Disability Activities
Autism
Introduction: A person with Autism Spectrum Disorder, has a brain works different from that of a typical person of the same age. This may lead to differences in communication, learning, making friends and distracting or painful responses to certain sensations (sounds, textures, and lights).
Activity 1: Tape a piece of sandpaper inside your shirt. Imagine that the tag in your shirt bothered you as much as this sandpaper. Could you last the day?
Activity 2: Listen to one of these sounds with and without headphones. Could you concentrate at school, or do you chores if a noise was bothering you this much? If anyone appears distressed stop the sound.
Activity 3: Discuss: After a while, these sensations(the annoyance of the sandpaper and noise) can lead to Autistic burnout. This can make communication, emotional regulation and other problems. The world around a person with ASD can bother them so much that they need to focus on feeling better. The methods that they use to feel better are referred to as coping skills. Everyone can experience stress in their lives and the coping tools can help. Allow the scouts to tryout the various coping tools provided.
Activity 4: Hand out the rope and describe it as a scouting fidget. It is red, white, and blue in honor of our veterans.
Trauma (Audio triggers)
Introduction: Trauma occurs from something really bad that happens to someone. It could be a bad car crash or surviving an earthquake or other really bad event. Smells, feelings, and sounds can all trigger memories of these bad events. When a person has experienced a major trauma, these smells, feelings and sounds can remind them of the event. An example would watching a show and hearing a sound that reminded you of something really bad that happened to you.
Instructions: Let the scouts know that the sounds they are hearing are safe sounds and nothing bad is happening on the phone. Do not show the screen and see if the scouts recognized the sound. If anyone is distressed stop the clip.
How can trauma interfere with a person's life?
Might a veteran or member of the military respond differently to some of these sounds than you would?
When trauma disrupts a person's daily life for longer than 3-6 months they typically have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD. This is a common problem for veterans and survivors of disasters.
