Sensation comes from a deep internal place driven by our surroundings, for individuals on the spectrum identifying and noticing signals and sensations can prove challenging and they may require support in taking care of themselves. For example, when to eat or when they should begin to feel tried / exhausted. This is tough to identify when read others is tough on top of trying to tap into your own needs (self care). The autistic / ADHD mind tends to be very hyperactive which impacts the ability to wind down and relax. I experience both lack of sensation, in particular when it comes to eating and drinking and a hyperactive wild / energetic mind. I could not stress or highlight enough how much dance has been life changing for me. It does not cure the autism, but it definitely helps with managing it and giving the mind the space to decompress all of the stored feelings kept in little pockets close to our chest. I refer to dancing in the same way as daily medicine one needs to take to survive.
It is about finding a balanced routine that works for you, one that has elements of control but understanding that change occurs, visuals schedules and phone reminders can be very useful. I forget very easily so rely on my phone calendar daily to remind me what it is I need to do. Ensure that with schedules comes imagination time, this is needed for those with autism to keep minds alive and having what is called creative spaces. This can be labelled as the space that is purely playful, expressive time and this is so important to separate from now is concentration time.
Individuals on the autistic spectrum experience difficulties with communication, which is why anything that they use or do to help them express themselves should absolutely be encouraged and observed by others. This shows a willingness to tap into their worlds. People do forget that having autism does not mean you are not experiencing the same feelings as those who are neurotypical, we definitely do and in a different heightened way and can find sensory feedback received from touch to be painful by the lightest of touch or a sense of smell causing the feeling of sickness. From an outside point of view, it can appear a dramatic or extreme response and this needs understanding in that it is their way of expressing a reaction response. Our sensory awareness is very strong and at times others may not notice the same thing that the person with autism has identified. In other words, one person can tolerate the smell of a perfume and the other person has a headache.
This could be one way to view individuals on the autistic spectrum to the behaviour of animals in that they can be very territorial about their items and spaces that belong to them for example their bedroom. They may also be very protective over their 'pack' of family / friends, living in their natural habitat the world makes more sense and the mask is more likely to feel safe to come down around those we feel comfortable around. Those who show an understanding or a willingness to listen and tap into a different perspective of the world we live in.
Referring to Awareness Through Movement, it mentions aggressive impulse which people might feel who are autistic / ADHD and they may describe it as fire bubbling inside them or feeling like they might explode. I often say all the neurons / people / emotions from 'inside out' in my head are going wild, colliding and require full time management!!
Communication is a common characteristic in those on the autistic spectrum, finding ourselves in sticky situations is the worst and feeling the need to explain what is wrong with you due to a lack of awareness and understanding. I used to hear stop acting inappropriate, immature, snap out of it, stop acting like a baby and quite often the words feel like they are compressed and will not come out. It is often tough to string a coherent sentence together, it may come out jumbled first and need sorting like a jigsaw puzzle when it first comes out the box.
In relation to communication struggles, autistic individuals may present as being territorial showing loyalty to their pack - referring to the ones they look up to and where they feel valued by those closely related to them (in animal packs, they must respect and work together in order to survive). They may find branching out tough, therefore this may occur in preventing them from feeling socially isolated - even more than they already do from society. In other words, autistic individuals tend to stick like glue to those who they feel most comfortable and see as their safe people to be around. It can be very difficult to connect with other people, who they may not find a natural connection with and along with experiencing social anxiety (exploring outside of the 'comfort zone') can fill the autistic individual with fear and feeling physical pain / sickness for example. The physical symptoms felt, as a result of the heightened anxiety can be so paralysing and impact one's ability to feel or be as productive. It is so important that there is the correct understanding and level of compassion towards what those with autism go through daily (in relation to completing tasks like doing the laundry). It can increase the anxiety levels in the autistic individual if they fell like they are falling behind schedule or struggling to stick to a routine in helping them to live more balanced.
Each day is so different living with someone with autism, there are so many wild emotions living inside the mind and it can be so hard to tame them when they are triggered from the person with autism being in a sticky situation. It is not easy to pull through alone, which is why animals can be life saving campaigns and an aid in making day to day life more manageable - helping to control the feeling of being handed a package full of emotions all at once. When I experience this, I feel intense levels of pressure inside my head and need to release. Talking to animals, really helps me to calm down or when needing someone (a friend) to have a good cry on. What is great is that you can talk gibberish and they do not mind if what is being said does not come out in the correct way. They will always be there to listen and they love their people no matter what. It is that loyalty that is such a special quality. I truly believe in animals being one's best friend, as I do not know what I would do without my beautiful dog in my life who loves me no matter what and gets so excited to see you even if you have left the room for 5 minutes and come back in again.
It can be difficult when one feels the aggressive impulse to explode, being in an unsuitable environment where there is hierarchy and a fight for power and position remaining calm can be tough in knowing how to handle oneself in a situation. This does not mean we should not suppress our passionate feelings, but trying to learn to perfect the awareness of when things are starting to become out of control and having that safe space to be able to let out a good scream if that is bubbling inside needing to be released.
' Is it really true that instincts come to us as a matter of inheritance, just as awareness is inherited, then it will be preferable to perfect our awareness rather than to supress the animal that is in us. Awareness is the highest stage in man's development, and when it is complete it maintains a harmonious "rule" over the body's activities. When an individual is strong, so are his passions and his ability and vitality are on the same scale. It is impossible to supress these prime movers without reducing his true potential. the improvement is preferable to any attempt to overcome instinctive drives. For the more nearly complete a man's becomes, the more he will be able to satisfy his passions without infringing on the supremacy of awareness. And every action will have become more human'. ' Free their energies for creative work'. Page 172 - 173.
Quotes from book: Awareness Through Movement: Health and Exercise for Personal Growth Author Moshe Feldenkrais
'A man may learn a poem one day and remember almost nothing of it the next. A few days later and without any further study, he may suddenly know it perfectly. Even if he puts the poem entirely out of his mind for several months, he will find that a brief rehearsal will bring it back completely'. Page 9.
' The consciousness previously rejected them either from fear or because of pain and it is only as self - confidence increases that it becomes possible to identify them. Most people make sporadic attempts to improve and correct themselves even though they are often done without without any clear awareness of it. The average person is satisfied with his achievements and thinks he needs nothing except some gymnastics to correct a few acknowledged faults'. Page 9.
' As people try to better themselves, different stages of development can be found in each of them. And as each one progresses, this means for further correction will have to become increasingly finespun'. Page 9.
Moving on to self image:
Page 10 states, each one of us speaks, moves, thinks and feels in a different way. We change and evolve all the time through learning new skills, going from childhood into adulthood shifts are seen in the individual as thought patterns change and starting to think about further education / careers. People tend to change slightly, putting on an act (masking) and behaving in a way that is dependant on the environment one has been brought up in and one's surroundings play a huge part in the way someone acts. If the environment feels so chaotic, a person may present as being very introverted and quite shy or it causes them to feel unwell. They may be feeling exhaustion from masking or dizzy from too much socialising and noise levels. Too many people in one space can make someone feel claustrophobic and as a result disorientated and slightly sicky. Being in the right environment is important to one's mental health and in how they might feel about themselves. Where do you feel of most comfortable to express yourself? This is to get people thinking more compassionately about how they might be feeling in a situation, but also being aware of those around them and does that person have similar feelings to me and show empathy rather than a lack of care or being too busy to help someone else out. Communities are successful, when everyone is supporting for one another and not acknowledging the needs of others. Since the covid pandemic, more people are experiencing the feeling of isolation and loneliness. It is about reaching outside of that self absorbed bubble, that can feel consuming and overwhelming. Helping others - lending someone a hand is a nice feeling . No one should have to go through life alone, support networks are key and they help build one's self esteem.
' In reality, our self image is never static. It changes from action to action, but these changes gradually become habits, this is, the actions take on a fixed, unchanging character'. Page 11.
' Early in life, when the image is being established, the rate of change in the image is high, new forms of action that had only the previous day been beyond the child's capacity are quickly achieved. The infant begins to see, for instance, a few weeks after birth; one day he will begin to stand, walk and talk. The child's own experiences, together with his biological inheritance, combine slowly to create an individual way of standing, walking, speaking, feeling, listening and carrying out all the other actions that give substance to human life. But while from a distance the life of one person appears to be very similar to that of any other, on close inspection they are entirely different. We must, then, use words and concepts in such a way that they will apply more or less equally to everyone. Page 11 -12. Self image effects the way we move, think and feel. The choices we make in life can come down to how we feel. Humans make mistakes and will not always make the right decisions. This is part of life and does not make someone a bad person. What does, is someone making the choice to cause harm to others as a result of their own insecurities and unhappiness. This can be a reflection of how one views themselves.
Judging oneself in accordance with their value to society page 18.
' Individuals, rightly or wrongly, tend to identify their self images with their value to society. In this way society comes to be made up of persons increasingly alike in their ways, behaviour and aims. Despite the fact that the inherited differences between people are obvious, there are few individuals who view themselves without reference to the value attributed to them by society'.
He strains to fit himself into into the round hole that he now actively desires to fill, for if he fails in this, his value will be so diminished in his own eyes as to discourage further initiative. These considerations must be borne in mind to appreciate fully the overwhelming influence of the individuals attribute toward himself once he again seeks to foster his own growth, this is, to allow his specific qualities to develop and reach fruition'.
Self improvement is linked to recognition of the value of the self page 19.
' It is important to understand that if a man wishes to improve his self image, he must first of all learn to value himself as an individual, even if his faults as a member of society appear to him to outweigh his qualities'.
' We may learn from persons crippled from birth or childhood how an individual may view himself in the face of obvious shortcomings . Those who succeed in looking at themselves with a sufficient , encompassing humanity to achieve stable self respect may reach heights that the normal healthy will never achieve. But those who consider themselves inferior because of their disabilities and overcome them by sheer will power, tend to grow into hard and embittered adults who will take revenge upon fellow men who are not al fault and moreover, who may not be able to change the circumstances even if they wished to do so'.
Action becomes the main arm in furthering self improvement page 19
' Recognising one's value is important at the start of self improvement, but for any real improvement to be achieved, regard for the self will have to be relegated to second place. Unless a stage is reached at which self regard ceases to be the main motivating force, any improvement achieved will never be sufficient to satisfy the individual. In fact, as a man grows and improves, his entire existence centers increasingly on what he does and how, while who does it becomes of ever decreasing importance.
Movement is the basis of awareness page 36
' Most of what goes on within us remains dulled and hidden from us util it reaches the muscles. We know what is happening within us as soon as the muscles of our face, heart or breathing apparatus organise themselves into patterns of fear, anxiety, laughter, or any other feeling. Even though only a very short time is required to organise the muscular expression to the internal response or feeling, we all know that it is possible to check one's own laughter before it becomes noticeable to others. Similarly, we can prevent ourselves from giving visible expression to fear and other feelings'.
' We do not become aware of what is happening in our central nervous system until we become aware of changes that have taken place in our stance, stability and attitude, for these changes are more easily felt than those that have occurred in the muscles themselves. We are able to prevent full muscular expression because the processes in those parts of the brain dealing with what is common to both man and animals. It is the slowness of these processes that makes it possible for us to judge and decide whether or not to act. The whole system ranges itself so that the muscles are ordered and ready either to carry out the action, or prevent it from being carried out'.
' We recognise the stimulus for an action, or the cause for a response, when we become sufficiently aware of the organisation of the muscles of the body for the action concerned. Sometimes we may be aware that something is happening within us without being able to define exactly what it is. A new pattern of organisation is taking place and we do not yet know how to interpret it. When it has occurred several times it will become familiar; we will recognise its cause and sense the very first signs of the process. in some cases the experience will have to be repeated many times before it is recognised. Ultimately, we become aware of most of what is going on within us mainly through the muscles'.
Sharpened sense - we must feel, not strain page 58 - 59
' When learning to act we should be free to pay attention to what is going on inside us, for in this condition our mind will be clear and breathing easy to control; there is no tension engendered by stress. When learning is carried out under conditions of maximum effort, and even this does not seen enough, there is no longer any way of speeding up action or making it stronger or better, because the individual has already reached the limit of capacity. At this point breathing is arrested; there is superfluous effort, little ability to observe and no prospect of improvement'.
Thinking while acting page 60
' He learns to act while he thinks and to think while he acts'.
Freeing an action of wasted energy page 61
' Will power may tend to cover up an inability to carry out an action properly'.
Understanding stubborn efforts and attempts to protect the body page 97
' This self protection and superfluous effort in action are an expression of the individual's lack of self confidence. As soon as a person is conscious that he is placing a strain on his powers he makes a greater effort of the will to reinforce his body for the action, but in fact he is forcing superfluous effort on himself. The act resulting from this attempt to reinforce the body will never be either graceful or stimulating, and will arouse no wish in the individual to repeat it. While it is possible to reach the desired aim in this tortuous fashion, the price paid for its achievement is higher than appears at first sight'.