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Sensory Issues.

23/7/2013

3 Comments

 
 It now seems to be generally accepted that autistic people have sensory issues.  However while people intuitively seem to grasp the implications and reality of hypo –sensitivities this is often not the case with hyper-sensitivities. 

If someone is deaf or blind (hypo sensitive to sound or visual input) there is not a tendency to accuse them of “not really trying” to hear or see or telling them to “get over themselves”.  However if autistic people are hyper sensitive to these sound or visual signals and ask for changes to be made so that the environment is not causing us so much distress we are all too often regarded as being “selfish”  “fussy” or “difficult”

I’m not quite sure why this is, as there is no difficulty simulating being over sensitive to noise, you would just need to turn the speakers up full blast to feel the pain – the negative impact of too much sound is recognised in regulations, however it seems difficult for most of us to grasp intuitively the degree of difference in baseline tolerance that autism can cause.


3 Comments
Joy Alexander
15/9/2013 12:00:21 pm

I am a mother of a autistic young man of 37 years old. I have never taken noise or crowds out of his life, he had to get used to it and he did. It was not easy but now he lives in the big bad nasty, noisy,smelly crowded word with ease. Is it your plan to lock these poor children away from the world and if not how are they meant to cope when they become adults. Sorry but my son had to live in our world and not the other way round. He is a very sociable, outgoing young man, not always appropriate but people accept him as he is because he does not put his Autisim out there for people to pity him. He is a strong human being and very well loved by all who walk on his path in life. Sorry guys but I am seeing the hell these kids are going through and not being taught to cope with the world as it is, they can be taught takes a little longer but it can be done.

Reply
Caroline Hearst
15/9/2013 12:51:11 pm

Thanks for sharing your experience Joy. I suppose it is "horses for courses". Each person is different, each autistic person is different. Some people can be acclimatised to sensory imput they find hard and I think others can't just as some people can tolerate extremes of climate and others can't.

There is something called auditory integration training, which from what I gather (I am happy to be corrected on this) does work by exposing people gradually to sounds they find aversive, is effective for some people even though it is not recommended by Research Autism. I do know people however who are unbearably stressed by some sensory stimulation.

It is great that your son is well loved and happy, but I also think that sometimes the world can accomodate the needs of its inhabitants to the benefit of all. "The world as it is" is not a fixed entity but is co-created by all of us

Reply
autisticaplanet link
16/3/2017 06:02:39 am

I had AIT done. It was expensive and did not help to improve my hyperacute hearing. I also did TRT (also expensive). It did little to improve my LDLs-loudness discomfort levels. I have had hyperacute hearing since before birth. My mom couldn't play the organ too loudly or I would kick her-visibly noticeable by others. Having my hands held down didn't help. Being forced to stay in a traumatic school environment (no alternatives) and worsening auditory symptoms in my teens lead me to attempt suicide. I am not a Millenial who had too many privileges. I am an autistic individual-not like anyone else with autism or their parents. Judgement precedes empathy and a listening ear. You would not want me around your small child or dog while I tried to "tough it out". I have hurt both while toughing it out. I have been arrested. At 37, I am learning very slowly that it is OK to be me. I only have God to answer to when I leave this world.

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