Seeking Advice for Toddler with Auditory Sensory Issues

@warriormama try not to be too hard on yourself! Even in situations with neurotypical and abled children newborns regularly take up quite a bit of attention and it can be a real adjustment for everyone. What's important is that you're doing your best to balance their needs now that you know! Sorting can be a big thing that lots of autistic people enjoy :3 It can give them something to focus on to help calm them down and regulate them, it kind of feels like doing a relaxing puzzle to me. You know those little colorful bears that preschools commonly have? Those are really good for sorting for the colors but so are things like blocks, balls, plastic animals, marbles or buttons for older kids, stuff like that that can come in different colors or sizes

@warriormama Also!! If it turns out that your little one is autistic, do *not* go to AutismSpeaks!! I cannot stress this enough. They believe that autism can be cured - which it can't, have demonized autistic people, and speak as an almost entirely neurotypical group without any autistic voices involved in the decision process. They rely on something called ABA, Applied Behavioral Analysis, which treats autistic traits as reversible behaviors - which they aren't - and forces autistic people to mask, often creating trauma in doing so. ABA can last up to 30 hours a week on top of school and has no benefits for non-speaking autistic people. It squanders mental health in autistic people and the things you "practice" in ABA, you often lose soon after. In my opinion, the best thing you can do to learn about autism is look for actually autistic people. For instance, wander onto the autistic side of Instagram (can't speak for anything else) and listen to what the creators have to say. If you want, I have some good recommendations, but this is already getting long as it is. And, obviously, *listen* to your daughter. [Read this: https://medium.com/artfullyautistic/autism-speaks-is-the-largest-autism-organization-so-why-dont-autistic-people-like-it-f7b3bd30dd5c]

@warriormama Books will absolutely help!! I love love love books, especially when I was a little kid. Good on you for trying to understand more about yourself as well, it will help both you and your kiddo in the long run.

@warriormama you're totally Mama. For all of us it's different. What really sucks for you as a parent, is that our sensory needs can constantly be changing. Something that didn't bother us one day, might be god awful the next. So it could be sometime new in the home, some other change might have occurred that seemed so small it didn't register with the adults, but is like nails on a chalkboard to kiddo. On Facebook, there's a page called autistic inclusivity meets AIM, I also love autistic teacher, and the autistic girls are not ok. They've got great information about autism is general, along with tips and tools for parents. Oh, autism dietician is another good source for food related sensory issues. I know there is a lot of information out there and it can be overwhelming. As an autistic person, my best advice would be to avoid anything ABA related, or anything connected to autism speaks.