To those diagnosed later in life: aware of sensory issues?

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Funny thing about me is, before I read about autism, I didn't really think I had sensory issues. I don't know if that's common for someone who's not diagnosed. But if someone had asked me, "Are you more sensitive to light, sound, touch etc. than others?" I would have said, "Not really."

But the more I read about sensory issues the more I realized that things like despising the sun, being very easily startled by small noises, getting angry at loud noises, only wearing 100% cotton etc. were actually not all that normal like I thought. I just figured that everyone else was tougher than me, not that they were actually experiencing it differently. I also noticed recently that I like to lean into walls or corners sometimes and push myself into it with my legs, I guess for the pressure (and I think that's also why I like sleeping on couches more than a bed, I can squish myself into the back).

Now that I know about it I understand so many things. Like why I could get a nice piece of clothing, that looks good too, but never wear it simply because of the material not being soft enough. Or why I wear hoodies and long pants and sleeves regardless of the season. Or why multiple times I have actually flown into a rage, simply because the sun was in my eyes. Somehow I never realized, that is not something that normal people do

Really, I was pretty much unaware of ALL of my autism-related issues for a very long time. I never realized that I couldn't look people in the eyes, I was always looking at another feature of their face or something else altogether. If I ever did look someone like my dad right in the eye when they told me, I would have to unfocus my eyes so everything was blurry. I always thought it was fairly normal, but ever since reading about it I've made an effort to try looking right at people's eyes. At best it feels very unnatural, and at worst I simply can't force myself to do it. Yet I never knew that.

I could go on and on about all the things I was unaware of. But I'm wondering if anyone else can relate.

I'm not diagnosed but yes I can relate. I didn't realize how extreme my sensory problems really are. I've always known that I was "picky" (as other people would call it) and more sensitive than other people are to a lot of things. So it's not like I thought of it as normal because I knew I was different that way. But I guess I looked at it as just having a finer sensitivity and really sort of prided myself on it.

I didn't realize just how much my life was/is restricted by my sensory problems and how much it limits me from having any kind of social life. I didn't realize how many things I would like to do but decide not to because it would be too loud or too crowded.

I didn't realize it isn't normal to fly into a rage because a restaurant is too loud, or to have to leave in the middle of a meal because of the noise or smells. I didn't realize it isn't normal to have to leave the grocery store in the middle of shopping, abandoning a cart full of stuff because the sounds and lights and crowdedness would make me feel crazy. I thought surely that could happen to just about anyone if they are having a bad day.

I attributed a lot of stuff I experienced to hormonal swings but now I realize it can happen anytime during my cycle. PMS can make it worse but it's not the cause.

I knew that I was more high strung than other people and sometimes I tried really hard to be more easy going and go along with what other people want to do because I didn't want to inconvenience them. I would try so hard not to get upset but eventually something would set me off anyway and there I'd be crying and not even understanding why I was so upset. Just because we were in a restaurant I didn't like and I didn't want to be there?

I didn't realize how bad my auditory processing is until my current job, or my face blindness either, or lots of other details about interacting with people I never thought about before. I didn't realize just how much I can be lost in my own world until I had people telling me frequently, that they spoke to me and I never responded.

Trying to get a handle on my sensory issues has been one of the more difficult parts of my diagnosis process. For some things, especially a lot of stimming, it just sort of hits me suddenly. Like, "oh crap I do this thing all the time, and literally no one around me does it."

For other things I have these weird hints that maybe I have sensory issues, but I have a hard time pinpointing ever being aware that they were an issue. For example, a lot of people talk about issues with fabrics. If you had ever asked me if I had problems with clothes, I probably would have told you no. But looking through my closet I'm struck by the fact that not a single piece of clothing I own has a tag on it. I don't recall ever actually thinking, "I'm not going to buy any clothes with tags on them", but that's a pretty big coincidence.

Another one I see people talk about is how much they "hate" having water splashed on their face. If you'd ever asked me if I hate it, I would have absolutely told you no. I don't like it. It's unpleasant. But I don't "hate" it. It's never caused me to melt down. All the same, the other day my wife asked why I never wash my face in the shower, and I realized that I often go to great lengths to avoid the simple feeling of water on my face in the shower. Is that significant? I have no idea.

Last one. People often talk about having issues with light touch. I wouldn't say I have any problems with it if you asked. Well aside from the fact that I'm extremely excruciatingly ticklish. And I absolutely loathe being tickled, or even hinted at being tickled. So what's the difference between that and having problems with light touch?

Again, I don't really know the answers. Sensory issues always just seem to fall into this gray area for me, clearly outside of the neurotypical norm, but not quite matching up to the firsthand accounts that I read from others on the spectrum.

I was aware of my sensory issues, but didn't know they were "sensory issues". It never occurred to me that other people didn't cover their ears while flushing the toilet (for example), but I've always known how picky I am about the types of clothing I'm able to wear, as well as my finickiness regarding food, and I've always known I startle easier than others, though I never paid much attention to the fact that I was the only one who ever covered my ears around vaccuums, blenders, hair dryers, school assemblies, etc. I saw a boy from a special ed class in middle school once who wore heavy duty headphones to assemblies, and I envied him, wishing I had something like that to block out the noise.

The whole sensory thing was a little like my synaesthesia before I knew what synaesthesia was; the colours were there, I just never consciously paid attention to them. It's better now that I know what to watch out for though; before when I reached sensory overload, I just yelled at people and got irritable for reasons I didn't understand, now I know enough about myself and my symptoms to withdraw and self-isolate before things get too bad.

I was diagnosed in adulthood. I had extreme sensory issues with noise and texture as a small child but I don't think it was diagnosed as sensory issues. My family just dealt with it. Growing up I still had sensory issues but they were largely milder by the time adulthood was reached. I still have them, especially texture issues. I was aware of them as a quirk rather than a diagnosis or symptom of autism.

I didn't even know I had sensory issues. Everything felt normal to me and I remember my mom calling me a big baby and telling me to stop as if I had control over how something felt on my body. I remember I had quirks like socks must be pull ups, not folded down, socks must be worn in sandals, no button up tops, no sleeveless shirts, and I wonder if these were sensory issues. I still don't like going barefoot in my shoes so I wear socks nonetheless and I must wear socks inside sleepers and when I am in bed. I don't mind sleeveless shirts anymore. I think mine have always been mild. I cannot tell if something is just a sensory issue or just annoyance. I know everyone has things they cannot stand on their skin or body or what sound they hear. I think the difference is it's a sensory issue if you have too many things that annoy you or can't stand it impacts your life. I am not sure how my own sensory issues impacted my life, I can assume it made me a target for teasing because of what I wore and how I wore my clothes so it made it a impairment or how inconvenient it was for my whole family and for my mom to take me clothes shopping so it made it an impairment is my guess. Now that I am an adult, there is no more impairments unless my work decides everyone must wear wool on their bare skin and nothing under it, then I am in trouble and trying to get another job isn't really an option.

I did notice as a kid how others wore jeans and I hated them so I thought they just dealt with it better than I did. I had no idea that was a sensory issue and I couldn't understand why my mom made a fuss about jeans and would make me wear a pair and I would always take them off and be in my shirt and underwear because I hated how it felt I was masturbating in them because that is how tight they felt. My mom told me I would get used to it and they would loosen up if I keep on wearing them so I thought that is how it started out for everyone when they wear new jeans and keep wearing them and they had to be patient and deal with the stiffness until they felt soft and didn't feel they were hugging your bottom. But I had no patience for this so I thought they dealt with it better than I did.

Learning about autism and how it applies to my life has made me aware of a lot of things I wasn't really aware of before. I've learned a lot about myself these past few years. I didn't even know what "sensory issues" were before learning about autism but when I did learn about it I finally understood why I, for example, always get so exhausted, anxious and sometimes sleepy and/or angry etc when it's noisy around me (right now for example when I'm surrounded by quite a lot of noisy people eating lunch at university). It's been interesting (though sometimes anxiety-inducing) to learn about these things.

I didn't consciously think about it. Just like I didn't consciously think about why sometimes when I'm nervous or excited I might flap my hands. Or consciously think about why I spend so much time in "my own world" and always have. But, I was aware that I don't like sunlight. I was aware and frequently to the annoyance of companions I end up closing the curtains and keeping them closed even if we have a beautiful panoramic view. I did notice but not think about how a telephone ring practically has me jumping off the ground and feeling very uneasy afterwards. I was aware that I like damp misty and rainy days and nights - I can even tolerate SOME thunder because it usually comes with rain and overcast provided it is not too close. I can tolerate a firework display if it is a planned event that I am expecting. But a sudden unexpected explosive like sound makes me shake with nervousness. But none of these things did I consciously think about until I started learning about autism at the age of 59.

I have a huge sensitivity towards tight clothing/shoes, sunlight, loud noises, unexpected touch, headlights at night, heat and other things I can't all name at once. I mean, I cannot STAND any of these things. I have to wear sunglasses during the day because my eyes will start aching from the amount of squinting. Anyway, I'm glad you brought this up. It's help me confirm a little more towards my autistic diagnosis. I've been doubting it lately because I didn't think it was normal to have very mild symptoms.

I think it's also because we don't realize these things until we research them or someone points it out. I know at one time after my parents saw Temple's movie, they said I was a lot like her... yet I couldn't see what they had meant by that.

I can definitely relate. I was diagnosed fairly recently and the more I read posts like this, the more resonates with sensory issues which have always been with me. I'm 34 now, but have always had an intense dislike for bright lights, particularly the Sun (a trigger for migraines, incidentally). I'm not bothered by loud/sudden loud noises, but I have problems eating several types of food due to a real issue with their texture; Vegetables that aren't cooked until very soft, I have a borderline fear of sliced Tomatoes, I do not like being touched unexpectedly, and even if I know it's coming, I don't like it - I'm very tactile and cuddly with my children and other half, but if anyone else touches me I'm enraged and very uncomfortable.

I like squidgy things(!) As posted here http://wrongplanet.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=271742 Bums! (That's asses/arses/bottoms/posteriors as opposed to Homeless people for those resident in the US!)

One of the big things that came with my official diagnosis was what I term, discovering that I'm different. Put very VERY simply, unless someone really forces me to do so I don't compare me to everyone else, I compare people to people and me to me only. It was only when my therapist said "most people aren't like that, you're different" that it began to really sink-in that there's a difference between me and NTs, and that NTs see those things all the time because they're doing what I'm not - they're comparing themselves to others.

As for sensory issues in specific... I knew they were there, I often just didn't put them together. It's like waking up one day and realising "I know why I'm irritable, I got no sleep" whereas before that epiphany I'd just be cranky and not bother to think about causality, because frankly it didn't matter to me. I feel the way I feel, I never saw a reason to explore why or justify the feelings. Hell, half the time (now even) I don't know I'm irritable, I just know I'm me. Welcome to the world of self-exploration, get used to being a novice

I'm a person who was diagnosed quite early.

I probably had moderate sensory difficulties as a youngster--which I was forced to modify owing to the fact that I had to live. I had difficulty taking a shower, for example. As life proceeded, my sensory issues, though by no means absent, have been modified by direct experience with them.

I was diagnosed at 41. I have always had issues with bright light, loud noises, and sudden touch. I did, however, assume that everyone else had the same problems so I never said anything.

I'm undiagnosed, as I only understood a few weeks ago that I most probably have Asperger's.

I have been aware of some of my sensory issues for a long time. Like, hating shopping centers because they are simply too much for me and I can only spend a short time there before I freak out and need a break. As far as I remember, at around age 19 or 20 I already described it as "too many things, too many people, and bad music" for the first time. But I never had any idea what that was about. I just couldn't understand why there are people who like shopping! This was a totally crazy behaviour in my opinion.

Most of the time I've thought of myself as "normal" and all other people around me as "strange" when it came to sensory issues.
I noticed that I have more problems than others to deal with permanent backround noises and also with sudden, loud noises. And that some people can walk a long time in uncomfortable shoes until they get big blisters, while I need to stop much earlier. Or, how I started buying detergents low in odour and didn't use fabric softener, because I couldn't stand the smell. By the way, I also wear clothes made of 100% cotton most of the time.
However, I had no idea that all of these things could be a symptom for ASD. Mostly because I barely knew anything about ASD. I wish I had learned earlier about it. Like, 25 years earlier. I'm 32 now.

With other things, I couldn't tell if I was more sensitive than average. For example, when I'm with my boyfriend, I can't bear when he strokes the same spot of my skin more than three times in the same way without a break. The first stroke is great, the second is ok, but soon it starts to feel bad. That's one thing I can't compare, because it's so intimate, so I actually don't know if this isn't "normal" and everyone has this little problem.