We all experience the world through our five senses: sight, sound, taste, smell, and touch. Because we often feel many sensations at once, our brains have a filter system that helps us focus on the senses that are more important. This filter system doesn’t work in the same way in people with autism. Sensory sensitivity is very common in children and adults with autism, and it’s included in the diagnostic criteria for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, sensory difficulties are unique to the individual depending on a variety of physiological, emotional-behavioral, and environmental factors.
- What are sensory difficulties?
- What are the sensory difficulties that may be experienced by individuals with autism?
- What are high-functioning sensory issues?
- What are the behavior issues of sensory issues?
- What are sensory meltdowns?
- Why do autistic people struggle with sensory overload?
What are sensory difficulties?
Sensory difficulties are due to impaired responses to sensory inputs. In other words, the brain can’t effectively process the incoming senses all at once, so a neurological “tsunami” occurs due to the waves of conflicting signals coming from all directions. This condition can be diagnosed as a sensory processing disorder (SPD).
People with SPD are either hypo- (under) or hyper- (over) sensitive to one or all the senses. Hyposensitive people are in constant motion—they crave stimuli input and are sensory seekers. Behaviors include jumping, crashing, and bumping activities and an attraction to loud noises or vibrant colors. By contrast, those who are hypersensitive prefer calm and peaceful environments. They have noticeable aversions to certain clothing or food textures, background noise, bright lights, or loud noises.
What are the sensory difficulties that may be experienced by individuals with autism?
In the 1970s, Dr. Anna Jean Ayres pioneered the work in sensory integration therapy. Dr. Ayres presented the theory that some people’s brains can’t do what most people can achieve: process sensory information occurring at the same time in a clear and constructive way. Certain types of sensory challenges specific to autism may include:
- Sensitivity to bright or flashing lights
- Painful reaction to the pitch of certain sounds
- Difficulty coping in noisy, chaotic environments
- Low tolerance for strong smells, like perfume or deodorant
- Aversion to being touched, or the feel of certain fabrics on skin
- Strict preferences for food textures and tastes
What are high-functioning sensory issues?
People with high-functioning sensory issues have extraordinary responses. They’re hypersensitive to certain visual and physical stimuli, smells, tastes, and sounds. These challenges create significant emotional and physiological problems. For example, shirt collars feel scratchy, fluorescent lights cause headaches, bland foods taste salty, cell phone rings are piercing, and the smells at the gym cause nausea, all conspire to create an unbearable existence. However, receiving sensory occupational therapy can provide very effective strategies to build coping skills that manage high-functioning sensory challenges.
What are the behavior issues of sensory issues?
A wide range of behavior issues occur when a child with SPD has trouble processing the information they receive from their senses.
Some of these behaviors may include:
- Screams when their face gets wet
- Complains of the flavor or texture of most food
- Throws tantrums in crowded, noisy environments
- Refuses to wear certain clothes or shoes
- Crashes into walls and even people
- Puts inedible things, like toys or rocks, into their mouths
- Dramatic mood swings
- Self-harm, such as scratching or hitting themselves
- Runs away from the environment or dashes out across a road, oblivious to the danger
- Gravitates to water—water can provide sensory stimulation or a calming effect
What are sensory meltdowns?
A sensory meltdown is often mistakenly labeled as a tantrum. Although the two behaviors can look similar, they have very different causes. Tantrums usually manipulate a situation to achieve a desired result—a child wants an ice cream cone when he’s been told “no” multiple times. By contrast, a sensory meltdown is an uncontrollable reaction that can occur suddenly due to an overload of sensory stimuli. For example, a child with SPD attends a 4th of July parade, and she succumbs to the chaos of a large crowd, loud music, and bright lights.
Meltdowns typically involve aggressive and sometimes harmful behaviors such as:
- Screaming and yelling
- Head banging
- Scratching, biting—self or others
- Hitting, kicking, or pushing others
- Throwing objects
- Eloping (running away)
- Crawling under tables or into small places, refusing to come out
Why do autistic people struggle with sensory overload?
While researchers are still exploring the underlying causes of sensory sensitivity, it’s clear that difficulties with stimuli overload are a common experience for many children and adults with ASD. Most research suggests that it’s a neurological condition, but the exact cause is still unknown. Studies show that individuals with autism may have more intricate and complex connections within the sensory areas of the brain.
Coping Strategies for Sensory Difficulties with Roman Empire Agency
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