Having a child with autism means thinking outside the box. Depending on the severity of the condition, children with autism suffer greatly from situations others handle more easily. Autistic children often respond differently to social stimuli. They may avoid eye contact, not respond to hugs or know how to ask for help, and seem unsure how to relate to others in a way that they’ll be understood.

Autism is defined by a spectrum of conditions. One thing all autistic children have in common is their need to be treated with compassion and understanding, like any child. Feeling constantly overstimulated can be overwhelming for anybody, but is especially necessary for a child’s positive development. Overstimulated autistic children may respond with yelling or become despondent and unresponsive.

Fortunately, there are ways to help autistic children get relief from being overstimulated by day-to-day life. One method that studies have shown to be helpful is REST. REST involves laying suspended in a dark saltwater tank. The tanks were originally called “sensory deprivation” tanks – so it’s easy to see why they may help autistic children who suffer from being overstimulated.

This past weekend I attended the annual float conference. People from all around the United States and from other parts of the world, such as Asia and Europe, attended the conference. I wanted to write about some of my reflections on the conference, and how it inspired me to look to the future of floating.

The first thing I want to share is there is a huge increase in awareness and interest in floating. Many of you may have noticed the presence of articles about floating in some major newspapers. For example. Slate magazine wrote an article about floating in the spring. Thousands of people read the article and began reaching out to float centers around the world. The Slate article was also picked up by The Week magazine, which further increased awareness. We had numerous calls from people who read those articles but never heard about floating before. Also, earlier in the year, the Wall St. Journal did a piece on floating, which also enhanced awareness and interest in this fascinating tool. Perhaps the person who has influenced the increased interest in floating is Joe Rogan. Thousands of people listen to his podcast every week and he often talks about its benefits. He has his own float tank in his house and he often encourages his guests on the podcast to float.

The question is, why are more and more people floating? Why is it becoming popular?

At the conference this year, there was a mixture of different talks. Some talks focused on the science of floating, while others focused on the creative and spiritual aspects of floating. In terms of the science aspects, Justin Feinstein, a clinical neuropsychology professor from CatlTech, enthusiastically spoke about the many benefits of floating. He demonstrated how floating reduces activity in the cortical regions of the brain, which frees up one’s energy to slow down, reflect within, and, most importantly, reduce anxiety. Dr. Feinstein was passionate about presenting at the conference because he believes floating is essential to reducing the most common psychiatric problem in the United States: anxiety. There are approximately 40 million Americans experiencing anxiety disorder today. I was surprised by that number. However, most people know someone who takes medication for anxiety. What if floating replaced all the medication?