Hi, everyone. I’m Amythest and welcome to Ask An Autistic.
[Intro music: “I want to write a song, to shine a light. Be the change we want, set
things right. We’ve been waiting in the dark for so long.”]
Today, I’m going to be talking about Sensory Processing Disorder. Sensory Processing Disorder
is a neurological condition in which the brain does not interpret sensory input from the
environment correctly. A person with Sensory Processing Disorder may be over- or under-sensitive
to input from their environment; such as: lights, colors, noises, music, people talking,
smells, textures, and tastes.
Every autistic person will have some kind of sensory integration issues. This is just
part of our neurotype and part of what makes us autistic. But, Sensory Processing Disorder,
as a neurological diagnosis, can exist on it’s own in non-autistic children.
Sensory Processing Disorder really can affect and encompass all of the senses. Now, human
beings actually have more than five senses. We have something like eighteen to twenty-two,
depending on who you ask. But, I think that there are the basic seven senses that are
important to know about to understand Sensory Processing Disorder.
So, you have the basic five, which I think everybody has heard of. That’s taste, touch,
smell, sight, sound… Yeah, I think I got that right. And then there are two senses
that most people haven’t heard of, and that is the proprioceptive sense and the vestibular
sense. Proprioceptive sense is the sense of where your body is in space. It allows for
you to know where your limbs are, how much force you’re exerting on things, and also
where you are spatially in your environment and how to interact with objects in your environment.
The vestibular sense is that sense that is all about motion and movement. It is the sense
that tells you if you are in motion or standing still; if you are up or down, swinging, spinning,
upside down. All of that is informed by the vestibular sense. So, as I’m sure you can
imagine, when a person is under- or over-sensitive to any of the sensory input that they may
receive from their environment, their experience is going to be a lot different than a neurotypical
person’s [experience]. And their life is going to be very different because of the
things that they have to deal with. For example, a child who is under-sensitive to proprioceptive
input may have trouble knowing where his body is in space; he may have trouble knowing how
much pressure to exert on things. So, he may either be too gentle and be, you know, consistently
dropping small objects, or he may be too rough in play and be constantly seeking out really
rough activities that give him a lot of deep pressure input on his joints like wrestling,
jumping around, jumping on a trampoline. A person with sensory integration issues who
is very sensitive to noise may have a lot of trouble with auditory processing issues,
when they’re in a space where there’s background noise, like music or a lot of people
talking, like in a restaurant. So, while they can hear the person who is sitting across
from them and speaking, they may not be able to interpret what the person is saying. They
know that they’re speaking, they’re brain just can’t filter out all of the auditory
information.
So, like I said, sensory processing issues can encompass and incorporate all of the sense,
and everybody who has sensory integration issues, autistic or non-autistic, will have
their own set of triggers, negative sensory input that causes them discomfort or pain,
and many people who have sensory integration issues will have some sensory input that they
actively seek out and they crave, often because they are under-sensitive to it. So, an autistic
person who seeks out vestibular input because they’re under-sensitive to vestibular input
may really enjoy activities like swinging on a swing, or spinning on a tire swing or
on a computer chair.
Something that comes up a lot and I get question about this a lot comes down to sensory defensiveness
and food. Many autistic people have a very limited diet, and this is both due to love
of routine and resistance to change, but also to sensory defensiveness. Sadly, children
who are struggling with sensory integration issues may have their sensory defensiveness
towards a certain texture or taste of food may have their sensory defensiveness interpreted
by their parents as just picky eating or even outward defiance, when this isn’t the case.
When you have sensory integration issues, you know that you’re different and you wish
that you weren’t. Sensory integration issues and Sensory Processing Disorder can cause
a lot of grief in our daily life because this world isn’t really built for us. It is so
loud and so fast and so bright and all the clothes are too tight and everything’s too
itchy and it can be exhausting just trying to get some sleep at night with all these
sounds all around. Sensory integration issues can be really hard to deal with, and it’s
important to remember that if you’re having a showdown with your kid over dinner, they’re
not trying to be defiant to you; they’re not just being a picky eater. If they have
sensory processing issues, that is a real neurological condition and a valid disability,
and a child with sensory processing issues doesn’t need to be shamed in any situation,
and they don’t need to be coerced to do things that cause them pain. Because really,
Sensory Processing Disorder, when you have a negative sensory input as a trigger, it
isn’t just uncomfortable or a little annoying; it’s often very painful and it is important
to remember that, you know, there are some children who are just picky, but when it comes
to children with sensory integration issues, they have a disability, and so, accommodation
and understanding can go a long way.
When you have a neurological or developmental disability, you start off with less “brain
energy,” call it, in the morning than neurotypical people do. And then, throughout the day, as
a person with sensory processing issues, is triggered again and again — that takes up
more and more of their brain energy that they would otherwise be putting towards learning
or socializing, communicating and self-regulating.
Sensory overload is one of the, I think, biggest and most frequent causes of autistic meltdown.
That is why it is so important to allow any person or child with sensory integration issues,
autistic or not, to stim in whatever ways that they need to, because stimming isn’t
just some meaningless activity or, you know, a repetitive motion just because. While stimming
is often an expression of self in autistic people, in people of all neurotypes with sensory
integration issues, stimming is the best and most important way to self-regulate. By stimming
in whatever way feels natural and comfortable to that person, a person with sensory integration
issues is able to block out negative input with good input.
For example, a person with sensory integration issues may vocally stim to block out negative
auditory stimulus in their environment. Stimming can also allow and enable a person with sensory
processing issues to engage is social situations and to be out in public longer and more often
because they have a way to deal with all of the anxiety and the pain and the stress that
comes from negative sensory input.
So, when it comes to helping your child or loved one or yourself deal with sensory integration
issues, stimming is a very important part of that. Allowing stimming, even encouraging
stimming and exploring, if you are a person with sensory integration issues, what stims
can you do in certain situations to help yourself and to lessen the pain and the mental burden
of dealing with negative sensory input.
And then, of course, because the world isn’t made for us, there are going to be times when
we have to accommodate for ourselves. For myself, I always carry with me, in my bag
or my purse, a pair of ear plugs, some wet wipes, um, you know, to deal with any stickiness
I might accidentally come across, some gum which provides really good deep sensory input
in your jaw, and I don’t have any sunglasses right now, but I know that to combat bright
sunlight or the flickering of fluorescent lights — which is just awful — a combination
of sunglasses and a hat with a brim, or just one or the other, can lessen the pain from
bright or flickering or bad colored light sources a lot. So, I’m currently looking
for a pair of sunglasses that feel comfy enough for me to wear and that I like the look of.
But when I find a pair that I do like, I will definitely include them in my little kit of
sensory things to help me deal with negative sensory input.
The important thing to remember is that Sensory Processing Disorder and sensory integration
issues in autistic people are a real and valid neurological condition, and that without accommodation
or understanding, they can really inhibit your life and be super hard to deal with.
And in remembering that Sensory Processing Disorder is a real disability, you can also
remember that, with accommodation, you can lead a happy and healthy and successful life,
and that having sensory integration issues or being autistic, doesn’t mean that you
can’t live a rich and fulfilling and joyful life. It just might require some accommodation,
a little bit of foresight or planning, and some understanding from the people around
you.
So, this has been my video on Sensory Processing Disorder, just a brief overview. If you have
questions about this topic or would like to discuss anything I said in the video, feel
free to post in the comments section because I would love to foster some discussion on
this topic and hear from all of you. Do you have Sensory Processing Disorder? Do you love
somebody who does? And if you have a question that you would like answered via video, feel
free to post your autism-related question in the comments section below, or message
it to me, if you would like it to be anonymous.
And if you like this video, feel free to give it a thumbs up and subscribe to my channel
if you would like more videos about autism and to see new Ask an Autistic episodes when
they come out on Thursdays!
Thanks for watching my video!
[Outro music: “I want to write a song, to shine a light. Be the change we want, set
things right. We’ve been waiting in the dark for so long."]