “tempest prognosticator,” and it looked like a carousel with twelve leeches in bottles. While this post is specifically about storms, the strategies and philosophy can be adapted for other fears. Recently, I came across an adult asking how to help an autistic child with fear of thunderstorms, or astraphobia, a question I’ve seen come up in several places. We’re going to try and help you help your children tackle those fears. I’m teaming up with Autistic meteorologist, JP Kalb, the vlogger behind the YouTube channel, Weathering the Autism Storm, where he tackles topics like budgeting, navigating public transit, and more light-hearted topics, like doing the Beanboozled challenge. The noise of thunder can be deafening, the violent flashes of lightning and the loud POP! when it strikes a nearby tree can cause even the most even-keeled adult to jump, but for people very sensitive to sudden or loud noise and bright lights, it can be downright terrifying. Sensory issues can exacerbate anxiety about inclement weather, too. The good news is that there’s a huge opportunity to build your relationship with your child and to bond as you process your way through fears together. It’s absolutely cruel to expect autistic kids to regulate their nervous systems and “get over it” because they can’t. Storms can be scary for children and even adults, but autistic kids tend to be hyper-alert and have very reactive nervous systems, which makes them more susceptible to feeling fears intensely and being startled severely. Choosing a Good– or Bad– Therapist for Your Autistic Child.Directory of NeuroDivergent Graphic Designers & Illustrators.Directory of Specialists Diagnosing Autism (ASD) in Adults.Directory of NonSpeaker Pages, Blogs, & Media.AAC: Augmentative & Alternative Communication. ![]()
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