Cicadas can be a sensory nightmare for autistic people: Researchers
- The cacophony of cicadas mating can overwhelm autistic people
- Autistic people can be hypersensitive to sound, no tolerate loud noises
- Education, vigilance and noise reduction aids the best strategies
Periodical Cicada, Adult, Magicicada spp. Requires 17 years to complete development. Nymph splits its skin, and transforms into an adult. Feeds on sap of tree roots. Northern Illinois Brood. This brood is the largest emergence of cicadas anywhere
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(NewsNation) — They’re fascinating, annoying, a pain to clean up, great food for birds and a source of nutrients for the soil. But the sound that cicadas make during their brief lives can be painful, especially for autistic people.
“For the nearly 5.5 million individuals in the United States who have autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and experience sensory sensitivities, these visitors may quickly become overwhelming,” write the authors of an article in the journal Psychiatric News.
The authors advise parents, teachers and caregivers to prepare autistic people, especially children, for the impending cacophony.
One strategy is education: explain to kids the rarity of cicada appearances, especially in the very rare occurrence of two broods emerging in the same year. Assure kids that the noise is temporary, they advise.
Also, stay vigilant for signs of noise hypersensitivity. Cicadas’ high-pitched mating noises may not be all that loud to most of us, but people with ASD can be more sensitive to sound and have a lower tolerance for loud noises.
And have headphones or earplugs handy for time spent outdoors. Also, try to minimize time outside.
Authors Nathan Carroll, Leena Kasa and Livia Seymour conclude: “Among all the ruckus of these benign bugs, let’s take steps to hear and help the unheard, even when the noise gets loud.”
