Going to a Concert with APD: Don't Forget the Earplugs!

"My ears felt like they were going numb because of how loud the noise was. Did you feel that too?"  Hailey had been bent over, squeezing her eyes tight and holding her ears with her hands. She looked like someone in pain and I knew I needed to get her out of there quickly.

For weeks Hailey had looked forward to going to a concert with her two closest and dearest friends. As we were going to see the Go-Gos and the B-52s, the girls all bought 1980s prom style clothes and fixed their hair up with 1980s styles (Hailey had a side pony tail.)  Us moms sat behind them in seats close to the stage, so we could all see very well.  However, the NOISE was incredibly loud!

Hailey desperately wanted to be with her friends and enjoy the show together, but she just couldn't handle the noise and mommy over here neglected to bring any earplugs.  So I escorted her from our close-to-the-stage seats to the farthest corner of the lawn, away from the noise as we could get and still be in the amphitheater.  This made the noise at a tolerable level and she felt immediately much better.  However, even there after a time she got to her threshold of bearability and started to melt; tears welled up in her eyes and she needed hugged and cold water and to leave the amphitheater. She missed being with her friends, but just couldn't handle the noise.

Hailey's thoughts:

"I couldn't understand the words.  All I heard was blah, blah, blah."

"I liked eating a turkey leg". (They had them there to purchase.)

"Even though I couldn't hear the words, I could still tell the difference between the Go-Gos and the B-52s by the way the beat sounded.  I liked the beat and the sound of the B-52s better."

"My friends didn't think it was too loud."

"If I ever go to a concert again, I will bring very good ear plugs or something even better than earplugs because even blocking my ears, it was too loud."

Accommodations for Chewing Gum and Other Sensory Needs Kids Have

Chewing gum and other things that help people lower their anxiety and process information better are finally getting recognized!

Remember when everyone in school was supposed to sit still and be quiet?  Well some teachers and schools are starting to realize that this does not work for all children.  Some need to move to think.  Some perform better with classical music playing in the background.  Some need to chew gum to lower their anxiety levels.

I am a homeschooling momma and I know that each of my three children are very different in their needs:

•  My daughter uses gum to lower her anxiety and focus better. She also requires absolute silence to read, do math, or basically anything that requires a lot of concentration. Noise is a horrible distraction for her and it raises her anxiety level tremendously. (Sit still and be quiet would be fantastic as long as she could chew her gum and fully understand the directions.)
• Her twin brother likes to pace as he processes and recalls information.  He says his brain just works better when he moves.  Making him sit still causes his brain to just freeze up; he’ll actually sit and stare at you while his body tenses-up in frustration.  (He would have been one miserable child in the classrooms of sit still and be quiet.)
•  My youngest child is so full of energy that he needs to be able to jump around, be loud, and move a lot during the day or else he explodes – like that extra energy is just boiling inside of him and needing a way out.  (If in school, I would say he would benefit from extra recess as his body needs that time of physical activity and being loud.)

wiggle seat

If your child needs something different than what your school is providing, talk to them.*  See if you can get a permit for your child to chew gum, move (walking or using a wiggle seat), have some sort of extra physical time (maybe a 3 minute break to run around), listen to classical music in head phones while working, use noise cancelling headphones for more quiet, have a visual blocker of some sort if he/she is visually distracted, or whatever else you think would be of benefit.

*There are parents whom have been successful in getting their schools or teachers to permit their child to have accommodations that make sense for that child.  These are usually granted with an IEP or 504 plan, but sometimes they will accommodate even without one of these.  For instance, neither of my boys would qualify for a 504 plan, but they still could use these accommodations if they were in a classroom environment.