Sensory Differences

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I mainly have sensory issues with my ears. A lot of things hurt my ears. Like if I hear plates clanging together loudly, it hurts my ears so much that I even get a stinging sensation in my eye too.

I cannot handle a lot of loud sudden noises like dogs barking, even if I know it's coming. But I don't think it's my ears, it's more to do with my nerves. I just hate the feeling of shock, the jumping-out-of-skin type of shock. It's a terrible discomfort that I just can't overcome.

I have a very weak sense of smell, but most NTs say that they have a very strong sense of smell and can smell everything and be affected by it, surprisingly enough. So I don't think sensory issues with smell is really an Aspie sensory issue.

Hi everyone,

Thank you so much for all your replies they are really helpful and will be very useful for my work. Look forward to hearing any more if anyone would like to add to the post.

Thanks Again

Lizzie

I have never really had many issues concerning smell. I think my sense of smell is pretty similar to an NT's, although a bit weaker. I can adjust to how a room or area smells pretty quickly, whether the scent is bad or not.

I have severe issues with most foods. It's not so much that I dislike the taste, but I cannot stand a lot of textures! I cant eat many foods without gagging. This includes fruits, vegetables, and some others. My diet is extremely limited; I mainly eat hotpockets, spaghettios, chips, hotdogs, and chicken nuggets. I enjoy eating more things than that, but those are the things I buy from the store to eat at home on a regular basis.

I have some light sensitivities, but they're not severe. For example, I can't look in the general direction of the sun without my eyes hurting badly, but I don't have problems in some situations that other people on the spectrum do.
I do, however, can get very distracted by different visuals. My class ring has a rainbow effect in the gem, and I could stare at that for hours! There are a lot of patterns and stuff like that are just really pretty to me, and they're really captivating. I wish I could think of some examples :S

My hearing is pretty sensitive. Up until around age 13, I had to cover my ears the entire time whenever we were at the movie theater. Even now, I still flinch at some movies, and become really upset, just because of the sound.
For some weird reason, though, I love listening to my music at full volume. I have time alone in the morning before school, and I'm able to blast my music in my earbuds as loud as I want. It's one of my happy places.

I love love love feeling certain textures. I can't explain why, it's just incredibly great to me. When we go shopping for anything, I always have my hands all over everything to see what it feels like, and if it has a nice texture, I could sit there for a few minutes. I love soft things, and things with even bumps(like studded clothes maybe?), and I love squishy things like silly putty and play doh.
This is also equally as intense in reverse, I absolutely cannot stand some textures. I don't really like anything that is hard,if that makes sense? For example, I am typing on my iPad right now, and I don't really like it cause I have to keep tapping my fingers on the screen. It's bearable, though. I also don't like uneven textures with no uniformity.

I'm 36 years old, female, single, undiagnosed but I'm positive i am very high functioning autistic.

For sensory issues the biggest one for me is SOUND. I have the biggest problems with the florescent lights and electronics humming. It drives me crazy. It's akin to the dripping faucet association. I can also hear the sound of my laptop at work humming. I find myself with my ear buds in most of the day listening to music to drown out the noise of the electronics. Luckily Pandora has a wonderful classical music for studying station pre-programmed in their genre stations. Really any relaxation music or white noise if effective.

When I'm trying to sleep, everything needs to be quiet and dark. If my neighbor downstairs from me has their TV on, I can hear it and it keeps me awake until they turn it off. Likewise if it's too light outside I can't sleep.

LIGHT is another issue for me. I'm sensitive to lighting. I prefer lower lighting. I also prefer the full-spectrum light bulbs like GE Reveal. Regular incandescent lights hurt my eyes and florescents are too bright and produce a glare over what I see. This also becomes tiring and overwhelming so I avoid spending longer amounts of time in stores.

For TOUCH I tend to be oversensitive. I'm 36 and I still cut the tags out of my clothes. I prefer softer clothes where you can't feel the seems. I'm ok with jeans that are broken-in and soft but getting there is irritating so I tend to wear khaki's at work and when I go out. I also immediately change in pajamas (or sweatpants without the elastic at the bottom and a t-shirt) as soon as I'm home from work.

Another sensation that bothers me is the cold that hits your skin when you step out of the shower. I find it painful and shocking. I purposely don't turn on the fan when I shower so the bathroom gets steamy and warm. This helps the cold to be less shocking.

I don't think I have many issues with food or taste. I am sensitive to bitter and sweetness but no more than many other non-autistics.

I think my sense of SMELL is too low.

I remember needing to feel gravity, especially as a kid. I couldn't get enough. I would spin around a lot. I loved the merry-go-rounds and the sit-and-spin toys as a kid. I would also spin myself around in the office chair, which drove my mother crazy. Even now I sometimes go for a drive on the freeway to alleviate that need. Going up and down stairs helps with this too.

Sudden, loud, sharp sounds, like a cabinet door banging shut, really get to me, but I love playing my music loud.

I like the bright glow of the TV screen in the dark, otherwise get rid of the lights. The display on my old alarm clock could be dimmed but not turned off (like my current one), so I would have to prop something, like a book, in front of it or I couldn't relax at night. Also, I'll always head for the shade to avoid the sun or street/porch lights at night.

My biggest sensory issue, however, is with touch. Not textures so much, except perhaps rough or jagged metal, but things like how clothing situates under me when I sit or lie down. It can be quite difficult to get comfortable. The worst, though, is my hands. I wash them a lot, but have no real issue with germs. They just need to feel clean. If I get something greasy, sticky, slimy, etc. on my hands while eating something like ribs or pizza (yum!), a napkin just won't cut it. I will get up and wash my hands when finished with that part of the meal. Even if I'm not really touching anything, trace dirt and oils will eventually accumulate to the point of needing to wash my hands. Sweat bugs the hell out of me too.

Sound:
I can hear the sound of electricity moving through anything.
Touch:
1) I can feel everything in my body all the time, especially my pulse.
2) I am always itchy or uncomfortable in my skin
3) Extreme temperature sensitivity
Oddity:
When I was 1-2 yr. old I remember how I loved to climb out of my crib at night, sit next to the electric socket in the living room and stick my finger in it. I liked the feeling.

My sensory issues aren't that severe, but noise can still bother me, (for example, if it's noisy in the classroom, I can't concentrate. Thankfully, I have accommodations offered to me whenever I have to take tests).

I'm also not sure if texture can be associated with sensory issues, but I think that's one of the reasons of why I'm such a picky eater.