I have something exciting to tell you. I like to call it magic, because that’s what it feels like for me. I was given an opportunity to test a pair of glasses that are designed to help autistic people with sensory overloads and sensory processing.
I first need to back up to when I first encountered these glasses. I thought it was an interesting concept, but ultimately didn’t expect much from them. I’m mostly bothered by sounds and textures. So it didn’t make sense that a pair of glasses would help with those issues. Maybe I would experience something, but I expected it to be mild. My guess was that if these glasses had any effect, that they would be the most helpful to autistic people with light sensitivities. My expectation was to test them, say that it did little to nothing for me, and then send them back. I figured it would be good for them to have that honest feedback.
During my first day, the first thing I noticed was a lack of anxiety and extreme calmness. I wasn’t expecting this. It was like I was noticing something that was just always there, and then just wasn’t. Apparently low level anxiety was just so normal for me that I didn’t even notice it until it wasn’t there.
Then I had kids running around me and screaming, you know like kids do. Usually this hurts my ears and gives me anxiety. With the glasses, I just laughed, moved out of the way, and went to do the dishes. This may not sound like a big deal, but when it becomes difficult to just keep up on household chores because children are playing loudly, this is amazing. Similarly, I was able to just calmly sit and drink coffee in the morning while the kids ran around, without all the typical anxiety and the need to constantly stim at the table.
One of the most amazing things for me is that I was able to go grocery shopping while wearing a mask. COVID-19 happened and along with it came all the requirements to wear masks when shopping. Now, my Asian readers may not understand the big deal with this is. I know that this is a part of your culture even before COVID happened, but it’s not in America. I never grew up with it. So at 30 years old, it all the sudden becomes a requirement. This is already difficult, because sudden changes are difficult for autistic people. Then there are the sensory problems with it. Perhaps I’d have less problems if I had a chance to slowly get used to them as a child. Not ever autistic person has problems with wearing masks, but some of us do. Here is an article that explains this more in depth.
Anyway, back to shopping. We already know that shopping is problematic. The lights are bright and annoying. The music is loud. The shopping carts squeak. There’s people everywhere, and they’re all talking. The freezers buzz in my ears and are too cold. And every time they scan an item, it beeps loudly. Why? Who designed this? It sucks. Then we suddenly add a mask onto all of this crap and I can no longer function. I can’t focus on the list in my hand. I don’t know where I am in the store anymore. I can’t hold in my stims anymore. I’m just trying hold myself together until my husband can drag me through the store and complete the trip.
With the glasses and the mask, I could at least complete the shopping trip. Everything still sucked, and don’t ask me to talk. I was able to follow a small list, go through self-check out, and go home. I definitely had a lot of anxiety, and I was not happy, but I did it. This a major deal for me.
I also noticed other instances where I was getting overwhelmed by my environment, and I was able to more easily handle that. For example, I can get easily overwhelmed if the children are running around, the TV is too loud, there are toys everywhere, and the kitchen is a mess. This is usually when my husband finds me rocking in a corner and has to start cleaning something up so that I can function again. When I was wearing the glasses, I was able to notice that I was getting overwhelmed and choose something to fix, which was usually turning off the TV if no one was watching it anymore and cleaning up toys that were everywhere. Noticing that I’m getting overwhelmed and then being able to do something about it is so incredibly helpful.
There was also fun things like flowers just seeming more beautiful, and being able to enjoy cheesecake and yogurt without that tangy bitter taste. I also use less creamer in my coffee because the coffee is smoother and less acidic and bitter.
This is when I messaged her asking if these glasses were made with magic, because all of this is just not normal. I think we all understand the basic concept of how glasses help people see better, or sunglasses that help block sunlight. We can even understand how glasses might help someone who’s colorblind see colors better, because that has to do with eyes. But what does anything I just told you have to do with a pair of glasses? Remember, I didn’t expect these to work, and I was not prepared for everything I experienced. I also didn’t understand how any of this was possible, hence me calling it magic.
So let me help you with this. 70% of all the sensory receptors in the body are in the eyes, and nearly half of the cerebral cortex is involved in some aspect of visual processing. So glasses help the eyes better process the sensory input that the eyes receive. Also, located just behind and between the eyes, the anterior border of the hypothalamus is formed by the optic chasm. The hypothalamus is part of what controls the fight-or-flight system, which is what is active for autistic people during meltdowns and at a lower level for anxiety. The glasses seem to have a calming effect on that system.
Right now, these glasses are in the testing phase and they need the finances to complete the testing and make the final product, which is projected to be done by 2021. They are having a difficult time getting the finances they need, because investors are more interested in making “smart glasses” for neurotypicals or glasses advertised for anti-anxiety than for autism. Most investors seem to think that investing glasses for autistic people is too high of a risk. So they are instead turning towards crowdfunding to raise the funds they need.
I understand if you don’t have the money to donate. Please only donate if you have the ability to. Please at least share this campaign and share why it is important to you. It’s important to me, because these glasses allow me to be a better mother to my children. My son has tried them, and he’s less anxious, tells me about how he feels, and has tried some new foods.
Thank you for taking the time to read my story and my experience!
- I’m in part of this video. I’m the one actually wearing the glasses, because I didn’t want to not wear them.
- This video is of me talking about being skeptical when I first got the glasses.
我有件事要告訴你。我喜歡稱其為魔術，因為這就是我的感覺。我有機會測試了一副設計用於幫助自閉症人解決許多感官問題的眼鏡。
首先，我需要回到第一次遇到眼鏡的時候。我認為這是一個有趣的概念，但最終並沒有對此抱有太大期望。我大多被聲音和紋理困擾。因此，戴一副眼鏡幫助解決這些問題沒有任何意義。也許我會到一些事情，但我希望它會很溫和。我的猜測是，如果這些眼鏡有任何作用，它們將對具有光敏感型的自閉症人最有幫助。我的期望是對其進行測試，說對我幾乎沒有做任何事情，然後將其發送回去。我認為，獲得誠實的反饋對他們來説將是一件好事。
在第一天，我注意到的第一件事是缺乏焦慮和極端的鎮定。就像注意到一些始終存在的東西，然後才發現并非存在。顯然，低水平的焦慮對我來説是很正常的，以至於我什至沒有註意到它。我只在它消失後才注意到它。
然後我讓孩子們圍著我跑來尖叫（你知道孩子們怎麽樣）。通常，這會傷害我的耳朵並給我帶來焦慮。戴眼鏡的時候，我只是笑了，移開了，去洗碗。這看起來似乎沒什麽大不了的，但是當由於孩子們大聲玩耍而變得難以維持家務時，這真是太了不起了。同樣，我能夠在孩子們跑來跑去的早晨，從容地坐下來喝咖啡，而不必擔心所有典型的焦慮和不斷在桌子上stim的需要。
對我來説，最令人驚奇的事情之一就是我戴著都口罩可以去雜貨店購物。COVID-19發生了，隨之而來的是購物時帶口罩等所有要求。好吧，如果你來自亞洲，你可能不明白爲什麽這很重要。我知道即使在COVID發生之前，這也是你文化的一部分，但它不在美國。我沒有長大穿它們。因此，在30嵗時，突然變成了一個需求。這已經很困難了，因為自閉症人很難突然改變。然後是它的感官問題。如果我有機會在小時候慢慢適應它們，也許我的問題就會減少。并非每個自閉症人都戴著口罩有問題，但我們中的某些人確實有問題。這是一篇文章（英文），對此進行了詳細説明。
無論如何，回到購物。我們已經知道購物是有問題的。燈光明亮而煩人。音樂很響。購物車發出吱吱聲。到處都是人，他們都在説話。冰櫃在我耳邊嗡嗡作響，太冷了。每次他們掃描一個項目時，它都會發出嗶嗶聲。為什麽？誰設計的？這太糟糕了。然後突然將口罩加到所有這些廢話上，我不能再工作了。我無法集中精力處理這份清單。我不知道我在商店裏的位置了。我不能阻止自己stimming。我只是想不完全崩潰，而我的先生卻把我拖到商店裡。
戴上眼鏡和口罩，我至少可以完成購物之旅。一切仍然很糟糕，不要問我説話。我能夠按照一個小列表，使用自動屏幕自己檢查雜貨，然後回家。我絕對有很多焦慮，我並不高興，但我做到了！對我來説這很重要。
我還注意到其他情況是我的環境不知所措，並且我能過更輕鬆地處理該情況。例如，如果孩子們到處亂跑，電視太大聲，到處都是玩具，厨房一團糟，我很容易不知所措。通常這是儅我先生發現我在角落裏搖晃並且必須開始清理東西以便我可以再次工作時。當我戴著眼鏡時，我發現自己不知所措，選擇要修理的東西，如果沒有人看電視，通常會關掉電視並清理到處都是的玩具。注意到我變得不知所措，然後能夠對此有所作為，這是非常有用的。
還有一些有趣的事物，例如花朵看起來更美麗，并且能夠享受芝士蛋糕喝酸奶而沒有那種濃烈的苦味。我也減少了咖啡中的奶精的使用，因為咖啡的味道更柔滑，酸度和苦味也更少。這是我告訴她的消息，問這些眼鏡是否用魔術支撐，因為所有這些都不正常。我認為我們都了解眼鏡如何幫助改善視力的基本概念，或者太陽鏡可以幫助阻擋陽光的基本概念。我們甚至可以理解眼鏡如何幫助有色盲的人更好的看到顔色，因為這與眼睛有關。但是我剛才告訴你的一切，這和眼鏡有什麽關係？記住，我沒想到它們會起作用，我也沒有為自己經歷的一切做好準備。
所以我幫你解決這個問題。身體中所有感覺受體的70%位於眼睛中，近一半的大腦皮層參與視覺處理的某些方面。因此，眼鏡幫助眼睛更好地處理眼睛收到的感覺輸入。而且，下丘腦的前原位於眼睛的後方和兩眼之間，由視交叉形成。下丘腦是控制【戰鬥或逃跑系統】的一部分，是自閉症人精神崩潰時活躍的一部分。在焦慮時，它的參與程度也較小。眼鏡似乎對身體系統有鎮定作用。
目前，這些眼鏡正處於測試階段，他們需要資金來完成測試並生產最終產品。它計劃於2021年發佈。他們很難獲得所需的資金，因爲投資者或更願意為具有典型神經病學的人們製作【智能眼鏡】，或者願意減輕焦慮的眼鏡。大多數投資者似乎認為，為自閉症人投資眼鏡的風險太大。所以他們轉而使用衆籌來籌集所需的資金。
我了解你是否沒有錢可捐。請進再有能力的情況下捐款。請至少分享這個衆籌活動，并分享為什麽它對你很重要。這些眼鏡對我很重要，因為我可以成為一個更好的媽媽。我兒子嘗試過這些，他的焦慮程度減輕了，他告訴了我她的感覺，並嘗試了一些新事物。
感謝你抽出寶貴的時間閲讀我的故事和經歷！
**如果你希望我爲其中一些視頻製作中文字幕，請告訴我。謝謝。
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