It's always a crapshoot. We try deep pressure or have our son swing on the swing set. If he's not in the mood for deep pressure, we just have to let him ride the wave. It's so hard for all of us. We have a spare bedroom that we turned into his 'mancave'. It has a trampoline and beanbags as well as dim lighting. He doesn't always like to retreat in there either. To be honest, sometimes I feel like we're being held hostage because there are times when nothing we do will soothe him. Sometimes, I try to tell him about something good that's going to happen - like a trip to his Nana's or maybe we're having something he likes for dinner. I feel like I haven't answered your question at all. Whoever thought about making the puzzle the symbol for autism was a genius.

After high stimulation and sensory overload sometimes nothing helps but we do Inbetween time and then Calm time for Ellie Bean. Inbetween time is stuff like swaying to soothing music, swinging, bouncing a balloon, mashing play dough and doing other medium physical things that aren't too hyper. Another helpful thing is sensory walking like stepping on or over or through hoops, big stones, logs, rails, steps, sand, crunchy leaves or doing a backyard obstacle course. Then we destress more by changing to Calm time. That's things like coloring, storybooks, rocking, and anything else that's very low physical activity. When it works it's almost magic.

Music has seemed to help for Patrick. He loves opera. He goes into his room and turns on his opera CD

You could try brushing ( with this special small brush with soft bristles his occupational therapist would use and never on the tummy ) also..joint compressions,weighted blanket,hold tight and squeeze hugs..

Gentle music is always calming for my son, so I play it in the car on the way to therapy. My son will mimic the intensity of what is around him, so I'll pay attention to my own mood and just sit quietly(as possible) or read a calm book. Recently he has started to ask for sensory needs (ie: head massage, brushing, joint compressions).