Sensory matters - asking for personal experience.

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Young son of a good friend is on the spectrum with a number of profound parts of their presentation. Language only really started to appear age five or so (the wee man is six) and meltdowns were common, especially when going out to new places.

A special needs buggy made a mobile safe place for trips out, after which point the language started, his stress levels seemed to fall, a few months ago he asked his mum for a cuddle for the first time, which made a magic occasion for them both. They recently made a visit to a farm and navigated all the sensory stimuli without incident.

On that visit his mum observed in his reactions to the strong smell of urine in the pig house, something to suggest he processes his senses in a different way, in fact it may be the case the senses are getting mixed together in his brain. The big clue was that he covered his eyes and put his ear defenders on when they met the strong urine smell.

I would really appreciate reading the experiences of people who experience senses getting mixed together or finding it hard to process the data at all, and sharing the accounts by giving his mum a link to this WP thread or copy and paste to an email. I think it very possible that a range if experience will give his mum some good pointers to understanding how he sees the world.

Many thanks for anything people choose to share.

For me, overstimulation in one sense makes it very difficult to deal with even minor stimulation in other senses. I just want to be removed from everything. To some extent, my perceptions of input through different senses is confused - having sunglasses on makes it difficult for me to interpret things I hear etc.

Hope this helps.

It sounds like he might have synesthesia. That's a thing were people have extra connections in their brains, so they see sounds or hear smells. Basically, their brains connect certain sensory information.

At that age, he might just be confused and want at any cost to just end the sensory overload. Like, if he has alexthemia (a disconnect where he is unable to identify and process emotions.) So, he feels that something is off but can't identify what.

Those two issues are common with autsitics. They have very different repercussions. Mostly, adults who have these issues find them to make them different, but they aren't necessarily painful or limiting. The people I know with synesthesia love it. They tend to be very creative people. People with alexthemia tend to be very logic orientated, and not distracted by emotions. So, they can both be strengths if he learns to harness them... and they stop leading to meltdowns. Poor kid.

Thank you both for your observations.

Help the friend be optimistic and laid-back, and that's advice from the neurotypicals, and it's actually very good advice too.

No worries on that score Zach. The wee man is surrounded by family and tribe and loved to bits, they are laid back in all the best ways, and it shows as the wee man finds his ways to do things like language, manage sensory input, and ask mum for a hug.
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Yes, I struggle with sensory matters myself. For instance, I don't like being touched unless the person who wants to touch me gets my permission first. It's the light touching that especially gets under my skin, if you'll excuse the pun. Also, I'm sensitive to loud noises, especially sudden loud noises that startle me. I absolutely HATE being startled. It takes me a long time to get over it. Whenever I'm around loud noises, I have to plug my ears; or, if I know that I'm going to be somewhere where it's loud, I wear earplugs. I'd also like to add that I'm sensitive to unpleasant smells. At the nursing home where I live, half the residents there don't even shower or bathe, so whenever I'm around them, I find myself feeling nauseated. Oh, and my food has to be at just the right temperature, or else I won't eat it. That's why I love microwaves! I'm not just sensitive physically, but emotionally as well. If someone is playing a trick or a joke on me, it just pisses me off. I don't find it funny at all. That's why I don't like April Fool's Day. I don't like it when people take my mental illness lightly, either, like I'm just making excuses. Ok, as Forrest Gump would say, "That's all I have to say about that."

Thanks. I read many people's accounts where light touch is particularly unpleasant.

I haven't had any particularly useful experience to put in the pot so everyone's contributions are very helpful.

The one sensory item on my list is a common one of really appreciating whole body pressure as something calming and beneficial, and a confined space is calming as well - hence I bought a three sided "Daybed" last year and often place it with the open side against the wall.