lordfakename wrote:
The thing with sensory differences with autism is that the sense tend to be wildly different from what is typical, but not necessarily in a consistent way. I rarely smell anything but very strong smells, but other people I know who are autistic are super-sensitive.
I agree with lordfakename here. Autistics frequently have senses outside the Neurotypical range. This can mean hyposensitivity like the study claimed - but failed to prove in my opinion - or it can mean hypersensitivity like people have demonstrated here.
I am hypersensitive to smell. Perfume, deodorant, body wash, body odor, candles, air freshers, and chemical cleaners (even scent free) make me feel physically ill. My Service Dog had to help pull me to the opposite side of the main hallway in the mall in order to walk past a Bath and Body Works yesterday.
I also stim on scents, like pine trees, books, pencils, burning wood, gasoline, and dogs (well, only my dog really). Luckily, my dog is almost always with me. When he retires this year, I will have to start bringing pencils everywhere with me.
And I can depend on my sense of smell almost as much as my sight or hearing (and not just because my sense of sight and hearing are abnormal too). I can tell when I am getting close to sprinklers by smell, even if I cannot see or hear them.
_________________
31st of July, 2013
Diagnosed:
Autism Spectrum Disorder,
Auditory-Verbal Processing Speed Disorder, and
Visual-Motor Processing Speed Disorder.
Weak Emerging Social Communicator (The Social Thinking-Social Communication Profile by Michelle Garcia Winner, Pamela Crooke and Stephanie Madrigal)
"I am silently correcting your grammar."