Sensitive to thunder and lightening

[JeanneA]

Hi at Glen's care home on thursday in Coventry they had some really freaky weather; severe thunder, lightening, rain, hailstones etc. I was told Glen became extremely agitated during the thunder and lightening it really upset him which resulted in him self injuring. In fact the home was affected so badly by the weather all the staff and youngsters had to move out and they are now currently in Pontins, in Wales until they can return to the home which should be in the next couple of days.

 

Are any of your youngsters affected by thunder and lightening?

[Mike_GX101]

Isn't it just maybe the not-knowing of what it is?

 

And does he have anything playing on his mind that's compounding his reaction to it perhaps?

[darkshine]

I have a bit of a weird position on thunder and lightning - that is slightly - lol "exceptionally" in conflict....

 

I find it amazing, really amazing, there;s a place in America where the lightning actually goes up from the ground to the sky, they think it's due to the amount of concrete in the city acting as a focus for electrical energy not being able to earth, the lightning goes up from power stations and electric lines and stuff. Pretty incredible,

 

I like how there's different types of lightning and how it isn't predictable. Thunder shouldn't be a problem either as I understand the principal behind it...

 

BUT

 

On a deep instinctual level it terrifies me - especially when it booms and cracks and I can feel the change in the air pressure around me and it's like it buzzes and I can feel the vibrations going through the walls and the ground. It fills me with a deep sense of unease and although I don't admit it to people (yes I am here but I guess it might help) it really does terrify me on that deep instinctual level and maybe that's what Glen is feeling (plus there's the expectation of the next boom and that can serve to wind someone right up because it's like hiccups, you don't know when the next one will come sometimes and then it can shock you and you don't know when they will go away either!!!!!).

 

Lightning is an issue because I know what it can do - plus I have had the "good" fortune to meet/know of a couple of people who have had near misses with bolts or balls of lightning (lightning "balls" are a questionable type of lightning) and some people have called it rocket lightning, but that is something else completely. Both stories were very similar where the lightning essentially entered the house through a window/chimney and exited through a door/window - leaving the occupants pretty shook up (one was my science teacher who was credible in my mind because everything else he said was factual - and the other was a family member's grandmother who died before I was born).

 

Plus there's loads of stories about forked lightning (also called cloud to ground lightning) and most people have heard something about it - from fires to deaths to people being struck twice...

 

The only lightning that doesn't bother me at all is sheet lightning - this is also called cloud to cloud lightning - and since it always seems to stay up in the air it doesn't bother me

 

We don't get that much lightning in a year so it's a hard thing to plan for - but if it isn't possible to really discuss this with Glen on this level, then it might be worth thinking of ways for him to cope with it.

 

This could be finding a place he feels is safe (I've known a grown man who used to hide under the stairs) so maybe a small space can feel safe.

 

Distraction techniques such as music or really engaging in an activity that grabs his attention.

 

Seeing if it can become a game (like how long before the thunder) or if he can find some level of curiosity about it (that one is hard as it's hardly like you can say it's totally safe, and if he's recently been that upset and had to move places for a bit then he might be worried about things like lights going out or feel like he has to try to run away from it).

 

I think a safe space and distraction would be the way to approach it - you say Glen likes his food? Maybe that could be used as part of a game or distraction - something that really gets him excited - or that is nice to touch or play with - his own thunder food or something - finding a distraction could require some imagination and some effort to implement - but could provide him with some coping mechanism for it - although the fact you can't predict when a storm will happen and stuff.

 

But if it is this deep instinct then that can be hard to overcome you know? Especially if explanation and discussion are a challenge for him.

 

Does he like fireworks?

[Special_talent123]

I am affected because loud noise, same with fireworks, and aeroplane , mowers I share a poem I wrote. I suppose glen would relate to this Poem

 

The loudness of the mower cutting the grass The loudness of the aero plane flying The loudness of the helicopter searching for a person The loudness of the sirens going by to save lives

You shiver, you hide.

you hum.

You try and block the noise

you want the noise to go away

 

[LancsLad]

Thanks for sharing the poem Special.

 

Wen I was young I was scared of things like this untill someone explained them to me and since then I have been fascinated by the weather. I am with Darkshine, I find being out in a storm really exciting but scary at the same time. I think it was Turner who painted his sea scapes after being strapped to a mast in a storm. I kind of go out on a carbon fibre bike into the hills believing the rubber in the tyres makes me safe, but I am aware of many things we are told in science whilst at school end up to be half truths.

 

Jeanne I think this is really difficult because we need a level of cognitive reasoning to work some things out in our minds, without the ability to reason we are left with a very strong emotional response. Its a case of natural instinct fight or flight, i'm and idiot I think its safe to go out in this stuff, Glen on the other hand might be a bit more sensible and wants to hide as he is not too sure about things.

 

I had two dogs up to Christmas this year. The ###### was the dominant pup in the litter and she was ok about thunder and lightening, the dog would always head to her when there was a storm and curl up next to her for security. The ###### died and in the storms of the past few weeks he has been pertified its been a case of lie down on the bed with a good book and let him curl up for security till things blow over.

 

Just a few thoughts.

[JeanneA]

Thanks for all your comments much appreciated. No Glen doesn't like firework noise either, it's obviously the noise factor and the suddenness of thunder I guess.

 

Lovely poem special :-)

[robert7111a]

Yes this alludes to a post I started today about loud noise.

 

Some people are extremely sensitive to loud noise (especially unexpected) due to general stress, unilateral hearing loss or having AS. This is something I would like to research one day

[JeanneA]

thanks for your comments Robert, it is true that some people are more sensitive than others to noise, especially those with ASD and sensory issues.

[Mandapanda]

Hi Jeanne

 

I get a headache and feel jittery when a storm is coming, so must sense it in some way.

[Mike_GX101]

I suppose in some way being scared of lightning is a very valid fear to have, given that it can in certain situations prove fatal.

 

I think it is all too easy to become complacent about it particularly when so many people survive them all the time.

 

I got caught out once between two mountains. I was all alone. It started raining heavily. The wind whipped up. I felt my hair standing up on the back of my neck. I heard almighty cracks up ahead to my left just over the ridge of one of the mountains. It was terrifying. There wasn't a tree in sight and no buildings either. At that moment I was the tallest in the valley I was in between the two mountain peaks with thunder grumbling all around and echoing forbiddingly. Even if I'd laid down I would still have been the tallest in that area! So I made a desperate dash for it. I never saw any lightning thankfully but knew it must have been striking the very peak of the mountain to the left.

 

I got back to the car after running for what seemed like an age, turned the ignition and was off. And I know, I know it was a classic error getting into a car during a lightning storm but there was no way I was staying out there all alone to risk getting sizzled to a crisp! Instinct took hold of me that day and probably saved me too! I was so glad to get to back to civilisation and being with other people again after that...

 

Electrifying stuff but it pays not to be too ignorant of the dangers of storms; a certain level of respect for lightning is essential - respect thunder too because it can warn you of the approaching danger and gives you chance to act.

Edited July 1, 2012 by Mike_GX101

[Sa Skimrande]

Thunder and lightning I love it, when it happens despite the usual wet, I am out there in it happy, the feeling is fantastic and I feel so energised, but then with a history of working in trades that involved testing with electricity, I wonder which inspired which as electric shocks can have the same effect even the big thumping ones.

 

A friend diagnosed as schizophrenic hates thunder and lightning storms, he says it sets off painful buzzing in his head and he believes they are his punishment for thinking bad thoughts, but I wonder at his diagnosis, given the diagnostic criteria for AS and it's similarity with Schizophrenia and the fact that there are people who have been diagnosed with schizophrenia who later have been found to have AS not schizophrenia, but a distressed AS sufferer or undiagnosed distressed AS sufferer, I can see how misdiagnosis could occur.

 

But since I learned my peculiarities had a reason, I have seen many of them in my schizo pal and have told him so and have noticed since he has also been looking into it, his typicalities with AS he has become more relaxed and is advancing at a pace I cannot compare with, as I go around and around in circles, he accelerates off in new directions building on the strength of the last direction, but he says his problems are not the diagnosis, but what happened to him in the mental hospitals that has caused the most damage.

 

But electrostatics I love it, but my pal it hurts him, weird in it.

[Isobel]

I'm sensitive to noise. I don't like unexpected noises like bangs, so therefore have a fear of balloons, never liked fireworks even as a child (I had to be taken home from my first firework display) and even just a couple of years ago when I was forced to go to a display, I got so stressed I was in tears. Sounds like air canisters I don't like - they are used at work to clean the post packing machines and they do distract me. The ones that fill up balloons I cannot go anywhere near. Thunder and lightning just makes me shudder - I was caught outside in a storm on Saturday, fortunately my dog isn't bothered so she actually helped me through it, especially when balloons were bursting. She can be a good therapy dog for me.

[JeanneA]

Glen doesn't like firework noises either never has, or balloons popping, very sensitive to lots of noises. When he was little he hated the hoover noise, would get extremely agitated, so I found it impossible to hoover when he was around.

[darkshine]

I hate the hoover noise even now - it is designed at the most annoying pitch in the world!!!

[Mike_GX101]

You'll have to become an inventor and design one that makes no noise!

[darkshine]

I'm no inventor of stuff like that I'm more of an ingenuity kinda person, like problem solving kinda stuff on a practical level or creating things that pop into my head...

 

But in terms of speculation... well, it's the motor isn't it, so I guess if they could invent a motor that worked differently then it could be quieter... dyson created a fan with no blades, it's just a hoop... don't know if it's noisy or not, but the idea could work - shame they didn't think of that for the vacuum cuz they are one of the loudest I've ever heard!!!

 

But if you think of a hair dryer (which works on the opposite principle) some of those are a lot quieter than others cuz my mum had one last time she visited and it was surprisingly less annoying in comparison to previous ones that I have wanted to wrap around her neck - the problem is balancing noise against the power the appliance needs to work well.

 

Also, I think that the point of contact of hoover pipe - or if it's an upright the pipe inside the base, might make a difference too - than the pretty much standard pipe size, the shape it is it might make different noises, cuz if you obscure the opening it changes pitch in suction, so maybe different sizes or shapes could be quieter than others... or if on an upright the points of suction were distributed all around the base

 

Although I have now ascertained/cleared up - that it isn't just the motor - it's also the suction of air that pees me off...

 

We could just get rid of carpet and the problem would be reduced by about 90%

[Special_talent123]

Yep I hate fireworks, balloons popping, thunder, mower, Hoover, aeroplanes , sirens, helicopter anything loud even a flare

[Special_talent123]

Even the fire alarm they test Thursday, my ears hurt so much

[Isobel]

Glad i've moved office buildings - the fire alarm test is now only done once a month and its a much more pleasant bell ringing sound which is better than the high pitched sound they insisted on doing for 30 seconds every Friday at 10:30am.

[Special_talent123]

This is where I live. Fireworks tonight distressed me along with loud sirens

[A-S warrior]

i love thunder, i love A380,s taking off, i love watching concorde take off videos on youtube with my headphones in and volume cranked up, i love ridculous amount of bass from subs, but i hate the sound of pepole munching on snacks, espeshilly pork scratchings or monster much. i hate my dog when he eats, i hate text alerts and i hate supermarket sounds. funny how the everyday sounds ###### me off but anything over 100 decibels gets me exited and charged up.

[robert7111a]

Funny that. I used to love Concorde taking off and remember it flying over my house around 5.30pm every day. I also used to get excited over the roar of the GR7 Harrier jump jet, the Paxman Valenta engines of the former British Rail HST, the sound of a certain old diesel locomotives and the rush of steam from a steam locomotive.

 

Yet the sounds of certain babies crying for instance make me want to climb the walls

[JeanneA]

Every time Glen used to hear a baby cry he would giggle i always seemed to amuse him, then again as he is unsure of emotions, he would often giggle when anyone cried, but looked serious when people were laughing/happy etc., typical autistic perhaps??

[Special_talent123]

thats probably a nervous laugh. I would laugh if i am nervous, dont understand or find something funny but my emotions dont match my actions i been told. I don't appear how NT would appear she saying to the doctor at my surgery as she assumed because i laughed on the phone that i was happy when i dont appear that way