Habituation. this explains a lot for me.

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hello all,

when i was little, i could not stand the 'points' in my socks, which are the places at either end of the toe of the sock where the stitching is closed. these days, i am quite a good deal better at adjusting my socks so that the seam is exactly parallel to where my toes meet my foot. problem solved.

this has gotten me thinking lately about: tags on clothing, listening to the same song over and over for a week or two (one song, for years!), my skin feeling 'alive' as though it wont calm down, the world tingling or twitching as though it is electrically charged, finding routine to be comforting such as a job in which i do the same thing most everyday with slight variations.

i learned about this in school, in slightly different ways than it states here but: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habituation

thinking about my sensory issues, my interests, and my social problems using non-habituation as a lens to view them through is proving to be eye-opening.

have you ever heard the saying: 'those who live next to a waterfall cannot hear the water fall'?

it is possible that AS folks will continue to hear it. this is why i am beginning to reconsider being in treatment for 'anxiety' with no focus on AS, because if this whole non-habituation thing holds true (and there is some research being done on it such as: http://ultimateautismguide.com/2011/09/ ... behaviors/) then the concept of 'anxiety' gets thrown into question as anxiety is an 'inappropriate' fear response, rather than the 'normal' appropriate fear response to stimuli.

but if non-habituation makes desensitization to stimuli stunted or, in some cases, non-existent, then to someone on the spectrum, anxiety might be the same response as normal fear. woah.

Interesting link, thanks for that.

When I was a kid, my father could not stand any kind of perfume or scented lotion. I am nearly 100% certain that it was because he never habituated to it, so the scent remained as strong as it did in the initial whiff for most people and I think over time it became overpowering. I notice the same thing with my daughter (she has the same sock issue you have).

IOW, I most certainly agree with your theory, at least in some cases.