Headphones for 4yo

[clinellwipe]

Hi,

please forgive my ignorance , despite spending last two years on the internet reading everything about autism I still feel I know nothing.

My 4yo DS, who is awaiting an autism assessment, is clearly sensitive to noise that he isn’t in control of. It makes sense to get him some noise cancelling headphones for when his baby sister is crying in the car etc.

My question is, if he routinely wears them at nursery which is definitely noisy and chaotic, will he then not learn how to ‘tolerate’ or ‘cope’ with noisy environments? Ie, if he wears them at nursery will he realistically need to continue through school years wearing them in the classroom ?

I will definitely buy some, so please don’t think I’m denying him something that will help him. But I do want him to learn some kind of coping strategies for dealing with background noise. Thanks

This seems to split opinion. IMO, DC don’t learn to tolerate something by being put in a situation that is overwhelming. Some DC do grow out of sensory difficulties or learn to manage them better. A sensory OT assessment can help.

My DS started wearing them once he was in school, he does manage fine outside of school, very occasionally he asks for them.

I've found not only do they help the noise but he sees them as a safety net also.

I would take them with you when out, and tell him to ask if he needs them.

My DS has them ready for when a particular noise triggers him, e.g. another child crying. He can happily play in certain environments without them, but he look for them when he is struggling with certain sounds.