Worst sensory issue

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Light touch is like an electric shock for me. I also can't stand to be touched by strangers. Synthetic clothes, wrinkled sheets, rough fabrics are another issue.

Strong light, especially when I'm tired, is almost unbearable.

Some smells give me migraines and make me sick.

I handle sounds a bit better, but I use earplug when I'm sleeping.

Touch. I'm so jumpy. Even a gentle nudge startles/bothers me. I also lose every tickle fight I manage to get into.

When I was 1-5 years old it was loud noise or music. I have issues with food textures as well (mashed potatoes make me gag).

At this point in my life my biggest sensory issue is other people. Subtle things people do annoy me - the sound they make while chewing, how they clear their throat, nervous tics, etc. I know they don't do it on purpose so I keep it to myself, but I can't help feeling tense and bothered.

I also pick up other people's tension/stress vibes and get uncomfortable. I cant' always pin what these things are exactly either, though it gets worse when I get to know someone and unconsciously become more keenly aware of their particular stress mannerisms.

The light touches bug me a lot too. I have slapped at people without realizing at first that I was doing it when they touch me to lightly. Some textures really get to me as well, like polyester especially it makes me feel like I am suffocating.

It seems that Sartre was right: hell is others.

Last edited by Sallamandrina on 03 Feb 2009, 3:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Not really a sensory issue, but yeah, my biggest problem is other people. Definitly.

I've also hit people that have lightly touched me without even realising mostly before I knew about my AS. I have been in a few situations where I have literally attacked another person for touching me and not realised what I was doing until the rage was over. I'm surprised I haven't been in serious trouble for it. Now I'm more aware of my sensory issues I avoid places where I'm likely to get touched and I haven't hit anyone for a long time.

I hope I haven't made myself sound like a raging maniac!

Loud noises.

I have a huge problem with crowded places, people bumping and jostling me, coming into my personal space, etc. This problem has gotten worse since I´ve moved to Hamburg recently, as it´s a pretty crowded city. I can´t stand to be touched by strangers. I am also pretty sensitive to clothing textures, anything that touches my skin can be a problem. I don´t like winter at all, because I generally find summer clothes to be far more comfortable. Though I don´t like bright lights, and am bothered by some loud noises, the touch thing seems to be the worst. There are also some smells I can´t abide: most particularly, butter melting on a stove. If somebody cooks with butter, I have to leave the room right away. Fake-butter microwave popcorn is simply unacceptable to me. I can´t go to the movies when visiting America, because of this problem; sad, because in my girlhood this didn´t exist. My movie days in the US are over...(thankfully, in Europe this isn´t such a problem, they don´t use this kind of popcorn here). I just don´t know how some people can eat what they eat, the food just smells so bad...

Also, I really don´t know if this is a sensory issue, but it feels like one to me...and that is, I can´t take volatile emotional atmospheres. I have read that people with AS have this problem, and this is true of me big time! When I am around intense emotions- particularly if it relates to me in some way- my whole stomach contracts and I feel sick. This tense feeling lasts a long time with me, whereas the people who actually had the big emotion usually seem to get over it much more quickly. If that counts as a sensory problem- (don´t know, really)- then that would definitely be my worst.

HAHA!

I also have it bad. Noise is bad- I wear earplugs always- at gym, at parents' home, e tc. The only tikme I do not wear them is when I am at my own home in the quiet.

Smell is bad, too. Cannot use most cleansers. Bleach will drive me out of my home.

Rats: You are the only other one I know who has the food issues so severe to not be able to eat!! I quit eating at 14 and was DX ed as anorezia, but it was not anorexia. It was food sense issues. So I am glad I am not alone. I was told i was insane so many times.

lights is a bit bad, but not too bad and touch is medium. I tear out stuff like lables and hate to be touched by friends.

But I cope with it a lot. LIke I only eat what I can and wear earplugs and don't go in the sun and most days I am not bothered because I manage it.

Yes, me too.

I can try my best to block out sensory issues, like certain noises and the feel of some things, but when there's too much noise and visual information, such as a crowd I can't keep it all together. One of the worst times was when I was in a supermarket and my vision blurred and legs felt like they were in cement.

Cold wind for me. I like cold because I can put on an extra layer or two, just that I can't stand of tiny bit of a cold breeze.

being grabbed and klaxons as well as any high pitched noise

What's a klaxon?

Weird. I have issues iwth wind, too.

The wind makes my eyes water.