Autism and Noise: Conor Will Like MP Nina Grewal's Bill To Turn Down Loud Television Commercials

Too much sensory stimulation, particularly noise, can be a problem for many people with autism disorders. Whether it is a mainstream classroom, a crowded mall or movie theater, automobile traffic noise as we walk across the bridge,  or our family living room when the volume jumps during commercials noise can be a big problem for Conor.  In our living room we respond to commercials by preemptively muting them.   It is an issue for Conor but I don't like the noise either and I am happy to see that Conservative MP Nina Grewal is taking the initiative of introducing a private member's bill in Canada's House of Commons that will, if it becomes law, prohibit broadcasters from pumping up the volume jumping out of Canadian television sets during commercials. As reported by Carmen Chai, PostMedia News on the Vancouver Sun site :

A Conservative MP introduced a private member's bill Thursday to force advertisers to turn down the volume on loud television commercials. Surrey MP Nina Grewal says Canadians are "sick and tired of having to reach for the remote control every time a commercial comes on their TV." Bill C-621 would require broadcasters to make sure the volume of commercials is consistent with the programs they accompany. "It's a common complaint. You're watching a program at a comfortable volume. The program breaks for a commercial and suddenly you're jolted out of your seat by the loudness," Grewal said in a statement. "While it may seem a small irritant, it's a daily stress that could and should be relieved from the shoulders of Canadians." While there are no laws in Canada to ensure programming and commercials are broadcast at a consistent volume, similar rules exist in both the U.S. and the U.K.

Congratulations to MP Nina Grewal for bringing common sense to Parliament with a bill which, it it becomes law, will make living rooms more liveable in Canadian homes.  For Conor and his Dad, for persons with autism, for everyone. 

Music Off, Music Off: Noise Can Harm a Child with an Autism Disorder

A gust of wind caused the metal rails to briefly generate a very loud 

humming noise  which affected Conor more than Dad as we walked 

across the Westmorland Street Bridge yeterday

Noise can be a big problem for some people with autism disorders. A Noisy Nightmare by Hugh Adami in the Ottawa Citizen, tells the story of Bailey Gauthier and her autistic son Dominic who had to leave their Ottawa area apartment and move back home with Bailey's parents because of the impact on Dominic of persistent loud music  from a  neighbour and the inability to obtain relief from an  unsympathetic landlord. The noise was actually harmful to Dominic:

“Music off, music off,” a panicked Dominic would shout after the neighbour’s stereo started to blare. In an attempt to block out the sound, Gauthier says Dominic would repeatedly smash his head against the wall, slap himself and throw things.

Gauthier would physically restrain him, but that would be a frightening ordeal, too, as Dominic would begin to hyperventilate and foam at the mouth. He would kick and scratch his mother. Gauthier would even take him for drives to get him to calm down and fall asleep."

Obviously noise can not be eliminated from life. When it reaches certain levels it can be dangerous to anyone though and for some with autism that level is reached at a different point because some people with autism disorders are particularly sensitive to noise. Noise generated persistently by an unresponsive neighbour in an apartment complex caused serious problems for Bailey Gauthier's son, Dominic.

We don't live in an apartment but the effect of environmental noise on Conor is still obvious.  Walking at this time of year brings great joy for us and Conor and Dad enjoy it. But you do get more motorcycles with the  amplified noises that many bikers enjoy.  Even the wind can cause Conor to react briefly as he did in the photo above.  The wind will occasionally blow in strong gusts crossing the Westmorland Street Bridge as it did yesterday and the metal rails will generate brief outbursts of very loud, humming sounds.  Fortunately such environmental noises tend to be brief or you can simply continue on to avoid them.

When the noise is loud and persistent though, when it strikes a child with an autism disorder in his home ,as it did to Bailey Gauthier's son, serious harm can result and moving out may be the only real option.

My Autism Blog Motivation

Conor and Dad having a good laugh watching Pontoffel Pock on Youtube.

















Shower hair? No big deal.














Stimming with a dandelion stem.











Conor, sensitive to noise, reacts to the loud sounds of a passing motorcycle.












All smiles at the mall, Conor is about to get a favorite treat - a gum ball.

Autism and NOISE

The Daily American Online of Somerset County PA is carrying a fascinating story of a high functioning autistic gentleman, Barney Vincelette, who was bothered by his neighbor's loud rock music and the steps he took to reach an accommodation with his neighbors. Many autistic persons, including my son Conor, are very sensitive to noises. There were times when I had to hold Conor on my lap while getting his hair cut. He would be so upset by the noise of shears in the barber shop that he would literally bite into my shoulder. We now pick quiet times when the shop is empty and get his hair cut, with scissors as much as possible, by a lady who is outstanding at working with Conor. Noise from motorcycles is a huge problem for Conor. Many motorbikes are adjusted to increase the sound level emitted and that is a problem for any one in the vicinity. For Conor it is a particularly difficult experience.


Autism renders sickening rock music

Tuesday, May 15, 2007 2:40 AM EDT

Barney Vincelette, who says his autism renders loud noises sickening to him, has been feuding for several years with neighbors in Houston, Del., over their rock music. At first, he invented his own sound-jammer, according to an April profile in the Wilmington News Journal, but a judge curtailed its use. Subsequently, he recorded super-annoying sounds of his own (including a fog horn's) and had them written out as music ("Sonata for Calliope of Truck Horns About to Be Transcribed for Locomotive Horns Opus No. 1"), at which point the judge decided that permitting the neighbors' Bon Jovi but not Vincelette's Sonata amounted to selective law enforcement, and the feuders settled their differences. (Vincelette, by the way, lives in a house shaped like a flying saucer.) [News Journal, 4-15-07]