Yeah! Skin brushing and sensory toys seem to be a great way to cope with sensory emergencies.

I'm going through one myself now for the next few days (need to wait til next week to get my dental appliance adjusted, ugh), and I'm getting through it better because of playing with squishy toys. got a squishy gorilla toy at walmart.

I also ordered some sensory toys from National Autism Resources (http://www.nationalautismresources.com/s...ation.html). They have some great stuff and it's not too expensive.

You can get the skin brushes there for a few dollars: http://www.nationalautismresources.com/w...brush.html

here's a video on how to do the skin brushing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i47mm9jW0LM

I've been doing it with a brush used for lymphatic skin brushing (a different thing), and the brush is too hard, so I'm eager to get the right brushes in the mail.

I do notice that if I do these things OFTEN, then my brain feels different. The hands make up a big part of our brain's sensory map, so if we can keep getting lots of pleasant stimuli on our hands, maybe that can inhibit the sensing of some of the unpleasant stimuli.

Also knitting using a Knifty Knitter from walmart. Very easy to learn and if it's comfortable for you it's a good distraction and you can feel like you're getting something done. I made a little baby hat in about an hour last night. Pretty fun!