Adult Sensory Issues - Help Me Out?
Posted by
asteroids
on 24th May 2010
at 15:57
Hi,
I read your post in the other section but thought I'd respond here.
I have a diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome. My sensory issues are mainly noise and smell but I do struggle with some types of clothing. I hate anything close fitting and I avoid some fabrics. I also have a need to touch things to find out what they feel like.....a bit embarrassing at times.
I can appreciate the difficulties you are having getting some sort of help. An OT is the obvious person but not much use if they're used to working with children. I am in touch with a private OT in Devon who sees a lot of adults with autism traits due to the sensory problems.
I see that the crawling sensation you have is less obvious on your hands and feet. Do you think this is because these areas are desensitised through constant use? Or perhaps because they are usually in contact with something else? Is the sensation worse when you're standing up or sitting down? Does it improve if you wear lots of clothes or heavy clothing such as a coat? Lots of children on the spectrum wear lots of layers of clothing or insist on keeping a coat on because of their sensory problems.
Asteroids Sara - Community Champion
Posted by
Steve McGuinness
on 22nd June 2010
at 00:33
Lakeland children with sensory issues grow into adults with sensory issues, however we adults Temple Grandin, Roz Blackburn, Wendy Lawson myself and you for that matter need to speak up more about the sensory intergration difficulties we all experience, because it our voices which are heard the professionals on hearing us and they then understand our children more. I for one truely believe that often, so called challenging behaviour comes about as a direct result of a reponse to certain sensory stimuli and the way it impacts on the individual in question it is then shown through the behaviour. I prefer the term distressed behaviour rather than challenging because after all who is it challenging for the person with autism or the NT? I do a talk on these issues from my perspective 'Sensory me and ASD'
You mention OT, one must be aware when seeking OT as the professional in question must be completely aware the diffulties we on the spectrum face especially sensory intergration difficulties. this mentioned it is best to seek someone who also has a sound knowledge of Asperger Syndrome and autism, as certain situations can also impact on ones sensory intergration difficulties, it is indeed interesting to note just how connected the senses are, for instance my hearing is sensitive just as my sense of smell is also, however when I wear my red lenses (which i have to) my sense of smell becomes even more accute. All to often sensory overload kicks in . Do you have sensory overloads? are you familiar with sensory overloads?if so how does this impact on you? Do you have or experience Prosopagnosia (face blindness - the red glasses help me here. It take s me some time to write and or reply as black on white moves about - Scotopic Sensitivity which is why I write everything in cyan blue my PC is configured to do this however it then reverts back to black and white for you as the reader this is why I dip in and out on this forum because it hurts my eyes and becomes difficult to read, sometimes it triggers sensory issues, this site like others isnt suitatble for everyone hence my breaks away from it.
Steve McGuinness Community Champion
'Autism is not a tragedy, Ignorance is the real tragedy'
"Just as the rainbow has its spectrum so too has Autism.....welcome to the colour-se7en.
Posted by
damo73
on 22nd June 2010
at 08:09
Hello Steve,
I very much agree with you - I think that sensory processing issues could be at the core of autism - or at least the kind that me and my son are - both of us are hypersensitive - lights, sounds (pitches, tones etc.), smells + particularly tactile things. I think my son has more integration difficulties than me, yet it is hard to tell as he is less verbal.
I try and point out to people the seriousness of looking into sensory issues, yet many concentrate on 'red herring's' instead (more the effects, rather than more underlying phenomena).
Damian - Community Champion
Posted by
michaelz
on 29th July 2010
at 11:02
crawling sensation sounds like RLS - Wittmaack-Ekbom's syndrome.
![SiftGroups.com [opens in a new window]](themes/zen/treehouse/images/siftGroupsLogo.gif)
Posted by
lakeland
on 20th May 2010
at 04:09
Hi, I'm new here. I've got quite a few Aspergers traits, but would hesitate to self-diagnose, for various reasons. The one thing I'm absolutely sure of, however, is that I do have sensory problems. There are quite a few that are definitely there, though I won't bore you with them all. I have always had the same ones, and they're not getting either worse or better. The only one that I haven't learnt to block and that affects my daily ability to function is physical. The problem is not just clothes, it's like a mild crawling sensation all over my body which is always there. It extends into my mouth, but is less severe on my head and feet. It gets worse if I haven't showered in a while or am at all sweaty (obviously something I can fix myself), or if I am wearing certain types of clothing (again, mostly avoidable - I don't wear shirts, ties, rollnecks, jeans etc), but it is ALWAYS, ALWAYS there. It affects me to the extent that it sometimes distracts me to the point where I either stop what I'm doing and opt for the most engrossing acitivity possible - which is not necessarily what I need to be doing - or get so restless that I'm unable to do anything at all.
All the stuff I can find about dealing with sensory problems relates to children, and goes along the lines of 'get them used to sticking their hands in shaving foam, and take them to OT', which is obviously not relevant to an adult passing for NT.
My question is, does anyone else have experience with this or something similar? If so, do you use a particular type of soap/body lotion/towel etc, wear a particular type of clothing, or find that anything else has worked? I would appreciate any suggestions! Thanks!