Hyper/Hypo sensitive
Amity
Administrator, Citizen
I'm a mixture of both, hypo and hyper sensitive, this is an area can be commonly experienced with ASD and ADHD.
For a long time I didnt consider that I was autistic, I thought I was ADHD type 2, with SPD.
I'm mostly hyper-sensitive like with lights and sounds mainly and tastes/smells to a lesser extent.
The sensitivity levels go off the charts when I'm anxious though. Tiredness or illness seem to increase the sensitivity too.
Hypo-sensitive to pain in general. Also to touch normally, but when stressed this can change to hyper-sensitive, I've always found that one to be wierd.
What about your experience ...and does anything intensify or dull your regular reactions?
Comments
My experience is virtually identical to yours, including anxiety exacerbating the sensitivity. Any other affliction like illness, lack of sleep, stress or an "off" day will make things worse.
I was diagnosed with photophobia before autism and it never crossed my mind that it's not a physiological issue and at the time they prescribed me a painkiller for the crippling migraines it triggered. Also, before my AS diagnosis, I didn't like talking about these things or asking for accommodations, as most people think you're exaggerating, even if they already know you're not the type to make a mountain out of a molehill.
Some of these things are generally very difficult to discuss with others or explain: why do I like to be touched by some in some circumstances, can tolerate some types of touch from others and none whatsoever from some? So I only discuss it with very close people and the rest can either accept my boundaries or not be a part of my life. I extend the same courtesy to others, including my kids and I stood up for them if they didn't want to be hugged or kissed by touchy-feely relatives and so on.
The only thing that works for me is controlling my environment: I have sunglasses and earphones on me at all times, black-out film or curtains on my windows, I rewired the lights in my house and connected them to an app so I can change the colour and intensity at all times from my phone or laptop. And so on.
Being relaxed, well-rested and feeling good can increase my tolerance and so can being a bit tipsy, but I don't rely on that one since it can be unpredictable. Living with people who accept this is a real problem, not a whim and are considerate enough to help instead of claiming I should put up with it since it's not going to kill me is actually the biggest help I can get: for instance if we're in a restaurant and someone close by is making loud eating noises, my wife will ask me to put my earphones on, so we can still finish our meal without it ruining my day/evening. I'm very grateful for this.
Misophonia is the most difficult to work around though, I live in a tolerant-enough place to be able to wear sunglasses indoors without people finding it weird, but there are some situations where I cannot wear headphones or earphones so I just refuse to be around offenders and allowed and supported my son to do the same. I don't care if people think we're rude, his and my mental health come first
I also have a pretty high tolerance for pain and like pressure, I get bruises or scratches all the time without remembering how they occurred.
Conclusion: other people's attitude and actions have made the biggest difference for me. If someone tells you they dislike a sound, food, hugs or any other type of sensorial experience, don't take it personally or think they hate you, don't insist they should do it "for you" or "just this time", don't try to force them, guilt-trip them or sneak in the offending factor thinking they won't notice or get used to it.
Respect other people's boundaries and you'll gain a friend who will do the same for you. It's a bit embarrassing (to say the least) that some adults really need this explained to them
I'm also a mix of hyper and hypo. My hypersensitivities pertain mostly to light (photosensitivity), sound (misophonia), smell, and texture. I guess a little bit of everything! I envy that you're both aware of your sensory patterns in response to fatigue or illness. I've never been aware of patterns in any area of my life, and I seldom notice sensory fluctuations unless someone else helps me to point them out.
Light and soft sounds are particularly disabling to me. I have a very difficult time with scent as well: not just chemical scents or perfumes but organic scents like cooking can set me off even if I like the aroma. I can't be around any scent for very long or I develop a migraine with visual aura (kaleidoscopes in my vision). I've had this response to simple things like a chocolate chip cookie on a plate near me, an unlit scented candle elsewhere in the house, or even Vitamin E ointment which is supposedly fragrance-free. I have a particularly adverse reaction to cut flowers. If I receive a bouquet of roses it can leave me out of commission for days, even after I dispose of them or give them away. The smell of chocolate or cocoa also makes me ill.
I've been working with an Occupational Therapist for SPD and ED. Here's a chart showing my scores in the four areas of registration.
I wish I could share the intake assessment questionnaire because some of the questions involved things I'd never considered as part of SPD. The questionnaire has all my answers blocked in and I've tried in vain to delete my answers from the PDF but can't quite figure it out.
I'm hyposensitive to interoceptive input, which means our body signals. I don't know when I'm hungry or full or even when I have to use the bathroom. I'm actively learning to identify or classify different flavours such as salty, sweet, sour, and umami. Previously I could only say if something tasted good or bad. I think alexithymia is another form of hyposensitivity because I don't identify, label, or interpret my emotions beyond shades of good or bad without significant guidance (and use of my Ferris wheel lol).
Bender, your children are very fortunate to have your support. I wish I'd been raised with that level of acceptance for my sensitivities, instead of being treated like a brat by many extended family members. Like Amity, I didn't connect the dots to realise this was part of Autism until I'd endured years of confusion and misinformation about what was going on.
I wish I'd been raised with that level of acceptance for my sensitivities, instead of being treated like a brat by many extended family members.
I understand, I have suffered because of this both as a child and a young adult and didn't want my children to go through it, especially since in many cases it seems gratuitous.
I was a lot less diplomatic about it before the diagnosis and once directly asked someone what kind of satisfaction they derive from forcing a child to do something to satisfy their own ego. Guess how well that went
BTW, I order to do this it's absolutely necessary for your partner to be on the same page, but with parenting it usually is anyway,
This is why I prefer single parenting, and not needing to be on anyone else's page.
I guess I'm both hypo- and hypersensitive, but I noticed going on Strattera for ADHD made me mostly hyposensitive, for whatever reason.
I have a pretty high threshold for pain, being touched, etc. When I was more hypersensitive there were a lot of things I couldn't eat and even just touch due to the texture of them, they'd make me gag and my entire body cringe, but now I can eat and touch most things. I'm also pretty sure I have misophonia, but I don't know if that's a sensory thing. Certain sounds just make me cringe and sometimes inexplicably angry. lol
My sense of smell is very good but I don't react to scents as much as other people? Which is weird. I can smell something gross before other people notice it, but I can also ignore it easier.
I become very hypersensitive when I'm stressed out or sick, too. I hate people touching me and physically comforting me when I'm upset or ill, because it's like every bit of contact with them is like being poked by needles. I don't have this issue normally anymore unless I stop taking my Strattera.
I have issues with interoception and alexithmyia. I think becoming more hyposensitive has actually made both of these things worse. The way I recognize my emotions is by analyzing how I physically feel, but now it's harder to do that. It's also harder for me to tell when I'm hungry or full now, and if I'm too hot or cold.
I'm impressed that you are so self-aware to notice those patterns, Hylian!
I have a high threshold for pain as well. The only illnesses I can't tolerate are toothache pain or having a fever. For some reason being febrile is almost unbearable for me, but I can manage surgical pain and migraines and other nasty sensations. I don't like being touched unless it's deep pressure. I love deep tissue massage even if it's borderline painful, but I don't like light touch at all. I'm not into hugging or cuddling and I can't share a bed for sensory reasons.
I can relate to your issues about texture. I bought a sherpa for Ouiji online and I don't know why, but it felt like itchy wool. I couldn't even touch it and it took about 48 hours to get the sensation off my hands. I ended up giving it to my beau yesterday, for his dog. I have food textures issues as well. My daughter's food texture issues are so extreme she had to quit chef school because there were many ingredients she couldn't touch, let alone sample and eat.
You're lucky you can tell how you physically feel, even if it's harder to do over time. Most of my emotions just feel like my arms are heavy and tingly, whether good or bad. I wish I could tell when I'm hungry or full, or when I'm tired. My ADHD meds helps to differentiate sleepy vs awake but it's still not an exact science for me.
I hate light touch too, it's like an electric shock for me
Not a fan of raw wool either, I think it's the fat/lanoline in it.
Hylian, establishing and recognising physical sensations patterns is a great way to deal with alexithymia, I wish I could do that at your age!
There are very specific kinds of pain I also can't tolerate. I've had recurrent throat and ear infections throughout my life, but I've never been able to get used to them. They're the worst/least ignorable pain I've experienced so far. Most other pains feel like varying degrees of pressure, and I honestly kind of enjoy the sensation of them.
Light touch does seem more intense of a sensation to me, for some reason? Deep pressure is more "dull". I didn't like being hugged until my friends started hugging me to annoy me in the 4th grade, but jokes on them because once I got used to it I started hugging them to annoy them daily.
One of the textures I can never get over is "dry" textures. I can't explain it further, but things like paper and my hands being dry makes my entire body cringe. Whenever I don't take my Strattera and my hypersensitivities get worse I just can't touch paper without having something covering my hands, like my sleeve.
I also thought I was crazy because when I experience a texture I don't like it feels like it sticks to me for awhile! I never knew other autistic people experienced that. It's even worse and overwhelms me more than initially touching something, because I can't get it to go away.
And the way I differentiate emotions is I basically try to analyze my heart rate/how my chest feels and my breathing, and whether I got this weird feeling in my shoulders and head that I get when I'm excited/overwhelmed or not. I had to learn to differentiate certain negative emotions because I had anger issues when I was younger, and I'd just end up angry from feeling certain things because it was weird and I didn't know what to do about it. lol
My sensory profile as it relates to lights, sounds and smells seems to be pretty typical.
I'm quite a picky eater though, and I'm imagining this has to do with a hypersensitivity to taste, or something like that.
I also have a mild aversion to a handful of textures, like I find walking barefoot on grass objectionable for instance, but unlike those with more severe aversions, I can do it if I have to/want to.