Expert: Dr. Sharon A. Mitchell - 11/8/2007

Question
I have a student who has Aspergers Syndrome.  During gym, this student has a extremely hard time in the gymnasium with all the noise.  Would having  noise reducing earphones help, what else would you suggest.Thank You.

Answer
Yes, it might help.

Is this a suggestion the student made? My main concerns about head phones are that they might make this child look quite different from the other kids. He may not mind, but you should first discuss this with him and with his parents. Also, sound headphones are fairly sound-proofed. They may block out so much sound that they could pose a danger if your student could not hear someone calling a warning when a ball is coming near his head.

An alternative to head phones might be ear plugs. You can buy inexpensive soft foam plugs that you squish then they expand within the ear. They block out some sounds, especially high frequency sounds but it's possible to hear speech while wearing them.

There are also ear plugs made of down or cotton batten encased in thin plastic. Or the type of plugs some swimmers wear.

Do you know for sure what it is about the noise in the gym that bothers him? Most kids with autism spectrum disorders (the umbrella term under which Asperger's falls) have difficulties with auditory processing. While their hearing may be all right, understanding what they hear, processing it and then acting on it are areas of weaknesses. And auditory processing is especially difficult in noisy situations, such as gymnasiums.

I've written an article about some of the sensory issues that crop up in gymnasiums and some things you can do to help at http://www.autismsite.ca/html/gym_and_music.html

I hope some of these suggestions help.

Sharon A. Mitchell, B.A., B.Ed., M.A.
www.autismsite.ca