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Another thing I love about Hallowe'en? Glow sticks.
Glow sticks are cool for any kid, but when your kid is a "flapper"? Wow. A glow stick takes on a whole new persona. I had forgotten that this is one of my favorite things about having an Autistic child around Hallowe'en-time.
Picture this- it's bedtime, and we're laying in bed trying to fall asleep. Zzzzzzzzzoom! A flash of brilliance fills my field of vision.
Zzzzzzzoom! Zzzzzzoom! More flashes of light. All of the sudden, the flashes turn into a butterfly. Jaysen is stimming...in the dark...with a glow stick.
Wow- this is cool.
The glow stick continues to dance furiously. It flaps, it zooms, it spins, it twirls, and makes fluid shapes. They're like liquid designs floating in space. It's beautiful.
I watched his show for a bit, then gently reminded him that it's time for sleep. He continued for a few minutes more. His familiar movements invisible, only to be traced by bright neon green. When he decided he was finished, he put the glow stick under his pillow, where it stayed until the next night.
Is your child Autistic? Do they flap/stim? Give 'em a glow stick at bedtime, sit back, and enjoy. I guarantee you will see a most fantastic display, that your child creates.
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10 comments:
Junior and Noddy both flap! I should get them some. Good idea!
My deafblind daughter is also a flapper! I'm going to try the glow sticks. I bet she will love them.
I have no idea what flapping is! lol Sounds interesting!
We love playing with them at my house. Even though my kids are not flappers they caught on to the fun and love to dance around with them.
I love a mom who can see the beauty in the quirks! You are awesome, my friend!
I think it's a great idea, but I could see him chewing through and smearing liquid neon everywhere. Also he has to have the light on at night. Oh, maybe it would persuade him to turn it off!
I tried all sorts of things like in the days when my son held things, but his favorite was chop stick!
We have a couple of flappers and stimmers but this is the first year that anyone has permitted something as 'dangerous' as a glow stick anywhere near their personages - so much progress.
Cheers
Sabrina,
Some people call "stimming" "flapping", or whatever. It's usually a reaction to something (fear, anxiety, pleasure, boredom, etc...), that is characterized by rapid repetetive movements, to provide some form of stimulation (hence the nickname "stim").
I have a great picture of Jaysen stimming that explains it better than I can, but I don't know where to post it!
What a neat idea for an art project. i'd love to see a video of this on youtube. a friend of mine runs a business selling glow sticks if you're looking for a good place to pick some up.
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