A recent trip to Las Vegas brought to mind one of the most important things I learned while growing up.

 First of all, let’s get this out of the way: If you or your child have issues with sensory processing and you’ve ever wondered if a trip to Las Vegas might be a good idea, I can firmly assure you, it is not. From the second you step out of your hotel room, Vegas is a near-constant barrage of lights, sights, sounds, smells, and wall-to-wall people. If not for the fact that my sister was getting married there, I would have driven immediately back to the airport and hopped on the next flight back to Seattle.

However, I did make it through the week without completely losing my mind due to a focus technique. I don’t know if there’s a technical name for it, but I’ve always thought of it as spotting. I grew up taking dance classes, and spotting is what dancers do in order to keep their balance during turns; you pick one spot in front of you, focus on that, and snap your head around as quickly as possible during the turn to return your focus to that one spot. You don’t even let your eyes register anything else. It’s sort of tricky to master (or it was for 6-year-old me, anyway!), but it’s certainly better than getting dizzy.

And that is how I survive in situations where there is too much stimulation, most recently Fremont Street. I pick one thing to focus on and let everything else just fuzz out. My husband asked me, “Could you believe that guy with the purple mohawk in a Speedo on stilts with tiger body paint? Wasn’t that crazy?” I don’t know. I didn’t see him. I saw that W in the Walgreens sign at the end of the street! Seriously… I saw just one thing. I’m sorry I missed out on Mohawk Tiger Stilts Guy, but if I’d let myself register everything that was going on around me, I would have had a nervous breakdown. And I could always look at the pictures later. In the quiet hotel room. In my pajamas.

So, spotting is what works for me. It has since I was a pre-teen, and it’s gotten easier since then. I’ve used it in every crowded, noisy situation imaginable, from college parties to street fairs to one horrible experience at the DMV. It’s pretty rare that I become too overwhelmed to function, but it’s always a fear. At least if I’d had a meltdown in Las Vegas, there’s a solid chance I would have fit right in, right?

 This article is part of the Faking Normal series written by an adult with Autism who hopes to demystify Autism and help readers understand themselves or their children better.  If you have questions or topic requests for J, please email her at jblog@washingtonautismadvocacy.org.