#basic tool kit

headphones: this can be quite the balancing act between comfort, performance, and price but having good options for headphones can really help with sensory management.

You may want different options for different environments, or extras of a favorite kind if you might misplace/forget them.

some head phone choosing guides:

includes multiple types and recommends brands

another guide with pros and cons for some of the common types, and a lot of advice 

a more technical guide

(I have a $5 pair of coby in-ear headphones that fit my ears very well and block out a lot (though not all) sound, for me these are the best balance at the moment)

noise isolating/canceling headphones: the above guides covered these but here are some guides just for these types

what’s the difference and how to pick the right ones

a few noise canceling models to give you an idea of pricing

earplugs: 

[a note on feeling uncomfortable about sitmming/learning new stims: I was discouraged from stimming mainly in a casual kind of way by the general societal expectations and rules ‘stop doodling and pay attention!’ but it still had an affect--not only did I only develop a set of socially acceptable stims, but when I found out about sitmming and realized I needed to start doing it more to recover from burnout...it was really hard. It felt weird to do it on purpose, even bad. And adopting new stims that gave me good input but were ‘weird’ or ‘childish’ made me uncomfortable. It’s ok to feel that way. It’s also ok to feel joy and relief, or anything else you feel about it. Stimming is totally individual, just like autism, and your own experiences are going to affect how you feel about it. No stims are weird or childish, or bad. Some may not be right for you, some may not work because of your circumstances (family or teachers who discourage it for example), and some may not be healthy. But stimming is a human reaction, allistic people do it too, and it’s ok to stim!]

Building your stim repertoire:

giant list of stims: this is good for identifying your current stims and inspirations for new ones, or adding stims for others to see!

the ABC of stimming: illustrations of a kind of stimming for each letter

while stim toys are awesome, it’s best to have at least a few stims that don’t depend on specific toys or equipment (a few examples: foot tapping, twiddling fingers, fidgeting with hems, rocking, leg bouncing)

it’s also good to cultivate some discrete stims with or without toys in case you find yourself with people who are hostile toward stimming or that you don’t have spoons to explain things to (jewelry--which includes watches are a good examples of discrete stim toys)

it’s easy to assume that one type of stim should be replaced by another stim that gives the same type of input (replacing chewing on your cheek with chewing on a piece of jewelry for example), but this is not always the case so if you can’t think of a way to replace a stim for situations where it won’t work with something similar--don’t despair, other types of stims may work too

stim toys are your friend! check out stimtastic, officplayground, therapyshoppe, and search etsy and amzon for fidgets and fidget toys to get some ideas. a lot of stim toys are pretty cheap, and many can be bought locally--or made yourself!

also check out my stim/sensory solution tags for ideas and options including do it yourself projects

info on different kinds of sunglasses from purpose to tint to material

more colors and more info on colors

if you’re unsure about how you’ll react to tinted lenses, you can try on different fashion sunglasses in stores focusing on the colors of the lenses not the style of glasses (if you can’t find more than the usual gray and brown colors in stores you might also be able to find cheap options online for trying out the colors and then if you find a color that works for you worry about getting the right pair of actual frames for you)

if you already wear glasses, you can sometimes get transition prescription lenses that darken depending on light conditions--these only react to sunlight though so they do not help with other kinds of light (like florescent) and don’t work in all situations (I’ve had them since I was....idk maybe 12? live savers for me but very expensive in my case)

you can also get tinted lenses in your prescription which is cheaper than I thought it would online even for someone with as poor eyesight as me

for either glasses or even sunglasses there are also clip on options, they can clip on in different ways, this is one kind, they can give you multiple options for different situations

explanation for abdominal breathing for stress relief

a much more in depth explanation of different kinds of breathing for yoga

6 breathing exercises from yoga

video introduction to some simple yoga breathing exercises

there are a ton of essential oils from florals to citrus to woods and herbs

because our brains and senses are different, don’t worry if the scent you like isn’t one of the traditional ‘calming’ ones

you should always smell it before you buy it if you can--even if you want to buy online you may wish to go somewhere where you can test them first (obviously best done on a day where you have spoons to cope with the adventure) and try to sort of waft the oil a good distance from your nose because even the ones I like don’t smell good if I stick my nose close to the bottle

scented candles and other scented things do not necessarily smell like the essential oil so don’t assume that a candle you like/dislike means you’ll feel the same way about the oil

in my area, the big chain grocery store has essential oils in the green health care section, but I’ve seen them in mall in the Body Shop, so anywhere aromatherapy oils are sold