#I asked for a noise-reducing headphones

[saunne]

Pros : The ADHDon't medecine is working. I can hear myself thinking and generally are much aware how scattered my brain is. My impulse control is still crap but at least I'm a lot more aware of it. Like I stop in the middle of doings Things™ sometimes and goes "why the fuck did I started doing that while I was doing that other thing instead". The "dry mouth" side effect is actually useful cause I drink three times more and are for once correctly hydrated.

Cons : It worsened my hearing sensitivity. Worsened as in doubled. In a week and half span. It's terrifying. The lowest sound level on my phone became "too much" after more than ten minutes. Even with the headphones in my ears but no sound, I am still far too aware of all the sounds around. I can't watch TV with my mom anymore because the constant sound changes drive me crazy. I almost had a panic attack at work again. Because of a phone ringing in a "bad tone". Children's cries turned into a weapon of mass destruction for my hearing and I have to work around children so if it keeps going it will become difficult really fast. The sounds I hear now have a direct influence on my mood: I listened to the same song almost constantly on repeat yesterday from 9:30 a.m. until 2:30 a.m. the next day because it put me in a "zone". I had "zone" sounds before but not to that extent.

[writingquestionsanswered]

I'm a teen aspiring author. I live in a house with three children and my walls and door are not very soundproof. Do you have any tips to get focused not by reducing distractions but getting focused while still being in the middle of chaos?

Focusing Despite the Chaos

Even if you can't eliminate distractions, it's still worth trying to minimize them, so I want to start there... then I'll get to what to do if you can't. Here are some things you might be able to try...

1 - Minimizing Noise - In a perfect world we could all afford a nice pair of noise cancelling headphones, but there are other ways to minimize the noise that reaches your ears. For example, many convenience stores and stores with pharmacy areas sell packets of disposable ear plugs for just a few dollars. These can reduce noise enough to make it less distracting, so definitely worth a try.

2 - Utilize Continuous Sound/"Noise Colors" - Continuous sound, like the deep rumble of a waterfall or the gentle roar of heavy rain, falls on a spectrum called noise colors. White Noise covers all frequencies equally, so it provides a soothing background hum that can help to minimize other sounds. You can find white noise generators via different apps and places like YouTube or web sites like A Soft Murmur. Or, you can put on a loud fan, air purifier, air conditioner, etc. Pink Noise is a little softer, like the fall of gentle rain, so this might be something like a fan on a lower setting. Brown noise is a step lower than that, like the ambient noise you get from having the window open on a quiet but breezy day. White, pink, or brown noise can be a great way to reduce the impact of chaos coming from the rest of the house.

3 - Put on a YouTube Ambience Room - YouTube is absolutely bursting with "ambience rooms" and channels dedicated to study music, sleep music, relaxation music, etc. These can be a fantastic way to promote focus, not only because they give you something steady to listen to, you can often find things that gel thematically with whatever you're writing, which can help you block out other distractions.

4 - Try a ZenWare Writing Program - OmmWriter, ZenWriter, Focus Writer, and others provide features that help you focus on your writing, such as simple interfaces, special typing sounds, white noise and sound generators, and word counters. These are not typically free but are usually reasonably priced.

5 - Shift Your Writing Time - Even a chaotic house has its quiet times. It could be early in the morning before everyone else is awake, late at night after everyone else is in bed, during mealtime, or when everyone is away. Pay attention to when the chaos is at its lowest each day and try to utilize those times for writing if you can.

When you can't minimize the chaos...

Any combination of the above tactics can still be great ways to help you focus a little more, even if it doesn't really reduce the noise or chaos. Just having things like a special screen or special audio to focus on can help you mentally block out distractions. To some degree, it's something that takes some trial and error--to see which tactics work for you--and practice. I know writers who can write on plans, trains, buses, car rides, in the middle of busy places... it's just something they did out of necessity and got good at with time. You will, too. ♥

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I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

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[howtocareforbunnyboys]

Communicating with smalls who can't speak right now

To clarify: this post is written for carers of age regressors who experience temporary loss of speech from time to time. My small one sometimes regresses too small to speak, and when he's big, overstimulation can also cause a verbal shutdown.

This post is written by an autistic person with autistic friends, family, and an autistic partner, but it is not about nonverbal autistic people. I'm not nonverbal, and neither are any of my close friends or family members, so I lack the adequate experience to know how to accommodate someone who does not process words the same way as someone who can verbalize.

Outline:

What to ask? (Help for how to proceed, written with non-autistic carers in mind)

Leeloo AAC app (method)

Option chart (method)

Sign language (method)

Understanding sensory management

🌷 🪻 🌻 🪻 🌷

What to ask: (Autistic triage, lol)

If your small one is overstimulated, then the first step is to determine what is causing irritation.

"Are you overstimulated?" Can work for older kids, but "is everything too much?" May work better for younger regressors. Similarly, "is everything too quiet?" Is a great way to ask if they're understimulated.

"Do you know what the problem is?" Opens the door for them to point to the problem, cover their eyes/ears, or tug on their clothes.

If they answer no, start removing stimuli and asking if it's better. E.g., dim the light and ask "is it better with the light low?" If they indicate yes, repeat question 1. If they indicate no, ask if they want the light back up.

If there's still a problem and it's not external, it's probably an internal stimulus. They may be hungry, thirsty, or need to use the restroom. They may need to switch positions, stretch their limbs, or treat a minor injury. They may feel nauseated, have dry eyes, or need a shower. Interoception can be really hard for autistic people, and any of these stimuli can register as just pain, distress, discomfort, or overstimulation, without a clear source.

I know the options for possible sources for overstimulation is seemingly endless, and being asked questions can itself be overstimulating. You can reduce this problem by identifying for yourself the most likely triggers. For example, if your small just had a meal 20 minutes ago, then hunger probably isn't the culprit. If the noise level in the room (and coming in from the doors and windows) is already low, that's probably not the main problem.

You can also ask some questions silently, by offering them helpful objects (noise-canceling headphones, fidget toys, their phone, blankets, plushies, beverages, etc.)

Lastly, it's important to know that when overstimulation leads to a shutdown or meltdown, it's rarely due to one cause. It's because there's just too much going on all at once. It's not "the light is too bright," it's "the light is too bright, my clothes are uncomfortable, there is a small beeping noise, I'm getting a headache, and I'm carrying stress from events that happened earlier today."

Because it's a cumulative effect, removing some of the irritants (and adding soothing stimuli) can be enough to start to return the person to baseline.

As they approach baseline, they'll be able to think better, and may start to be able to identify problems on their own. For example, when the sharpest lights and noises are blocked and their body is at the right temperature, they may be able to identify "oh, I'm thirsty!" and request a beverage (with gestures, writing, typing, etc).

As they approach baseline, they may be able to verbalize again, or they may still need a break from speaking. The process of your body moving from a high-stress state to a low-stress state takes time. Your body has to filter out all those stress hormones, and build back up the feel-good hormones.

It can be that nothing is actively wrong anymore at that exact moment, but they need some quiet time with their favorite media to rest and recover.

🌷 🪻 🌻 🪻 🌷

Leeloo AAC

If they can still type, the app Leeloo is a free, albeit limited, AAC program.

[Link to Leeloo AAC via Google Play]

Pros:

Mostly free

Can read aloud what you type (TTS)

Has pre-programmed words with pictures in some categories

Cute aesthetic geared towards children

Cons:

Can't add your own words and pictures

Some categories are behind a paywall

Can't record your own pronunciations

For regressors who are old enough to type, this is a great resource.

For regressors who are younger, the limited number of programmed images & words may be a problem.

🌷 🪻 🌻 🪻 🌷

Option chart

The above image shows two ways to show your small options, which they can select through pointing or placing their hand on top of the desired option.

Above the orange line is for yes/no questions. I find that when Bunny is too overstimulated to speak, his needs are often too complex to put into a simple nod or head shake, so an "other" option is essential.

Placing "other" in the center also allows him to point between two options to indicate "yes, but I need accommodations" or "this is similar to what I need, but not quite".

Below the orange line are 3 symbols 🤎🏵⭐️. The specific symbols used don't really matter; I just drew a heart, a flower, and a star because they're simple shapes every kid has seen a thousand times, so it's not difficult visual stimuli for the small one to process.

While you draw the symbols, you explain to them what the options are. After the first question, you can either turn the page to make new symbols, or you can reset the meaning of the same symbols.

If the regressor struggles with resetting the meaning, but you don't want to draw a new set every time, then try just drawing 2-3 sets and switching sets between questions.

You can also place 3 toys in front of the regressor for them to grasp, if they don't respond as well to requests for pointing. This method is excellent for very, very young regressors that struggle to read.

Accommodations for blind / visually impaired regressors :

You can still use the option chart method, of course. You can guide their hand to 3 different, familiar objects, or verbally inform them what you're placing in front of them. It's important that the objects are very different, so they can find and pick up (for example) the cold, metallic spoon, or soft plushie, or smooth stone without confusion.

If you have permission to touch their body, you can assign meaning to different body parts, e.g. right shoulder for yes, left shoulder for no, knee for "maybe/kinda", top of head for "I don't know".

I specify "if you have permission to touch" because verbally indicating body parts will involve the possible factor of right/left confusion. A regressed person may temporarily lose the ability to tell right from left, but if you touch each shoulder, they're likely to be able to remember which shoulder means "yes" and which means "no".

🌷 🪻 🌻 🪻 🌷

Sign Language

I don't think I need to explain this one.

Pros:

Gain the ability to communicate better with more people in your local Deaf community

Gain the ability to communicate with noise-canceling headphones on, thereby reducing your level of auditory stimulation 🎧

Can listen to music and talk at the same time 🎶

Can talk in libraries 📚

Can talk in loud places like buses and trains without wanting to fly out of your skin. 🚌 🚂

Gain the security of knowing that as you age, if you start to lose your hearing, you'll still be able to communicate. 👵🧓👴

Cons:

For many reasons, it's best to learn directly from a Deaf teacher, and that costs money. If you have $10 USD spare per week and access to reliable transportation, you can probably join a beginner class held by your local Deaf resource center without any issues, but not everyone has those things. There are also courses held online, but please try to find one that teaches your regional sign language. (Learning ASL with a San Francisco accent when you live in NYC is perhaps a bit odd, but not as bad as learning sign language from a whole different country.)

It takes a lot of time to learn another language, so you'll still need a different method in the meantime.

🌷 🪻 🌻 🪻 🌷

Understanding sensory management

This is probably obvious, but when you're autistic, a great deal of effort goes into curating your sensory input. Speaking as a city-dweller, we live in a loud, stinky, bright, ugly, stressful, uncomfortable world, and we can't change that.

Arranging your schedule/routine to include regular bursts of comfort and happiness, and reducing irritants where possible, is necessary self-care for an autistic person. Disruption to these processes is distressing because we really rely on these skills to manage the uncomfortable world.

[Example] : "I always watch ____ and eat ____ on my lunch break." = Going out to lunch with a friendly coworker will mean giving up my restful time, adding a whole lot of unanticipated stressors, and require conversation during a vital time I use for quiet relaxation. This is how I get through my work day.

[Example] : "I only eat this brand of [food item] and wear [specific clothing type/brand/fabric]. I am upset if this is unavailable." = I know what feels good in my mouth and tastes good, and I know what feels good on my body. Eating/drinking these things gives me a reliable burst of comfort and happiness. Wearing these things gives me a steady stream of reliable comfort/happiness throughout the day.

You can probably think of a point in your life when you were going through a difficult, emotional time, and you were taking things day by day, hour by hour. You got through work 15 minutes at a time, counting down til your next break. You spent your break doing something comforting. Maybe you avoided watching the news and avoided stressful family members.

You probably felt more irritable than usual when the grocery store radio plays a song you dislike, or your shopping cart has a squeaky wheel, or your watchband keeps catching on your arm hair, or the cashier looks like they're judging the nutritional content of your purchases and is considering making a bad joke. Normally, you'd filter out these mundane annoyances, but now they set your teeth on edge.

Maybe there was only one thing you looked forward to each day, like a little oasis. And if something went wrong with that precious thing, then everything you've been trying to keep inside would come spilling out in jagged breaths and hot tears spilling down your red, embarrassed face.

Recalling all this, you might notice that during those difficult, emotional times, non-autistic people use the same skills as we do --- limit stressors, and increase opportunities for comfort and happiness.

You do this naturally for others, already!

When your loved one is in mourning, what do you do for them? You limit stressors (clean their house, do their laundry, run errands for them, etc). You increase their comfort and happiness (give them gifts, make them their favorite foods, take them out to see their favorite sports team/movie franchise, etc).

Why does grieving require similar skills to daily life with autism, even though being autistic can be a joyful experience?

Autistic brains interpret sensory information differently than allistic (non-autistic) brains. We struggle to filter out unimportant stimuli, and we notice fine details, which means there is a LOT of stimuli. We just experience a "louder" external world than allistic people do.

When allistic people are in a heightened emotional state, they temporarily lose the capacity to filter out stimuli. This means that, for a time, they're experiencing a very loud internal world (from the heightened emotion) and a louder than usual external world all at the same time.

So when your autistic loved one freaks out about something you interpret as unimportant, please keep in mind that whatever it is, it's something that is important to them. It's something they were relying on, and looking forward to. The world is so, so loud. We need our reliable comfort and happiness. We need our rest and relaxation, (even if that rest and relaxation is achieved via jumping, spinning, dancing, singing, or making specific noises).

Thanks for reading :). I hope this gave you (and your small) something to discuss or try.

[bakubunny]

thinking abt being shota’s s/o when you’re neurodivergent. sorta self ship-y so ignore this if that’s not your thing.

your home is a quiet and peaceful place the majority of the time, even with the addition of the teenage boy and the little girl you’ve taken in.

he keeps your noise cancelling headphones and earbuds fully charged, even if you forget.

the one time you went on a date at an amusement park and forgot your favorite earplugs at home, he went online and bought an extra pair to put on his keys so he has them at all times.

doesn’t judge your strange eating habits or get on you for not eating enough vegetables or something. he’ll always encourage you to try something new when it’s his night to cook, but he asks you about most new things first.

shota gets your anxiety; it’s not like he doesn’t have it himself. a lot people make the assumption from his outward personality that he’d handle things like panic attacks and mood swings poorly, but that’s not the case. he’s a quiet, steady presence and generally good at talking you through it if you want that.

he understands that self care can be difficult sometimes and encourages you to do things with him when it gets really bad.

he truly doesn’t mind that you’re a little scatterbrained and messy. he’ll body double with you any time you ask if it helps you focus.

bought you a weighted blanket when he realized how much him simply laying on you reduced your stress. says it was worth every penny.

gremlins: @arlerts-angel @dcsiremc @darkstarlight82 @bookcluberror @zazter-den @neon-gothicc @breadandbutter33 @i-literally-cant-with-this @rinalouu @stvrfir3 @r4td0lll @emmab3mma @aria-chikage @mhadabiandhawks4eva @yazminetrahan @doumadono @dreamcastgirl99 @maddietries @jazzafayesworld @karebear5118 @unofficialmuilover @cherriluvs35 @erensslut @ruu-https @hana-yuri @keiva1000 @katsul0vr @trickster-kat @ayeohoh-blog @dinomeow @flamgosstuff @mistressreaper @angelltheninth @anonymously-ominous @amberexe2 @hisconsistency @nanamisbigassschlong @223princess @honeeslust @naughtygobbo @acenanxious @blumoonwisteria @chaos-gem @levizonlywife @kxtsxkii @katsuslover @nuttyunknowndetective @yooxverse @jjamiee21

[staytinyzen01]

Outfit Meltdowns.

Stray Kids 9/10th member au

Jiah X Chan and Lee Know

A/N: I am autistic. I wrote this piece and any future pieces with my own personal experiences. This piece is in no way made to make fun of people who have autism.

warning: autistic meltdown

Jiah was nervous. They were at an award show to perform My Pace, and the stylists were showing her the outfit she was going to wear. She wasn't going to lie, but the idea of wearing a skirt to perform scared her. Admittedly, she had said she wanted to try something new, but Jiah meant slightly more in tune with the others' outfits, not doing a 180 on the style and especially a skirt that would limit her dancing room. She put the outfit on anyway

She sighed and got out of the changing room to speak to a stylist. She could feel herself getting worked up at the skirt and the feeling of the scratchy fabric against her skin. to speak to a stylist. She could feel herself getting worked up at the skirt and the feeling of the scratchy fabric against her skin. "I'm sorry to disturb you. However, this skirt is too tight. The fabric is itchy and just looking at my skin, it is red. It isn't going to last a minute of full choreography. Is there a way to get it changed to something else?"

The stylists shook their heads. "At the meeting when we talked about your outfits and the possibility of trying something new, the company bought the skirts and that is the only clothing available for you.

"Jiah just sighed and nodded. Thanking them anyway before turning back to the dressing room with the other guys. She braced herself as she knew they would comment on it due to skirts being out of character for her. She just focused on keeping calm, attempting to stop herself from ripping it off her body.

Minho was the first to see her, he was on the same side as her and the others were in the room next door. He saw her frowning slightly before noticing that she had her legs showing which was out of the norm for her. He eyed her a bit more before heading to her.

“Are you okay? You don’t look happy.”

Jiah just shook her head, her hands wiping her skirt repeatedly as they felt clammy. She began to start pacing and biting her lip trying to focus on anything but the skirt she had been put in. Minho grew increasingly more concerned at the youngest member and moved so he gripped Jiah’s arm to try and bring her comfort but she flinched away and began to hyperventilate a little. She was trying to keep her cool and bit down on her lip harder. She didn’t realise that she had made it bleed. 

“Melody, can you hear me?” Minho questioned, he was quickly growing more panicked. All Jiah could hear was white noise as she continued to pace, she stopped wiping her hands and had started flapping them at her side instead. Occasionally she tapped each of her fingers individually before returning to flapping them. Minho shouted for one of the boys to help and it was Chan that came through. He was about to question what the matter was but he saw Jiah pacing and Minho stood to the side and immediately asked what was going on. He grabbed his phone ready to google ways to help with whatever was going on. 

“I don’t know what is really going on, she came out of the dressing room, spoke to a stylist and has been like this ever since. She has bit her lip so hard it started bleeding and has been flapping and pacing. She started hyperventilating a couple of minutes ago. I tried to get her attention but it’s like she couldn’t hear me. I touched her arm and she flinched like I had burnt her and continued what she was doing. I really don’t know what is going on or how to help her.” 

Chan nodded and typed up what was going on. “The internet says it is stimming? Or possibly a melt down but both go with autism. It says to reduce any sensory stimuli. Turn off the lights and shut the door. Grab your headphones and put them in her ears and then scoop her up in a blanket. We don’t have a weighted one so just hug her tight. I will speak to the manager about this as we need to know officially what is going on.”

Minho nods and whips into action, doing what Chan said. He found a plain blanket and rushed to turn off the lights and shut the door as quietly as possible. The sudden lack of bright lights caused Jiah to stop for a second. That allowed for Minho to put his headphones on Jiah’s head. He came up behind her and stretched the blanket out and wrapped it around her body, pulling her close and hugging her tight. He stood there for a few minutes and just cooed quietly to try and get her to calm down.

Her rigid body slowly relaxed and they lowered to the floor where he pulled her into his lap and held her like a baby. He saw her lip still trapped in between her teeth and gently pried it out, wiping the blood with his sleeve. Jiah blinked and slowly the room came back into focus. She looked up at Minho, who was cradling her to his chest and looking at Chan who was googling on his phone. She tugged on his shirt gently and Minho looked down to her, he smiled slightly at her. 

“Hey baby, you back with us?” She just nods and pulls the blanket tighter around her body. She sniffles slightly but is a lot calmer than before. Chan moves closer and crouches in front of Minho and Jiah, stroking her hair slightly.

“Hey sweetheart. How are you feeling? When you are ready we can talk, yeah? We have quite a bit of time before we need to be on stage so we can just relax.” She nods and gives him a grateful smile. She waited a few more minutes before adjusting herself in Minho’s lap so her back was against his chest.

“I’m sorry for worrying you. I don’t even know what fully happened. I spoke to the stylist about the skirt I am wearing. The fabric is itchy and hurting me and that’s all I could focus on. I don’t remember anything up until a couple of minutes ago where Minho oppa and I were on the floor.” 

Chan shook his head as Minho stroked her hair. “It’s okay. We just need to know, has that happened before? Has anyone spoken to you about autism? Just so we know what is going on and how we can go about helping in the future.”

Jiah shook her head. “No, I don’t think that has happened before. If it has, you would have to ask my parents. And autism? No but once again my parents would be the only people who could tell you but the likelihood they will tell you anything, doesn’t exist as they disowned me. Minho Oppa’s family took me in and are waiting for all my information to come through.”

Chan just nods. “Well we can get you out of the skirt and into trousers as I know I.N had trousers spare as his stylist couldn’t decide and we will get the JYP lawyers to chase up that information. If you don’t have a diagnosis, would you like to go through with getting one. That way the company and managers can help as well to make sure we prevent this from happening again.”

Jiah nods and Chan smiles. Minho placed a kiss on the side of her head before moving to get up.

“Take the skirt off and wrap the blanket around you. We can grab the trousers and then the makeup artists can help your lip. Everything is going to be okay.” Minho stated as he and Chan turned and left the room.

Jiah did as she was told and was soon more comfortable and headed to the boys room. She was tired and headed to where I.N was laying on a cooling mat on the floor. She laid next to him and slowly dozed off. Chan was speaking to the manager and Minho was eyeing Jiah to make sure she was okay, messaging his parents to let them know what was happening.Soon the time to perform came and it went perfectly and they soon headed back to the dorms to rest.

[donniesexceptionalmind]

Heya!

What do you do when your stressed? I feel like people really dont talk about YOU as much!

if you want I can also tell you what I do when im stressed!

-Vixen

How considerate of you to think of me, @theyvixen /g

I have LOTS of tools to use when I'm stressed, I just...

Simply do not use them sometimes.

I will add everything I SHOULD do when stressed, regardless of the underlying causes to do not stretch my post - it will be long anyway...

✨️ My ways of HEALTHY stress coping: THE MASTER LIST ✨️

Stimming, fidgeting, anything that uses my senses to help me with my focus

Touching spikey objects (Raph's shell, I do have pressure rings & balls) to ground myself - friendly reminder that it can become a self-injuring stim if you're not careful enough & that's NOT a healthy way of coping (I know they're effective in the specific situation)

Chirping & churring, Echolalia, aka vocal stimming to calm myself down or keep myself grounded

Chewing gum

Tuning out bright lights with sunglasses & unwanted, complex noises with my headphones (Mikey gifted me galaxy-themed ear defenders for at home!!!!)

Reducing verbal communication to text or sign language

Taking a break from the situation that's stressful or leaving entirely

Listening to music, stim dance to it & sing along to release tension

If I am to concentrate: meditation

Watching my favourite movies & shows or clips of them if I am able to

Screaming into a pillow

Deep pressure from Raph or my weighted blanket

Writing my thoughts out (paper or phone, mostly phone, though)

Running (like the exercise)

Thinking of my special interests, e.g. citing facts in my head, favourite lines, ...

Hydrating & eating something to get energy (sometimes I'm just dehydrated & in need of food)

Talk to Mikey

Dissociating

Seek comfort in Nardo (which is just me sticking to him)

This list is probably very incomplete, but that was all I was able to remember at the moment.

Apologies.

Me whenever my brothers ask if I have done active meltdown/ shutdown prevention:

Please share your ways of coping with stress! I'd love to read them & find new ways!

Thank you for the lovely inbox, I appreciate it!

[donnieisaprettyboy]

not to be sappy but I love my fiancé so much. he has been my biggest supporter and encourages me to do what I need to be happy.

my depression was horrible these last few months. so he cooked dinner and swept the floors and cleaned the litter boxes and did the dishes. and when I finally felt able to get up and clean the litter boxes myself for the first time in months he told me he was proud of me.

when my depression got so bad it became an emergency he left work to take me to the hospital because I was too scared to drive myself. I didn’t have to say anything. he came home and hugged me tight while I cried.

I was worried my transition would make him love me less. he said he just wants me to be happy because that means he gets to spend more time in this life with me. he didn’t struggle at all with my new name and pronouns.

on my bad days, my truly dysphoric days, he’ll come home from work and ask “how’s my pretty boy?” he calls me handsome and helps me find ways to dress that help minimize the hurt I feel in my body. he always makes sure I know that I’m his pretty boy.

on days when I feel like I can’t do anything but cry, he’ll hold me. he’ll put on my favorite movies or shows and hold me close and play with my hair and kiss the top of my head.

he keeps ear plugs and noise reducing headphones in his car. just in case we go somewhere loud, so I can still enjoy myself. when I have nonverbal spells he doesn’t get mad I won’t talk. we find workarounds.

we dance in public. he makes me laugh when I feel desolate. he drives me to work every weekend just so we can spend more time together. he is beautiful and smart and hardworking and gentle and kind and such a safe person to be around.

I don’t care what this life throws at me so long as I have him by my side. we can handle anything if we take it on together.

he’s snoring next to me right now. I hope I get to hear him snoring next to me every night for the rest of our lives.

[bluravenite]

Do you think, based on this concept, drummers could wear noise-canceling headphones to reduce the impact on their ears? And ghouls who are already deaf, wear hearing aids, unless of course the ministry would allocate a budget for this

Damn, now thinking about hearing aids, it would be funny if from time to time, when other ghouls swore at them, the earthlings just turned them off, and then smiled maliciously :)

By the way, what's up with the Swiss?

Haha!! I do think drummers absolutely take precautions, they all (entire band) try to wear ear protection! But mountain also really likes to wear those noise reducing ear buds that are great for noise sensitivity when he's reading or gardening or just going about his practice and chilling.

Deaf siblings of sin (the congregation itself) as well as deaf ghouls do get health benefit allocations ordained by the clergy, anyone above deacon to a bishop can ordain these benefits, usually brought to by an abess or ministress (like a mother superior, or sister imperator) who will be the one to ensure the sibling or ghoul gets their necessary treatments and support.

They DEFINITELY have interpreters for Sign and other means of nonverbal communication! So siblings and ghouls may often have their aids off, usually they will let people know so that they can use different colored flashing lights 🚨 to alert them of different things happening (they also keep a chart in every room for the color of the lights and what it means) as well as making sure there are accomodations for siblings or ghouls who may be deaf-blind or deaf-mute!

Not too long ago I was asked to draw a deaf sister of sin and papa emeritus interaction (and I actually wrote a small comic about it which I have not had the time to finish, but it remains in the back of my mind still, I'll post it eventually!!)

As for swiss... Haha poor boy is alright, I may have just traumatized him a little too much, I gave him all the complex backstory and made him the avoidant type who pretends everything is fine, so he has a bunch of unresolved unprocessed trauma and is prone to breaking down into really bad episodes, but everyone tries their best to help him and care for him as best they can !!! 💗💗💗 He'll be ok I prommy loll

[coquelicoq]

Do you mind sharing your brand for ear plugs and noise canceling headphones? I’ve tried so many different kinds but have had trouble finding ones that work well or are also comfortable. I know our needs might be different but it would be worth a try! Ty <3

for earplugs i just use the kroger brand foam ones for sleeping and going to concerts. i really only need two things from earplugs: 1) they don't fall out and 2) they reduce noise somewhat. these work well enough so i haven't really shopped around for other options.

i don't actually like my noise-cancelling headphones, they're pretty uncomfortable on my head. they often give me a headache, and they make my ears all sweaty. but there are frequently very loud events on my street, and for a while there my neighbor was having a lot of noisy sex that i really didn't want to hear, and i was kind of losing my mind. so i asked for some headphones for christmas and am just using whatever random pair i was given. i think they're skullcandy brand.

i hope you have better luck soon!

[deadmomjokes]

How do you navigate raising a precocious child? Asking as someone who wants to be a parent

The short answer is: Carefully

The long answer is pretty long, and only my personal experience, but here goes:

1. Patience cultivated out of a sympathy which is born from perspective. What I mean by that is that you have to understand both the psychology and physical development of children, and constantly remind yourself what is and isn't appropriate to expect from them.

Especially in the case of intellectually precocious children, you have to remember that they are still little kids. Their emotions and ability to control them are only so developed, even if their vocabulary and intellect are ahead of their peers. My daughter is 3. She has the intellect of a 6 or 7 year old according to the professionals in her life, but her body is three years old. She has emotional outbursts and mood swings. Her brain physically isn't ready for the theory of mind. That's just how she is. She might know all about macrophages and the formation of exoplanets, but she also still cries when she's scared, and screams when she can't think of words to express her frustration. She's a lot of big thoughts in a tiny body, and that conflict results in a lot of outbursts, meltdowns, and stress. That is to be expected. That is normal. It's my job to understand that, and handle myself accordingly.

I've got 26 years on this kid, and I'm living in a body that isn't changing on a daily basis. I have the stability, and she doesn't. It's on me to keep my cool, because there are a lot of times that she literally can't. It can be very, very frustrating when I know what needs to happen, but she is doing the exact opposite. But the thing is, she's just doing the best she knows how. I get to teach her how to do 'better'. I can't do that if I'm looking at her as my enemy, or having a me-vs-her mentality. We're on the same side-- me and her vs whatever problem is causing her to shriek like a banshee at the moment. (Kids scream as a last resort, and until their list of first-resorts grows sufficiently, that last resort kicks in very frequently. I'm sorry in advance, they just scream sometimes. Invest in some noise reducing headphones or earplugs, it helps A LOT.)

The point of all that is this: I have to remind myself frequently that she's doing her best, and I have the perspective to handle this whereas she doesn't. I have to consciously put myself in her position and think about what it's like for her instead of focusing on how it's affecting me. That's how I get the patience to deal with the tantrums, meltdowns, and bothersome behaviors. I consciously remind myself that she's only been on this planet for 3 years, her body is dumping all kinds of hormones into her brain, which has the capacity to understand a lot more than she has ability to process. That's a painful, stressful, unwieldy combination, and she literally doesn't know any better than what she's doing. She will always try her best; if she's doing something undesirable, it's because she doesn't have the ability, knowledge, capacity, or self-control to deal with it in a better way yet. I have to teach her that, and I have to do it as much by example as by explanation.

2. Humility. A lot of humility. We're people. We mess up. We don't always know the right way to do things. I have to be honest about that with myself, and with my daughter. I have no reservations about apologizing to her when I don't handle something the right way.

I feel like a lot of us go into parenting with the mentality of wanting to be the person we needed when we were younger. And that's great! It's a perfect place to start. But you have to realize that your child is NOT you, and sometimes what you needed at their age or in their situation is not what they would need.

My child, for having come up in the pandemic, is a social butterfly. She's a people person. She's the opposite of a homebody. She LOVES going out and seeing people and doing things and being anywhere but home, and when she is home she wants friends around to play with. I was and am the opposite. Where I needed people to NOT push me into social interactions before I was ready, and to give me time to myself and teach me how to respect my introverted tendencies, that's not what my daughter needs. What she needs is for me to help her know when she's getting overstimulated and needs to take a break. She needs me to help her find things to do with other kids. She needs me to demonstrate appropriate kindness and interpersonal behaviors so she learns how to interact with other people in a way that is respectful, and ends with everybody having fun. That's different than what I needed, and that's okay. I have to be able to accept that my child is not me, and that de-centering can be hard. You do a lot of it consciously at first. It just takes a willingness to admit that not everything is about you-- not your child's behavior, not your child's challenges, not their needs, not their preferences, successes or failures.

3. Professional support. You may have seen me talking about my daughter's therapist. That's because at a grand ol' 3 years of age, she is in therapy! For anxiety! Because it turns out that taking in the world on the level of a 7 year old while only having the faculties of a 3 year old can generate a lot of stress that your body and brain are unequipped to deal with.

As her doctor and therapist both have said, smart kids stress more.

And in my daughter's case, there's a massive genetic predisposition for clinical anxiety problems and other mental illnesses. So as soon as my daughter told me that when she lays down at night, the nervous gets in her brain and she can't sleep, I knew right away this was something that needed early intervention. I am not a professional when it comes to anxiety management. I am still working on it, myself. So I knew we all needed help to get a good handle on this before it made her life miserable like what happened to me and my husband.

Kids think differently, and they process things differently than adults. Having a professional on your side to help you learn about how your child works is invaluable. And they can help you find the methods, skills, and interventions that work best for your child as an individual.

You as a parent need professional support, too. You need someone in your corner helping you out, even if it's just a yearly check-in with a therapist to learn some new meditation and mindfulness techniques. For me, it's dealing with my own anxiety and depression so I can be in the best state of mind and body to help my daughter learn how to regulate herself, which I was never really taught. So I'm having to learn that, too, on top of teaching her.

Professional support can also come in the form of social and educational programs-- in most cases, finding the right preschool. Just as an intelligent dog will become destructive if not properly stimulated, so too will an intelligent child get wild, stir-crazy, and emotionally explosive if their intellectual needs aren't being met. If you're about that homeschooling life, power to you. For me, I knew my daughter, a pandemic baby/toddler, needed the socialization with other kids, and needed a professional educator.

I was very picky about her preschool, opting for one that focused on holistic and values-based education instead of pure academics. They go over real-life skills, they make time for physical activity, they teach and practice mind-body awareness techniques (deep breathing, meditation, biofeedback, etc) on a level the kids can understand and use, and each week they have a different value and affirmation that all their lessons center around. They also do academics like letter recognition and sounds (pre-reading skills), numbers and counting, science, and so on, but everything loops back around to mental and emotional wellness. I knew that would be super important for her, and didn't want her in a high-stakes, high-pressure, competitive environment.

Sometimes being that picky is not possible depending on where you live. But if there's a way to get your kid engaged in something that flexes their thinking-muscles, and helps them learn to interact with others, that's going to be super important. Otherwise, take them new places when you can, even if it's just to the mall, and talk about what you see and experience there. Check out your local library (some even have educational resources parents can borrow, including developmentally encouraging toys!). Look for local museums and public/community educational programs. And find a local playgroup for that social interaction. Speaking of which....

4. Don't neglect their social development. Being "the smart kid" can make you Weird. I know, I was that kid. I was WEIRD, y'all. I needed to learn how to be a child my age, because my best friend was my also-advanced older sister, followed closely by my mother. Smart kids tend to hang out with older children or adults, and it's hard for them to relate to their age group. They need practice before they hit real school.

Weird isn't bad, but it can sometimes hide a lack of social and emotional health. Humans are a social species. We need social interaction to feel and function our best. It's how our brains are wired. Teaching children how to deal with other people is a big honkin deal, because it sets up how they interact with people for the rest of their lives. They need to learn to take turns, to share, to be aware of how their actions affect others, how to ask, how to say no, how to set boundaries, how to work together, so on and so forth. They can get good practice with you, but they need more than just you.

5. Tactful, appropriate honesty. The biggest challenge of a precocious child, after the emotional regulation issues, is balancing their intellect with their capacity to handle it. As I mentioned earlier, smart kids stress more. They notice too much sometimes. So you have to explain enough to satisfy their curiosity--which is CONSTANT and almost always surprising in its complexity-- but not so much that you give them new things to worry about.

For instance, when my daughter started fussing about her car seat and asked why she had to sit in it instead of sitting in the big seats like us, we explained that everybody wears a seatbelt to be safe. But she is too small for the big-seat seatbelts to fit her in the right way, like they do for mom and dad. So until she’s big enough for it to fit her the right way, she has to use a special seat that fits her just right.

We did NOT jump to “We need to be safe in case of a crash, and that’s why you need a special seat.” But we explained the reasoning thoroughly at a non-stress-inducing level.

Answer the question they ask, but ONLY the question they ask. If they ask follow-ups, great! If not, leave it where their curiosity took a break. It’s overwhelming being so small and noticing So Much. Kids love to learn, but their brains need time to log all the info, and concepts that are too big can lead to stress just from the gears turning, so to speak. But at the same time, don’t underestimate their capacity to understand, and to be totally cool with things we have been conditioned to stress out about or fear. My daughter has no issues watching surgery videos, because it’s not something she’s been taught to be grossed out by. She’s also very aware that meat comes from animals that are dead, and used to be alive. Her only issue with that was trying to figure out which animals become meat and which don’t because to her, it was totally arbitrary. (No, baby, we do not eat butterfly meat.)

It all sounds daunting when I put it like this, all over-written and wordy. But honestly, it’s all about following your child’s lead, which is what parenting is in general anyway.

[amrass]

👓 👻! (If you would like, you can send me some of these in my ask too 🤣)

👓 What helps you focus when you write?

I prefer staring into a wall, honestly, lmao! A dark space with electric candles, a clean desk, and noise reducing headphones playing loud ambient music. Been listening a lot to Silent Hill 2 mixtapes on YouTube, my fave being this one. I like having 2-3 different writing projects, so I can align them with my headspace.

Also: black background with white text, yellowed screen, internet turned off, no programs or files open except the necessary ones.

👻 What is your wildest headcanon?

Ooh, this one is difficult. I wonder what "wildest" means; the furthest away from canon? I have two controversial RDR2 headcanons: Hosea being the one who infects Arthur with TB, and Dutch being the father of Jack, two hcs that for some people ruins the narrative of the game, but for me makes it murkier and more interesting. Idc what Rockstar has confirmed, I just enjoy wondering.

Thank you for asking! I will send you some questions 8)

[autisticincontinence]

Learn more about Autism and Incontinence here

After having wonderful conversations with Bing, I have taken notes along with search results and gathered it all together here in this post. Source links provided by Bing will be listed at the end of this post. Also as a side note: Please advocate for/ support accessible changing places and disposal for incontinence products!

Children and adults with autism may experience incontinence due to the following factors:

- Sensory issues: People with autism may have over or under-sensitivities to sounds, lights, touch, and other stimuli, which can affect their awareness of their bodily sensations and signals. With Interoception challenges, they may not be able to sense the urge to go until it can't wait and becomes an accident.

- Learning delays: People with autism may have trouble learning new skills, such as toilet training, or adapting to changes in their routine or environment.

- Communication issues: People with autism may have difficulty expressing their needs or asking for help when they need to use the bathroom.

- Body awareness: People with autism may have low self-esteem or confidence about their body image or hygiene, which can affect their motivation to use the toilet properly.

- Gastrointestinal (GI) issues: People with autism may have digestive problems such as constipation, diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), or food sensitivities, which can cause discomfort and urgency.

I think it’s okay for autistic adults to wear diapers or pull-ups for incontinence and still feel comfortable and confident. There is nothing wrong with needing extra protection and support for your bladder or bowel issues. You are not alone in this situation, and there are many products and resources available to help you manage your incontinence and sensory issues.

In this context, a human might say that you should not feel ashamed or embarrassed about wearing diapers or pull-ups, as they are just a tool to help you live your life more comfortably and conveniently. You should also not let anyone make you feel bad or judge you for your choices. You are a valuable and unique person who deserves respect and dignity.😊

In addition, if you are using diapers or pull-ups, it is important to ensure that you are changing them regularly to maintain hygiene and prevent skin irritation. Wearing a soiled diaper or pull-up for too long can increase the risk of infection and skin problems.

Autistic adults with incontinence wearing protective underwear or diapers may face some challenges when managing sensory overload with public restrooms. Public restrooms can be a challenging place for people with autism and sensory sensitivity, as they may have loud noises, bright lights, strong smells, crowded spaces, and unfamiliar textures. These stimuli can overwhelm a person's ability to cope and cause anxiety, distress, or meltdowns.

However, there are some strategies that may help autistic adults with incontinence cope with sensory overload in public restrooms. Some of these strategies are:

- **Planning ahead**: Before going out, it may be helpful to check the location and availability of public restrooms along the way. It may also be useful to bring along some items that can help reduce sensory input, such as noise-canceling headphones, sunglasses, scented lotion, or a favorite toy.

- **Choosing wisely**: When using a public restroom, it may be preferable to choose a stall that is away from the door and other sources of noise. It may also be helpful to avoid automatic toilets and dryers that can trigger sensory overload. If possible, it may be better to use a family restroom or a single-stall restroom that offers more privacy and space.

- **Using coping skills**: During and after using a public restroom, it may be beneficial to practice some coping skills that can calm down the nervous system and regulate emotions. Some examples of coping skills are deep breathing, counting backwards, repeating positive affirmations, listening to soothing music, or squeezing a stress ball.

- **Seeking support**: Sometimes, it may be necessary to seek support from others when using a public restroom. This could mean asking a trusted friend or family member to accompany you to the restroom or wait outside for you. It could also mean reaching out to a therapist or counselor who can help you work on your sensory issues and provide guidance on how to handle difficult situations.

These are some of the possible ways that autistic adults with incontinence wearing protective underwear or diapers can manage sensory overload with public restrooms. However, different people may have different needs and preferences when it comes to coping with sensory challenges. Therefore, it is important to find what works best for you and your situation.

Sources:

Source: Conversation with Bing, 3/6/2023(1) Public Toilets and Children With Autism | MyAutismTeam. https://www.myautismteam.com/resources/public-toilets-and-children-with-autism Accessed 3/6/2023. (2) Potty training your sensory kid - Autism Therapy Chicago: .... https://www.sbsaba.com/potty-training-your-sensory-kid/ Accessed 3/6/2023. (3) The Bathroom and Potty Training Blues - A Sensory Life!. https://www.asensorylife.com/the-bathroom-and-potty-training-blues.html Accessed 3/6/2023. (4) Autism Sensory Overload: Symptoms, Causes, Management - Verywell Health. https://www.verywellhealth.com/autism-and-sensory-overload-259892 Accessed 3/6/2023. (5) Public Toilets and Children With Autism | MyAutismTeam. https://www.myautismteam.com/resources/public-toilets-and-children-with-autism Accessed 3/6/2023.

[sepyana]

Recently I've learned something very helpful about misophonia (Or the human brain in general.) and how to combat it.

Most of us with it tend to develop habits we do subconsciously to block off noise right? When I hear a trigger, I reach for my headphones without realizing it. But what if you can't wear them?

There are habits we can do to help with that as well. We create these habits by telling our brain what we want. But we can't just phrase it in any way we want because our subconscious understands language in a different way than we do.

First of all, we never tell our brain to NOT do something. We've all experienced this, if we say we don't wanna think about someone we will just focus on them more. Or, if someone tells us not to imagine a blue car or something, over and over again, we will imagine it. We will focus on it. And with misophonia focusing on the noise is the absolute last thing you want to do. "I don't want to hear this noise" is not something you want to recite over and over again.

Secondly, you should ask your brain something it can actually accomplish. So, "I don't want to hear this noise" is doubly bad because there IS a noise. You can't just turn off your ears or just stop processing audio. Your subconscious will go through your brain's library looking for how to stop the noise but it won't find anything. When that happens, you'll either leave the area (which is not possible to do sometimes), or crumble under the stress. Either have a breakdown or silently cry in the corner.

Something helpful to recite would be "I want to calm down." It's positive so your brain focusing on it is good. It's also something you can accomplish! All you need is learning ways to reduce stress like controlling your breath. So when you recite "I want to calm down." your brain will look through your library, find that info and automatically execute it.

At first you need to do it consciously but eventually it will become a habit. This obviously won't always work. But it made things easier for me. It at least doesn't hurt to try.

I know a lot of people with misophonia focus on the person/people doing the noise, wishing they would stop. That's exactly what you want to do avoid doing. You can't change what others do.

I am not a professional. This is just what I learned when I finally found a therapist who has helped me. If you can find a good therapist who knows about misophonia they can help you way more. I would have loved to hear something like this when I was struggling, that's why I'm sharing it.

Hope this was helpful

[slasher-male-wife]

i have really bad sensory issues because of my autism, and so can you write eddie, steve, and jonathan (separate) helping reader with sensory issues and overstimulation, and if you can, could reader be male? thank you <3

Ok so I have autism too and I get overstimulated very often at school because of the noise and such but my adhd makes me get understimulated a lot too so it's tricky for me to to get this stuff right so I understand where you're coming from. This is very comforting for me so I hope it helps you too.

Warnings: Talk of over stimulation

Eddie Munson

Depending on where you are he'll do different things. If you're over at his or your house and it's getting overstimulating he'll make it as quiet as possible for you and help you take deep breaths. If you need to get warmer he'll lend some of his clothes with safe textures ofc. Or if you're too hot he'll find a way to help you cool off.

If you're out with him and it starts getting overstimulating he'll take you away from whatever it is and get you back to his van. To be honest he'll seem pretty calm but he's really panicking because he doesn't want you to have a panic attack.

Wherever you are he'll keep it as quiet as possible for you, help you not have to feel too many things physically at once and get the lighting soft for you. He might put headphones on you but not play anything to help block out the noise. He won't touch you unless you tell him too.

Steve Harrington

He'll get you away from whatever is overstimulating you and will talk to you the entire time to try and calm you down. "Hey Y/N it's gonna be fine." "You're doing great just give me a few more minutes to get you somewhere quiet alright?" "It'll be over soon I promise."

He might lead you away with hands over your ears if it's noise that's bothering you. He'll try to get you to drink something or give you something with a safe texture to touch.

He'll reduce whatever your overstimulation is coming from and get you focus on something calming for you.

Johnathan Byers

He'll be pretty panicky but keep it to himself for the most part. He'll get the two of you alone in a soft lit quiet place and make sure you keep your breathing calm.

To distract you he'll ask you questions about your special interest if you have one and keep you talking about it if that will help you calm down. He'll keep his voice calm and clear.

He'll encourage you to stim if you need to. He'll let his panicky feelings slip a little but he'll make sure to put a calm face for you. "I'm here don't worry Y/N. I'm here for you." "Let me know what you need and I can um try to get that for you." If you're near nature he'll suggest going for a walk out there together.

[cloudy-cranium]

What kind of wish list do you have? That'd be a great idea for me but I'm not sure how to organise one.

Oh I have several systems I use to make this time of the year less of a nightmare, I'd love to share! Unfortunately I do not have a "succinct" setting so here, sorry :) here's the short version, too much under the cut.

TL;DR: Steps to an easy gift list:

1, REUSE your lists each year.

1b, LONG LISTS! Yeah no. Longer than that.

2, Categories can help

2b, Steal gift ideas from others!!

3, for REAL change your options up

4, Be specific about what you actually want

Wishlists were a pain for me for a long time. Eventually I got lazy and then I got smart. I also listened to complaints people had about others' wishlists, and tried to avoid their issues. I've used like one list for I think the last 4 years now, just refreshed. I have it in categories mostly to help me.

Tip 1: Refresh it every year. Instead of starting from scratch every season, when people start asking for my new list I just pull up last year's and delete everything I received/bought myself/just don't really need anymore.

Tip 1b: Make your list long!! Too long to be able to get everything. That lets you refresh next year, but it also gives people more options to choose from (vital) and reduces their anxiety about getting you the same thing as someone else.

Tip 2: This is optional but I use categories. They help me get more specific ideas, organize my thoughts, can help people narrow ideas down or help with off-list gift inspiration, and can also help people add to their own lists.

**Categories: these are arbitrary and all include miscellaneous items automatically. It's just a tool. Mine are Dog Things, Hobby, Home/Personal, and Kitchen - the dog things are on their own because they don't fit anywhere else; 'Kitchen' has its own category because it's one of my biggest categories personally. Other than that, personalize it: Art Supplies. Programming. Sports & Outdoors. Tools. Books. Games. Whatever's good for you**

Tip 2b: ask all your family/friends to give you their list and then steal their ideas :) works like a charm. I'll add some of mine at the end.

Tip 3: VARIETY. IT'S IMPORTANT. Some people want to be able to drop a lot of money on something you'll definitely like - maybe all your siblings want to buy you that gaming system together. Include it (at least for inspiration). Ask for that weighted blanket you really want. Don't feel bad for including expensive options. Some people want less expensive things - you want a LOT of these, especially easy ones: candy or treats, bath bombs/nails/face masks, candles/wax melts/incense you like, stickers, fun note pads, socks etc. (When gifting, these are helpful to add with a smaller item so it brings a little extra bonus.)

Some people want to buy you something useful. Some people want to buy you something FUN! Some people want to help you by buying something you need anyway; some want to gift you something you can't justify buying yourself but still really want. Include all of these! Give people options!!

TELL PEOPLE WHERE TO GET GIFT CARDS YOU'LL ACTUALLY USE!!! These are such a helpful inclusion!!! Some people are just gift card people. If you don't want generic amaz*n/walmart/fast food gift cards, TELL PEOPLE what stores & restaurants you already go to, especially for things you enjoy. If they can give you 5 nice boba teas one one card, or gift you clothes by putting $50 on a piece of plastic for you instead of actually trying to pick out something you want themselves, they'll do it!

Tip 4: Specificity. Some things speak for themselves, but if you write one word per item on your list, expect to get some things that are technically what you wrote but definitely not what you wanted. To avoid this, list scents/colors/brands/qualities you like ('over-the-ear squishy headphones [noise-canceling?]' is better than 'headphones,' where once I got gifted a new pair of the exact set I hated and was trying to replace); the specific use of the item you need ('spice/food organizers,' 'room organizers,' 'closet organizers,' and several other things can't be substituted for each other); A LINK to an option you like (!!! I learned this from my sister-in-law, where every list item has "like this:" and a link to a model that she already likes. The links will also sho similar items, stores she trusts, more details than you could ever write down & more); okay I got tired of writing. You get the gist. BUT If you include CLOTHES YOU MUST INCLUDE SIZES. NO IFS ANDS OR BUTS. SIZES. Styles too if you don't wanna get fucked over (or!! gift cards!!!!)

Those are the things that do the most for making my life easier. I'll drop a list of examples to steal! Sorry this got away from me lol thanks for coming to my TEDtalk!!

Examples of things in my categories: Dog Stuff (toys she likes, sweater size, things like a better leash or big toy or bed); Hobby (DICE. game accessories. yarn & fibre tools. hair dye things, hard-to-find niche parts, nice markers/paper, art tools, materials, fan merch, new hobbies you want to try, instruction books, instruments, cards, GIFT CARDS to places I already go); Home/Personal (speakers/headphones/other tech, books [please god be specific here], albums, decor/organization, a new vacuum, tools you find yourself needing, stuff for your window/deck/garden, along with clothes I might want and relevant sizes, yoga mat, coats/hats/clothes for the weather, memberships or subscriptions); Kitchen (replacement dishes, nice appliances, accessories, high-quality ingredients, more tools I'd like but can't afford)

[tinystepsforward]

our landlord's husband is around to trim trees. which is fine, he's mostly focused on trimming the ones that have been causing gutter blockages/breaks and therefore the dampness in our roof cavity.

but it's so loud. he's been going for two days. it's day 3 and to be fair it's a sunday, but i am at work and he is literally a metre from my office window.

our neighbours on this side already know i'm sound-sensitive bc i asked them to give me notice when they used power tools, and now this guy is chopping giant branches down into their yard, so i'm getting very sympathetic waves when i go past lmao

anyway my current setup is musician's earplugs set to reduce by 10-15 decibels, under noise isolating headphones paired to my work computer, and i'm blasting tgaa music on loop. it's working pretty well