IGNIS Summer 2017 | Page 9

et, that is the question that they are doing it. How oft en have you been driven nuts by someone who constantly taps their fingers or feet, doodles incessantly, clicks or rolls their pen, twiddles their hair or grinds their teeth? Or is this something that you do to calm yourself? Developmentally, our nervous system gives priority to sensory needs before anything else, for example, cognitive, emotional and social skills. It is a primitive survival mechanism which in modern day society can overwhelm us occasionally in day-to-day living. For some people with conditions like Autism, ADHD, Sensory Processing Disorder, severe stress and anxiety, life can be a constant sensory bombardment, as this video demonstrates, so it’s not surprising that they use any means, including fidgeting, to self-regulate. Embed video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KurXpARairU IGNIS 9