Your senses

Post Reply New Topic

I know that Asperger's can "alter" senses or perceptions, and I was wondering if some of what I experience is typical of other Aspies.

Things feel weird. I don't like the feel of seatbelts or of the bills of baseball caps or things like that. It gives me goosebumps just to feel them on my skin. Any NTs that I've asked have said this does not happen to them.

When I was a kid I noticed that when my mom was acting grouchy that she smelled like garlic. I assumed that eating garlic made her grumpy. As I grew older I noticed this with other women. Eventually, in my teens I realized that I was "smelling" female hormones. I got in the car with my mom and her menopausal friend and nearly choked, but they couldn't smell anything. Is it possible to smell that?

Do you things like this? Things kind of similar? Very different?

bump.

I can't smell a damn thing. it's my weakest sense.

I have the usual textural issues though (chalk, gritty dust & popsicle sticks all make my skin crawl. Even thinking about them stresses me), and the fluorescent lighting aversion.

After I eat a popsicle I'll often mangle the stick. Just snap it and twist it and then quickly toss it in the garbage. It feels like I'm destroying something evil.

Sight seems to be my strongest sense. Bright summer days are almost blinding to my eyes. I have to wear sunglasses in the summer to walk even the shortest distances. What's even worse is sunlight reflecting off the windows of the buildings in the area of town that I live in. Summer in the city is not fun for me.

I've got auditory issues. We've all got something different. :lol
High end noises, too much noise, high intensity noise all get to me. Wearing headphones hurts after a while. etc.
I have a bunch of pet peeves involving sound, too.
Next would be tactile issues.

I suppose it's good that you don't live in a very snowy place, then, because it can get brighter than summer, even.

What about vestibular and temperature sensitivities?
My vestibular sense is very sensitive, too. I feel like a wuss when an elevator makes me nauseous. It's basically one's sense of movement.

Something like 80% of human sensory input comes through vision. Sight being the most acute sense goes for virtually every sighted person on the planet.

I have slight photophobia (I often walk around with my eyes screwed up even on grey days) and awful sound sensitivity. Textures in my mouth too.

Also I went through a period of time when my mum's handcream just totally overpowered my sense of smell and made me feel terribly sick, when she was in the room. She and my dad couldn't smell anything and the cream was meant to be fragrance- free, so that was me being weird It's strange that it doesn't bother me now, even though now she's using a different handcream which definitely isn't fragance free.

Vision: I have mild visual snow/pixellation that becomes more intense as I get overloaded (although it has so far never impaired my vision). I am also photophobic, to the point that sunlight is too bright, causes headaches and eye pain and fills my brain with static. I'm not sure how to describe what fluorescent lights do to me, I mean it's not obvious like I can't see them flicker, but I get headaches and eye pain like being in full sunlight, and sometimes I think dizziness. When I had a CFL in my lamp I had quite a few migraines, with the worst migraine of my life a few weeks before the last CFL burned out. A connection? I don't really know.

Hearing: Noise seems to fill my head and it doesn't go away until I have quiet, and I can actually feel "filled to capacity." The more noise, the less I can actually think clearly. It's not a matter of hearing myself think so much as having my thinking scattered and disrupted. When I reach a certain point (which is not consistent) then words just sort of slip by me and all I hear is noise. It's not 100% consistent, but I feel like interpreting what I hear becomes more work than it's worth. Sudden loud or high-pitched noises are painful - tear through my brain and disrupt my thinking.

Smell: Chemical smells are strong and unpleasant. Other people tell my Lysol smells good, but it has always, for my entire life, smelled horrible. I have trouble with cleaning isles, scented candles, perfume, lip gloss, cologne, really strongly scented body washes (but I can handle milder scents). Also, cigarette smoke practically stops my breathing. I don't have asthma.

I remember when I was in a relationship and tried to do the sex thing, I actually flinched from soft touches, but a lot of pressure (like massages) were more tolerable. I am pretty okay with hugs, usually, although I don't like long hugs.

Taste: I can't stand bitter foods, I'm okay with sweet foods. I love spicy foods. Nothing exciting here.

I have the same problem, I practically live in my sunglasses for 9-10 months of the year.

My sight is very acute; I can easily notice slight changes in lighting and have 20/10 vision.

Normally my smell is poor, but for some reason I can tell when a woman is in PMS or having menopause issues.

My hearing goes in and out as far as strength.

Yeah, popsicle sticks, and popsicles when you first take them out of the wrapper and they grate on the edge of your teeth! Aagh!

I go all 12, generally, although inside my home it's dim enough to be okay. But outside or in stores or offices or whatever? Sunglasses.

I'm the opposite to you DiscoSoup. I have a really weak sense of smell.

Same, I can't even smell pure Ammonia.

Senses are something that confuse me about Aspergers. Mainly because I am used to having my senses, and you can't even really understand what it is like to have someone else's senses. Like how do we know if the color blue is the same for everyone? Everyone is taught that a certain shade means blue, however, if someone had inverted color senses, and what I consider red is blue in their mind, they would still be taught that whatever color they are seeing is named "blue" to everyone, so it is blue to them as well.

I really don't know if I have sensory problems. But it is something I wonder about. For instance, light touches, like something brushing across my skin, are painful for me. They really bother me if it continues for to long, until I can't think. But usually I can move to avoid it before then. Like if my hair is up but there is a piece that is down and rubbing m face, that is really annoying. And certain fabrics are annoying. I sleep with two blankets because although one is soft, it can annoy me, and the other is linen, which doesn't annoy me ever.

And I feel like I can't see well enough to drive most of the time if I have the radio on, because, like Verdandi said, noises seem to feel my mind. I also hate when my phone or an alarm go off for some reason, even if the ringtone is a song I like. It is the sudden unexpected noise that bothers me.

But, light touches may affect everyone. Sound doesn't, I know that, but ah, well. I just don't know. I am so used to adjusting my behavior to avoid feelings I don't like and such, maybe that is normal and how everyone else does it. I've never had a meltdown or anything because I can handle it just fine. So that is why it confuses me.

I can't even begin to describe how much time I spent thinking about this. I remember I spent a day wondering if other people taste chocolate the same way I do or does it taste like oranges to them? And I got frustrated because there is no way to test this. I even wondered if everyone experienced the same world I did, and if so why did I get the boring one with no dinosaurs or wizards?

On light touches: All I know is that my partner thought my reactions to touching were really unusual, and seemed inclined at first to take it personally.