Summer and getting outside is awesome! A little planning can go a long way in setting up an outing for success. This
Some neurodivergent people have a harder time knowing if they are too hot or too cold.
This is because of differences in how their brains sense and understand body signals—this is called “interoception.” Research shows that changes in how the brain processes senses can affect how someone feels things like temperature. For example a neurodiverse person may experience
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- Hypersensitivity – they feel changes in temperature very strongly.
- Hyposensitivity – they barely notice temperature changes until it becomes more serious
Hypersensitive: Sweat may feel “icky” – a child may avoid running or going outside in the heat. Or a child may get a loud and difficult to filter out ‘I’m hot’ message coming from their body. Normally groups don’t bother them, but in the heat they have a much shorter tolerance
Hyposensitive child: A child plays outside and doesn’t feel how hot he is. He doesn’t drink water or rest and gets exhausted resulting in a meltdown at the end of the day, even though he had a great day.
Sun-safe, neuro-affirming tips for summer:
- Give choice when possible – e.g. sun screen or water shirt
- Do a scan before going – make sure their is shade available or bring an umbrella
- Front load that you are going to ask them to take sun screen or water breaks
- Build in interoception into outdoor activities notice how they are feeling before and after going into the water
Reference: Casterman, N., Rossignol, M., Colomar, A. et al. Thermoception in Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Concise Systematic Review. Rev J Autism Dev Disord (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40489-024-00445-2
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Tips for neurodivergent regulation: summer planning, interoception, thermoregulation, and OT-affirming strategies for staying safe and comfortable outdoors.