Some suggestions from my O.T.

One of my little man's MAIN triggers come from when we're out in public. He hates noise, bright lights, extra. We're almost always guaranteed a melt down when he goes anywhere in public, and it's gotten to be pretty awful taking him out anywhere.

When I told his O.T. this last week, she had a good suggestion -- putting a hat on him to block out the bright lights, as well as putting either headphones, ear plugs, or a pair of ear muffs on him to block out the sound. I heard this, and I had to chuckle. While it *is* a good idea (and I know this sounds lame), but I'm worried about the looks he'll get from other parents and kids while we're out in public while he's dressed in his sensory blocking outfit! We get enough nasty looks as it is, when we're out and he's hitting or pinching me, and I just can't stand anymore nasty looks.

So Stefanie had a good idea -- a small Mp3 player that he can listen to! I think that's a wonderful idea, and I'm going to go out today and look for some that are cheap enough and durable enough for him. He likes to listen to his big brother's MP3 players, so I think he'd love to have one of his own.

AND, he can still wear a baseball cap in public without getting too many stares! I have noticed that when he gets overwhelmed, if he has his favorite Spongebob knit hat near him, he'll put that hat on and pull it down as far as he can, so it almost covers his eyes and covers his ears, and he'll go about playing with his toys. I guess that's his way of blocking out the 'scary stuff' around him.