Sensory seeking ASD DS - WWYD?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I should have also explained. If I didn’t regulate how often and for how long DS can go watch the air conditioner, he would likely watch it for multiple hours a day… maybe all day? When he watches it, he stims so excitedly that he is sweating (how’s that for irony).

I know that the guidance of multiple of his OTs, SPED supports, and other providers over the years have counseled against letting him perseverate/stim re: (for example) fans, turning light switches on and off, watching the front-loading washing machine, turning an electric train in its side to watch the wheel spin, etc, etc, etc.

He would do these activities exclusively if I let him. Today we were at the beach and he was getting anxious and rushing us to get home. He said he did not want to go to the beach today, he just wanted to drive home right away. He was acting out and threw a mini tantrum when he learned we would go to the beach before leaving for home. Then he kept asking if we would be home before sunset and only calmed down when I confirmed that we would. Which of course all occurred because he wants to see his air conditioner.

Last week, he refused to go over to a friend’s house to swim (which he’d been excited about) and said he just wanted to “stay home” which I knew was code for - stare at the AC.

I support my guy and his unique interests! We have watched videos about AC units and read books about them. We’ve talked about how there is an important job some people do fixing and maintaining air conditioners, and that maybe that is something he can do when he is a grown up.

But it doesn’t feel like the right thing to do for him is to let him go to town on this AC ad nauseam.

I think someone has given you bad advice re not letting him pursue his special interests. Was that advice from ABA? I would help him dive into it — let him watch the a/c, find an ac repair person who will let your son watch his work, get books, get a unit he can take apart, if that’s safe. Obviously you will need to make
Him stop watching the ac long enough to eat and come inside to sleep, so you’ll have to set some
Limits, but I’d dive in.

The advice was from OT, worst money we ever spent!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I should have also explained. If I didn’t regulate how often and for how long DS can go watch the air conditioner, he would likely watch it for multiple hours a day… maybe all day? When he watches it, he stims so excitedly that he is sweating (how’s that for irony).

I know that the guidance of multiple of his OTs, SPED supports, and other providers over the years have counseled against letting him perseverate/stim re: (for example) fans, turning light switches on and off, watching the front-loading washing machine, turning an electric train in its side to watch the wheel spin, etc, etc, etc.

He would do these activities exclusively if I let him. Today we were at the beach and he was getting anxious and rushing us to get home. He said he did not want to go to the beach today, he just wanted to drive home right away. He was acting out and threw a mini tantrum when he learned we would go to the beach before leaving for home. Then he kept asking if we would be home before sunset and only calmed down when I confirmed that we would. Which of course all occurred because he wants to see his air conditioner.

Last week, he refused to go over to a friend’s house to swim (which he’d been excited about) and said he just wanted to “stay home” which I knew was code for - stare at the AC.

I support my guy and his unique interests! We have watched videos about AC units and read books about them. We’ve talked about how there is an important job some people do fixing and maintaining air conditioners, and that maybe that is something he can do when he is a grown up.

But it doesn’t feel like the right thing to do for him is to let him go to town on this AC ad nauseam.

I think someone has given you bad advice re not letting him pursue his special interests. Was that advice from ABA? I would help him dive into it — let him watch the a/c, find an ac repair person who will let your son watch his work, get books, get a unit he can take apart, if that’s safe. Obviously you will need to make
Him stop watching the ac long enough to eat and come inside to sleep, so you’ll have to set some
Limits, but I’d dive in.

The advice was from OT, worst money we ever spent!

This last comment was not me [OP].

And I am genuinely curious here… is the latest guidance from researchers and clinicians in the SN community focused on ASD-1 to permit the child to perseverate on whatever stimuli they prefer for as long as they prefer?

I am not talking about diving in and learning all about ACs, in my instance. I am talking about staring and stimming for hours at the same stimulus and not limiting it, interrupting it, or refocusing the child?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I should have also explained. If I didn’t regulate how often and for how long DS can go watch the air conditioner, he would likely watch it for multiple hours a day… maybe all day? When he watches it, he stims so excitedly that he is sweating (how’s that for irony).

I know that the guidance of multiple of his OTs, SPED supports, and other providers over the years have counseled against letting him perseverate/stim re: (for example) fans, turning light switches on and off, watching the front-loading washing machine, turning an electric train in its side to watch the wheel spin, etc, etc, etc.

He would do these activities exclusively if I let him. Today we were at the beach and he was getting anxious and rushing us to get home. He said he did not want to go to the beach today, he just wanted to drive home right away. He was acting out and threw a mini tantrum when he learned we would go to the beach before leaving for home. Then he kept asking if we would be home before sunset and only calmed down when I confirmed that we would. Which of course all occurred because he wants to see his air conditioner.

Last week, he refused to go over to a friend’s house to swim (which he’d been excited about) and said he just wanted to “stay home” which I knew was code for - stare at the AC.

I support my guy and his unique interests! We have watched videos about AC units and read books about them. We’ve talked about how there is an important job some people do fixing and maintaining air conditioners, and that maybe that is something he can do when he is a grown up.

But it doesn’t feel like the right thing to do for him is to let him go to town on this AC ad nauseam.

I think someone has given you bad advice re not letting him pursue his special interests. Was that advice from ABA? I would help him dive into it — let him watch the a/c, find an ac repair person who will let your son watch his work, get books, get a unit he can take apart, if that’s safe. Obviously you will need to make
Him stop watching the ac long enough to eat and come inside to sleep, so you’ll have to set some
Limits, but I’d dive in.

The advice was from OT, worst money we ever spent!

This last comment was not me [OP].

And I am genuinely curious here… is the latest guidance from researchers and clinicians in the SN community focused on ASD-1 to permit the child to perseverate on whatever stimuli they prefer for as long as they prefer?

I am not talking about diving in and learning all about ACs, in my instance. I am talking about staring and stimming for hours at the same stimulus and not limiting it, interrupting it, or refocusing the child?

Good question. My DD's behavior analysts always redirected her to more appropriate activities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I should have also explained. If I didn’t regulate how often and for how long DS can go watch the air conditioner, he would likely watch it for multiple hours a day… maybe all day? When he watches it, he stims so excitedly that he is sweating (how’s that for irony).

I know that the guidance of multiple of his OTs, SPED supports, and other providers over the years have counseled against letting him perseverate/stim re: (for example) fans, turning light switches on and off, watching the front-loading washing machine, turning an electric train in its side to watch the wheel spin, etc, etc, etc.

He would do these activities exclusively if I let him. Today we were at the beach and he was getting anxious and rushing us to get home. He said he did not want to go to the beach today, he just wanted to drive home right away. He was acting out and threw a mini tantrum when he learned we would go to the beach before leaving for home. Then he kept asking if we would be home before sunset and only calmed down when I confirmed that we would. Which of course all occurred because he wants to see his air conditioner.

Last week, he refused to go over to a friend’s house to swim (which he’d been excited about) and said he just wanted to “stay home” which I knew was code for - stare at the AC.

I support my guy and his unique interests! We have watched videos about AC units and read books about them. We’ve talked about how there is an important job some people do fixing and maintaining air conditioners, and that maybe that is something he can do when he is a grown up.

But it doesn’t feel like the right thing to do for him is to let him go to town on this AC ad nauseam.

Have you tried free-building kits with little battery-powered motors?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tgKcu_vatdo

I would try to wean him off AC and into something more portable and general purpose like K'nex. K'nex is the cheapest toy of this type but there are others.

If he likes robotics, First Lego League might someday be a great extracurricular for him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I should have also explained. If I didn’t regulate how often and for how long DS can go watch the air conditioner, he would likely watch it for multiple hours a day… maybe all day? When he watches it, he stims so excitedly that he is sweating (how’s that for irony).

I know that the guidance of multiple of his OTs, SPED supports, and other providers over the years have counseled against letting him perseverate/stim re: (for example) fans, turning light switches on and off, watching the front-loading washing machine, turning an electric train in its side to watch the wheel spin, etc, etc, etc.

He would do these activities exclusively if I let him. Today we were at the beach and he was getting anxious and rushing us to get home. He said he did not want to go to the beach today, he just wanted to drive home right away. He was acting out and threw a mini tantrum when he learned we would go to the beach before leaving for home. Then he kept asking if we would be home before sunset and only calmed down when I confirmed that we would. Which of course all occurred because he wants to see his air conditioner.

Last week, he refused to go over to a friend’s house to swim (which he’d been excited about) and said he just wanted to “stay home” which I knew was code for - stare at the AC.

I support my guy and his unique interests! We have watched videos about AC units and read books about them. We’ve talked about how there is an important job some people do fixing and maintaining air conditioners, and that maybe that is something he can do when he is a grown up.

But it doesn’t feel like the right thing to do for him is to let him go to town on this AC ad nauseam.

I think someone has given you bad advice re not letting him pursue his special interests. Was that advice from ABA? I would help him dive into it — let him watch the a/c, find an ac repair person who will let your son watch his work, get books, get a unit he can take apart, if that’s safe. Obviously you will need to make
Him stop watching the ac long enough to eat and come inside to sleep, so you’ll have to set some
Limits, but I’d dive in.

The advice was from OT, worst money we ever spent!

This last comment was not me [OP].

And I am genuinely curious here… is the latest guidance from researchers and clinicians in the SN community focused on ASD-1 to permit the child to perseverate on whatever stimuli they prefer for as long as they prefer?

I am not talking about diving in and learning all about ACs, in my instance. I am talking about staring and stimming for hours at the same stimulus and not limiting it, interrupting it, or refocusing the child?

Good question. My DD's behavior analysts always redirected her to more appropriate activities.

The prevailing advice from neurodiversity affirming therapists of all kinds is to let autistic children participate in their special interests, as long as they are safe. ABA-trained therapists believe in "more appropriate activities." The others don't. That's part of why there's such a backlash against ABA. Neurodiversity affirming therapists don't believe in the idea of "more appropriate activities." Children are allowed to stim and pursue their special interests as long as they are safe.

[Anonymous]

I'm the PP. The advice would be different if his diagnosis is OCD. Therapists do recommend limiting compulsive and obsessive behavior in OCD, but I'm not familiar enough with that to give advice. I just wanted to throw that caveat out there. (And the reason the advice is different for autism vs OCD is because engaging in the compulsions with OCD makes your anxiety WORSE. Engaging in special interests with autism is socially unacceptable but doesn't harm the child. In fact, it tends to bring a lot of joy to the child.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I should have also explained. If I didn’t regulate how often and for how long DS can go watch the air conditioner, he would likely watch it for multiple hours a day… maybe all day? When he watches it, he stims so excitedly that he is sweating (how’s that for irony).

I know that the guidance of multiple of his OTs, SPED supports, and other providers over the years have counseled against letting him perseverate/stim re: (for example) fans, turning light switches on and off, watching the front-loading washing machine, turning an electric train in its side to watch the wheel spin, etc, etc, etc.

He would do these activities exclusively if I let him. Today we were at the beach and he was getting anxious and rushing us to get home. He said he did not want to go to the beach today, he just wanted to drive home right away. He was acting out and threw a mini tantrum when he learned we would go to the beach before leaving for home. Then he kept asking if we would be home before sunset and only calmed down when I confirmed that we would. Which of course all occurred because he wants to see his air conditioner.

Last week, he refused to go over to a friend’s house to swim (which he’d been excited about) and said he just wanted to “stay home” which I knew was code for - stare at the AC.

I support my guy and his unique interests! We have watched videos about AC units and read books about them. We’ve talked about how there is an important job some people do fixing and maintaining air conditioners, and that maybe that is something he can do when he is a grown up.

But it doesn’t feel like the right thing to do for him is to let him go to town on this AC ad nauseam.

I think someone has given you bad advice re not letting him pursue his special interests. Was that advice from ABA? I would help him dive into it — let him watch the a/c, find an ac repair person who will let your son watch his work, get books, get a unit he can take apart, if that’s safe. Obviously you will need to make
Him stop watching the ac long enough to eat and come inside to sleep, so you’ll have to set some
Limits, but I’d dive in.

The advice was from OT, worst money we ever spent!

This last comment was not me [OP].

And I am genuinely curious here… is the latest guidance from researchers and clinicians in the SN community focused on ASD-1 to permit the child to perseverate on whatever stimuli they prefer for as long as they prefer?

I am not talking about diving in and learning all about ACs, in my instance. I am talking about staring and stimming for hours at the same stimulus and not limiting it, interrupting it, or refocusing the child?

Good question. My DD's behavior analysts always redirected her to more appropriate activities.

The prevailing advice from neurodiversity affirming therapists of all kinds is to let autistic children participate in their special interests, as long as they are safe. ABA-trained therapists believe in "more appropriate activities." The others don't. That's part of why there's such a backlash against ABA. Neurodiversity affirming therapists don't believe in the idea of "more appropriate activities." Children are allowed to stim and pursue their special interests as long as they are safe.

Clearly you don’t understand ABA at all, as this explanation is over simplistic and over generalized.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I should have also explained. If I didn’t regulate how often and for how long DS can go watch the air conditioner, he would likely watch it for multiple hours a day… maybe all day? When he watches it, he stims so excitedly that he is sweating (how’s that for irony).

I know that the guidance of multiple of his OTs, SPED supports, and other providers over the years have counseled against letting him perseverate/stim re: (for example) fans, turning light switches on and off, watching the front-loading washing machine, turning an electric train in its side to watch the wheel spin, etc, etc, etc.

He would do these activities exclusively if I let him. Today we were at the beach and he was getting anxious and rushing us to get home. He said he did not want to go to the beach today, he just wanted to drive home right away. He was acting out and threw a mini tantrum when he learned we would go to the beach before leaving for home. Then he kept asking if we would be home before sunset and only calmed down when I confirmed that we would. Which of course all occurred because he wants to see his air conditioner.

Last week, he refused to go over to a friend’s house to swim (which he’d been excited about) and said he just wanted to “stay home” which I knew was code for - stare at the AC.

I support my guy and his unique interests! We have watched videos about AC units and read books about them. We’ve talked about how there is an important job some people do fixing and maintaining air conditioners, and that maybe that is something he can do when he is a grown up.

But it doesn’t feel like the right thing to do for him is to let him go to town on this AC ad nauseam.

Ok the lightswitch thing I understand, but why is it bad otherwise? I agree don't let him do it all day, but what's the harm in using that as a break?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I should have also explained. If I didn’t regulate how often and for how long DS can go watch the air conditioner, he would likely watch it for multiple hours a day… maybe all day? When he watches it, he stims so excitedly that he is sweating (how’s that for irony).

I know that the guidance of multiple of his OTs, SPED supports, and other providers over the years have counseled against letting him perseverate/stim re: (for example) fans, turning light switches on and off, watching the front-loading washing machine, turning an electric train in its side to watch the wheel spin, etc, etc, etc.

He would do these activities exclusively if I let him. Today we were at the beach and he was getting anxious and rushing us to get home. He said he did not want to go to the beach today, he just wanted to drive home right away. He was acting out and threw a mini tantrum when he learned we would go to the beach before leaving for home. Then he kept asking if we would be home before sunset and only calmed down when I confirmed that we would. Which of course all occurred because he wants to see his air conditioner.

Last week, he refused to go over to a friend’s house to swim (which he’d been excited about) and said he just wanted to “stay home” which I knew was code for - stare at the AC.

I support my guy and his unique interests! We have watched videos about AC units and read books about them. We’ve talked about how there is an important job some people do fixing and maintaining air conditioners, and that maybe that is something he can do when he is a grown up.

But it doesn’t feel like the right thing to do for him is to let him go to town on this AC ad nauseam.

I think someone has given you bad advice re not letting him pursue his special interests. Was that advice from ABA? I would help him dive into it — let him watch the a/c, find an ac repair person who will let your son watch his work, get books, get a unit he can take apart, if that’s safe. Obviously you will need to make
Him stop watching the ac long enough to eat and come inside to sleep, so you’ll have to set some
Limits, but I’d dive in.

The advice was from OT, worst money we ever spent!

This last comment was not me [OP].

And I am genuinely curious here… is the latest guidance from researchers and clinicians in the SN community focused on ASD-1 to permit the child to perseverate on whatever stimuli they prefer for as long as they prefer?

I am not talking about diving in and learning all about ACs, in my instance. I am talking about staring and stimming for hours at the same stimulus and not limiting it, interrupting it, or refocusing the child?

Good question. My DD's behavior analysts always redirected her to more appropriate activities.

The prevailing advice from neurodiversity affirming therapists of all kinds is to let autistic children participate in their special interests, as long as they are safe. ABA-trained therapists believe in "more appropriate activities." The others don't. That's part of why there's such a backlash against ABA. Neurodiversity affirming therapists don't believe in the idea of "more appropriate activities." Children are allowed to stim and pursue their special interests as long as they are safe.

Clearly you don’t understand ABA at all, as this explanation is over simplistic and over generalized.

Except that's the exact experience of many of us had with ABA. But since you're an expert, please elaborate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I should have also explained. If I didn’t regulate how often and for how long DS can go watch the air conditioner, he would likely watch it for multiple hours a day… maybe all day? When he watches it, he stims so excitedly that he is sweating (how’s that for irony).

I know that the guidance of multiple of his OTs, SPED supports, and other providers over the years have counseled against letting him perseverate/stim re: (for example) fans, turning light switches on and off, watching the front-loading washing machine, turning an electric train in its side to watch the wheel spin, etc, etc, etc.

He would do these activities exclusively if I let him. Today we were at the beach and he was getting anxious and rushing us to get home. He said he did not want to go to the beach today, he just wanted to drive home right away. He was acting out and threw a mini tantrum when he learned we would go to the beach before leaving for home. Then he kept asking if we would be home before sunset and only calmed down when I confirmed that we would. Which of course all occurred because he wants to see his air conditioner.

Last week, he refused to go over to a friend’s house to swim (which he’d been excited about) and said he just wanted to “stay home” which I knew was code for - stare at the AC.

I support my guy and his unique interests! We have watched videos about AC units and read books about them. We’ve talked about how there is an important job some people do fixing and maintaining air conditioners, and that maybe that is something he can do when he is a grown up.

But it doesn’t feel like the right thing to do for him is to let him go to town on this AC ad nauseam.

I think someone has given you bad advice re not letting him pursue his special interests. Was that advice from ABA? I would help him dive into it — let him watch the a/c, find an ac repair person who will let your son watch his work, get books, get a unit he can take apart, if that’s safe. Obviously you will need to make
Him stop watching the ac long enough to eat and come inside to sleep, so you’ll have to set some
Limits, but I’d dive in.

The advice was from OT, worst money we ever spent!

This last comment was not me [OP].

And I am genuinely curious here… is the latest guidance from researchers and clinicians in the SN community focused on ASD-1 to permit the child to perseverate on whatever stimuli they prefer for as long as they prefer?

I am not talking about diving in and learning all about ACs, in my instance. I am talking about staring and stimming for hours at the same stimulus and not limiting it, interrupting it, or refocusing the child?

Good question. My DD's behavior analysts always redirected her to more appropriate activities.

The prevailing advice from neurodiversity affirming therapists of all kinds is to let autistic children participate in their special interests, as long as they are safe. ABA-trained therapists believe in "more appropriate activities." The others don't. That's part of why there's such a backlash against ABA. Neurodiversity affirming therapists don't believe in the idea of "more appropriate activities." Children are allowed to stim and pursue their special interests as long as they are safe.

Clearly you don’t understand ABA at all, as this explanation is over simplistic and over generalized.

Except that's the exact experience of many of us had with ABA. But since you're an expert, please elaborate.

I’m not an expert, I just know when someone is spitting bull. Sometimes I let my kid sit in a corner and play with car wheels and sometimes that isn’t allowed. ABA has been amazing for my DC.

[Anonymous]

I'm the PP. The advice would be different if his diagnosis is OCD. Therapists do recommend limiting compulsive and obsessive behavior in OCD, but I'm not familiar enough with that to give advice. I just wanted to throw that caveat out there. (And the reason the advice is different for autism vs OCD is because engaging in the compulsions with OCD makes your anxiety WORSE. Engaging in special interests with autism is socially unacceptable but doesn't harm the child. In fact, it tends to bring a lot of joy to the child.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I should have also explained. If I didn’t regulate how often and for how long DS can go watch the air conditioner, he would likely watch it for multiple hours a day… maybe all day? When he watches it, he stims so excitedly that he is sweating (how’s that for irony).

I know that the guidance of multiple of his OTs, SPED supports, and other providers over the years have counseled against letting him perseverate/stim re: (for example) fans, turning light switches on and off, watching the front-loading washing machine, turning an electric train in its side to watch the wheel spin, etc, etc, etc.

He would do these activities exclusively if I let him. Today we were at the beach and he was getting anxious and rushing us to get home. He said he did not want to go to the beach today, he just wanted to drive home right away. He was acting out and threw a mini tantrum when he learned we would go to the beach before leaving for home. Then he kept asking if we would be home before sunset and only calmed down when I confirmed that we would. Which of course all occurred because he wants to see his air conditioner.

Last week, he refused to go over to a friend’s house to swim (which he’d been excited about) and said he just wanted to “stay home” which I knew was code for - stare at the AC.

I support my guy and his unique interests! We have watched videos about AC units and read books about them. We’ve talked about how there is an important job some people do fixing and maintaining air conditioners, and that maybe that is something he can do when he is a grown up.

But it doesn’t feel like the right thing to do for him is to let him go to town on this AC ad nauseam.

I think someone has given you bad advice re not letting him pursue his special interests. Was that advice from ABA? I would help him dive into it — let him watch the a/c, find an ac repair person who will let your son watch his work, get books, get a unit he can take apart, if that’s safe. Obviously you will need to make
Him stop watching the ac long enough to eat and come inside to sleep, so you’ll have to set some
Limits, but I’d dive in.

The advice was from OT, worst money we ever spent!

This last comment was not me [OP].

And I am genuinely curious here… is the latest guidance from researchers and clinicians in the SN community focused on ASD-1 to permit the child to perseverate on whatever stimuli they prefer for as long as they prefer?

I am not talking about diving in and learning all about ACs, in my instance. I am talking about staring and stimming for hours at the same stimulus and not limiting it, interrupting it, or refocusing the child?

Good question. My DD's behavior analysts always redirected her to more appropriate activities.

The prevailing advice from neurodiversity affirming therapists of all kinds is to let autistic children participate in their special interests, as long as they are safe. ABA-trained therapists believe in "more appropriate activities." The others don't. That's part of why there's such a backlash against ABA. Neurodiversity affirming therapists don't believe in the idea of "more appropriate activities." Children are allowed to stim and pursue their special interests as long as they are safe.

Clearly you don’t understand ABA at all, as this explanation is over simplistic and over generalized.

Weird that a post about a child we've never met on DCUM is accurate but overly simplistic and generalized, and not treatment advice for an individual child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I should have also explained. If I didn’t regulate how often and for how long DS can go watch the air conditioner, he would likely watch it for multiple hours a day… maybe all day? When he watches it, he stims so excitedly that he is sweating (how’s that for irony).

I know that the guidance of multiple of his OTs, SPED supports, and other providers over the years have counseled against letting him perseverate/stim re: (for example) fans, turning light switches on and off, watching the front-loading washing machine, turning an electric train in its side to watch the wheel spin, etc, etc, etc.

He would do these activities exclusively if I let him. Today we were at the beach and he was getting anxious and rushing us to get home. He said he did not want to go to the beach today, he just wanted to drive home right away. He was acting out and threw a mini tantrum when he learned we would go to the beach before leaving for home. Then he kept asking if we would be home before sunset and only calmed down when I confirmed that we would. Which of course all occurred because he wants to see his air conditioner.

Last week, he refused to go over to a friend’s house to swim (which he’d been excited about) and said he just wanted to “stay home” which I knew was code for - stare at the AC.

I support my guy and his unique interests! We have watched videos about AC units and read books about them. We’ve talked about how there is an important job some people do fixing and maintaining air conditioners, and that maybe that is something he can do when he is a grown up.

But it doesn’t feel like the right thing to do for him is to let him go to town on this AC ad nauseam.

I think someone has given you bad advice re not letting him pursue his special interests. Was that advice from ABA? I would help him dive into it — let him watch the a/c, find an ac repair person who will let your son watch his work, get books, get a unit he can take apart, if that’s safe. Obviously you will need to make
Him stop watching the ac long enough to eat and come inside to sleep, so you’ll have to set some
Limits, but I’d dive in.

The advice was from OT, worst money we ever spent!

This last comment was not me [OP].

And I am genuinely curious here… is the latest guidance from researchers and clinicians in the SN community focused on ASD-1 to permit the child to perseverate on whatever stimuli they prefer for as long as they prefer?

I am not talking about diving in and learning all about ACs, in my instance. I am talking about staring and stimming for hours at the same stimulus and not limiting it, interrupting it, or refocusing the child?

Good question. My DD's behavior analysts always redirected her to more appropriate activities.

The prevailing advice from neurodiversity affirming therapists of all kinds is to let autistic children participate in their special interests, as long as they are safe. ABA-trained therapists believe in "more appropriate activities." The others don't. That's part of why there's such a backlash against ABA. Neurodiversity affirming therapists don't believe in the idea of "more appropriate activities." Children are allowed to stim and pursue their special interests as long as they are safe.

Clearly you don’t understand ABA at all, as this explanation is over simplistic and over generalized.

Weird that a post about a child we've never met on DCUM is accurate but overly simplistic and generalized, and not treatment advice for an individual child.

It’s not accurate. The PP is an idiot.