Sensory Issues aren’t part of the diagnostic criteria for Asperger Syndrome, but they are extremely common among Aspies and people with other ASDs. The most common sensory issues in Aspies are having enhanced senses (hypersensitivity). There are a few Aspies who have the opposite, in which they have reduced senses (hyposensitivity), but this is definitely the minority.
While being hypersensitive may be good in some aspects, it’s a major stress factor due to being overly stimulated far more easily, which can lead to sensory overload. If sensory overload persists for a long enough time, it’ll most likely lead to a panic attack (manifesting in numerous bad physical symptoms) or a “mental breakdown” in the Aspie. Things which don’t feel uncomfortable to NTs can be very uncomfortable to Aspies, even painful, and it limits the activities and environments the Aspies can engage in during their life unless the appropriate accommodations are given.
I shall list the senses and how they often affect Aspies, and then how they affect me.
SIGHT
Many Aspies are extra sensitive to light, whether it be artificial or sunlight. A light source that’s considered to be bright to NTs can be unbearably bright for Aspies. Sunlight is very irritating, especially during the typical sunny day, and many Aspies would much rather stay indoors for most of the day.
Another thing is flickering lights, especially Fluorescent lights at certain frequencies. NTs might not notice it, but flickering of some fluorescent lights is irritating to Aspies. They can easily get migraines or eye strain from such lights, and be unable to focus on what they have to do.
I stay indoors as much as possible during summer and spring to avoid the sunlight, and wear sunglasses or a hat if I have to go out.
Flickering lights don’t exist at home (which is good), but they exist in crowded trains which is problematic. I close my eyes, wear sunglasses, or look away to avoid getting irritated.
I also get eye strain when I view things with high contrast, such as black text on a white page, which is problematic because most texts are black print on white paper. The image to me appears too “sharp”. My solution is to wear tinted reading glasses so the white background doesn’t sting my eyes so much while I’m reading.
And I easily get overstimulated by fluorescent colours and colourful objects so I reduce my exposure to such things. Instead, neutral colours (eg grey, white, black) and darker colours (eg dark brown, navy blue) are my choice for clothing and home surroundings (wallpaper, furniture, appliances).
HEARING
Aspies often have extra sensitive hearing. Sounds which aren’t that noisy to NTs can be perceived as very loud to an Aspie due to their different neurological wiring. It’s very hard for Aspies to study and work in an environment that’s full of noise, and they’re less able to block out the undesired noise in their minds. It often feels like everything is equally loud, every individual sound can be distinctly heard, and one is bombarded constantly.
Examples of places that can be too noisy to Aspies include shopping centres, sports stadiums, cinemas, bars, nightclubs and certain restaurants.
Aspies also have the tendency to hear sounds that others don’t really hear, for example high frequency sounds coming from computers, internet modems, other electronics, and TVs (even when switched off).
For me, I can’t get anything productive done unless I have an environment that is close to silent. In other words, no music playing in the background, doors and windows shut, and definitely nobody talking to me. If I’m deeply concentrating on my work and the phone rings or somebody starts chatting to me, my line of focus gets broken and I get quite irritated.
I can tolerate the mentioned noisy places, but only for a short time, like 2 hours. If I stay any longer, I’ll have to stay at home for some time to “recover”, having minimal contact with others, before I go out again. My recovery time is usually at least 3 days.
I avoid bars, nightclubs and parties when I can because I find it too noisy, and it’s very hard for me to hear what other people are saying due to the music. I used to go to these places but I had to get drunk on alcohol. It was a very effective way to cut out the pain and prevent sensory overload, but I didn’t want to compromise my physical health anymore, so I stopped going to these places.
TOUCH
Enhanced tactile stimulation is widely prevalent in Aspies. Certain textures which aren’t uncomfortable to NTs can feel offensive or irritating to Aspies. Aspies who are offended by such textures will minimize contact with it in the future. This especially affects their choices of clothing.
Also, many Aspies feel uncomfortable with being touched lightly. It causes overstimulation, and social gestures that are considered polite by NTs can actually be very annoying to Aspies. This includes shaking hands, being patted on the back, and hands placed on Aspie’s shoulders. The Aspie’s annoyance or avoidance of such gestures is often perceived to be rude or insulting to the NT, which is actually a misunderstanding.
Paradoxically, many Aspies feel comfortable, even pleasant with firm contact though, for example arms being gripped firmly by another person’s hand or tight hugs. In fact, there are weighted blankets and weighted clothing on sale to be used by ASD people so they can sleep and work more soundly!
I HATE the feel of leather and fur. I’d never wear any leather or fur clothing, it just feels wrong (physically, not morally) and unpleasant on me. The only exception is leather shoes where I don’t really “feel it”, probably coz I’m wearing thick socks. Wool is also quite uncomfortable, although not as bad as leather and fur. If my skin gets in contact with wool, it gets kinda itchy.
And I always cut off the labels from all my clothing coz the scratchy feeling irritates me.
I also dislike light touch by other people, but I’m fine with firm touch. It feels wonderful when my arm gets squeezed by the sphygmomanometer to measure my blood pressure!
TASTE
Increased sensation in taste and texture of foods influences the dietary choices of many Aspies. Like touch, there are certain textures in food that are uncomfortable to them. So even if the food tasted alright, if the texture was unpleasant, then it’ll be put on the Aspie’s dislike list. And certain food flavours also prove to be quite strong even though it doesn’t seem to be like that to NTs, so that can also be unpleasant too.
I detest the texture of many fruits, including pears, grapes, kiwis, oranges, pineapples and strawberries even though I’m perfectly fine with their taste. However, I still eat them in small amounts because of their high nutritional value.
Also, I find nearly all confectionery to be too sweet, fast food (KFC, McDonald’s, Hungry Jacks) to be too salty, and chewy foods (certain mushrooms and meats) to be frustrating. In general, I like to have a blander diet.
SMELL
Certain smells that are pleasant to NTs can be overpowering or revolting to many Aspies. Like sound, exposure to too many significant smells in the environment can be distracting and sickening.
I feel nauseous when I smell most perfumes, soaps, deodorants and incense. If a woman that wears perfume comes up to talk to me, I have a strong temptation to distance away from her. I use unscented soap, and I only use a bit of shampoo when I wash my hair. I make sure my room has no noticeable odours, otherwise I won’t be able to work there.
One smell which hits me big time is Formaldehyde, a substance used to preserve cadavers (dead bodies) that we have to examine in our Anatomy prac classes. Formaldehyde STINKS SO MUCH!!!!!!! I swear I was going to vomit in every prac class that involved cadavers. I had to breathe through my mouth, and I left the classes early coz I could still smell it even though I breathed through my mouth.
In conclusion, sensory issues for Aspies are usually displayed by hypersensitivity to one or more of the senses, and a combination of enhanced input from these senses can lead to sensory overload, which negatively affects the Aspie’s ability to concentrate on what they need to do, affecting their quality of life.
A good thing from all this however, is that the hypersensitive Aspies can very easily appreciate and observe the complexity and beauty of their surroundings and possessions when not too stimulated. They are less likely to be materialistic, and can be happier with less because to them, less is indeed more.
