One of the first things many people learn about autism is that autistic people experience sensory sensitivities. It was one of the first things I learned about autism that made me realise my own autism, in fact! I’ve also noticed that many people seem to think all autistic people hate loud sounds and bright lights, and only eat bland foods every day. But this isn’t always the case. 

In this post, I’ll explain what sensory sensitivities are, the differences between hypersensitive and hyposensitive, what these sensitivities can look like, and accommodations that can be arranged for people with sensory sensitivities. 

What are Sensory Sensitivities? 

Sensory Sensitivities are when an individual experiences a profound reaction in response to sensory stimuli. Sensory stimuli being things you can see, smell, feel, taste, and hear. People often assume sensory sensitivities can only be triggered by extreme forms of sensory stimuli. For example; loud noises, bright lights, strong flavours, bad odours, or harsh textures. Whilst those are things that can trigger sensory sensitivities, they’re not the only examples. 

For sight, it could be bright lights or it could be flashing lights, bright colours, vivid patterns, clutter, blank spaces, etc. 

For sound, it could be loud noises, sudden noises, many sounds all at once, repetitive sounds, high-pitched sounds, low-pitched sounds, etc. 

For taste, it could be strong flavours, not enough flavours, too many flavours at once, inconsistent flavours, etc. 

For touch, it could be harsh textures, not harsh enough textures, unexpected textures, too many different textures, etc. 

And for smell, it could be bad odours, strong odours, too many odours at once, unexpected odours, etc. 

Sensory triggers come in all sorts of various ways and they all depend on each individual. One person may love the smell of tangerines but another can find the smell too strong! Not all of us are the same so why would we experience things the same way? 

Exposure to sensory sensitivity triggers can cause sensory overload which is also known as overstimulation. This is when the brain receives more information from the senses than it can process, causing the person to become overwhelmed, irritable, stressed out, or emotional. This can be because of prolonged exposure to sensory stimuli or it can be sudden. Heightened senses due to anxiety, exhaustion, or stress can increase the likelihood of overstimulation. 

What causes Sensory Sensitivities? 

I’d like to start this part off by saying that not everyone who experiences sensory sensitivities is autistic. Many people can experience sensory sensitivities including people with ADHD, Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD), Anxiety, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and Schizophrenia. 

When it comes to autism, ADHD, and SPD, we experience sensory sensitivities because of the way our brains process the sensory input. Our brains have difficulty sorting through and making sense of all the different sensory stimuli around it and can often try to process too much at one time. That’s why it can feel like all of our senses are dialled up to 100 and that the sound of the washing machine is at the exact same volume as the person in front of me talking. 

My sister was diagnosed with SPD long before I was diagnosed with autism and I remember her describing it. She said, if she were sitting in front of the TV trying to watch something and I were on the other side of the room eating a packet of crisps, she wouldn’t be able to concentrate on her show. She’d just hear the crunching sounds of me snacking on crisps and she’d tell me off for being loud (even if I wasn’t actually being loud. She just perceived me as loud). I also remember thinking ‘Weird. That’s similar to what I experience!’ because it is! 

People who struggle with Anxiety and PTSD could also experience sensory sensitivities. But not because of their brains struggling to filter things out or process an influx of sensory stimuli. The higher level of stress may have lead to a lowered tolerance for sensory stimuli therefore increasing the chances of overstimulation. 

Many people who experience Schizophrenia may have an altered perception of sensory stimuli. Meaning they might experience some sensations that aren’t real and might not experience some that are real. Real or not, the discomfort that the individual experiences can be very much real and they should get the support they need. 

Let’s not forget about comorbidities – or co-occurring conditions – as the traits can often overlap. I myself have autism, ADHD, and anxiety which often means I’m very sensitive to sensory stimuli, can become stressed and emotional quite easily, and that I can’t always predict how I’m going to react to different sensory experiences. The conditions I’ve listed above can co-occur within an individual. You can have autism and Schizophrenia, ADHD and PTSD, Anxiety and ADHD, etc. 

Sensory Sensitivities are just for loud noises, right? 

No, not always! Though, that is an example of what can trigger an individual’s sensitivities. There are many many different things that someone can be sensitive to and there are different ways in which they can be sensitive to them! To understand that, let’s talk about the differences between hypersensitive and hyposensitive. 

Hypersensitive – Hypersensitive means over-sensitive. This is when an individual feels too much of a sensory experience and their brain is processing too much information about a certain sense, for example, their eyes process too much light which makes bright or flashing lights distressing to the individual. 

If someone is experiencing sensory discomfort because of loud or repetitive noises that’s because they are hypersensitive to sound. If they avoid bright/flashing lights, or bright patterns and colours, they’re hypersensitive to visual stimuli. Strong smells, pleasant or unpleasant, can cause someone who is hypersensitive to smells a lot of distress, and strong flavours can cause someone who is hypersensitive to tastes a lot of distress. 

Hypersensitivity can cause sensory overload, anxiety, stress, and even pain. An individual who is hypersensitive may take measures to avoid certain sensory stimuli that cause overload. They may wear sunglasses everyday, wear headphones or ear defenders, wear gloves, or cut labels out of clothes. They may eat the same foods that have little to no flavour or consistent textures. We often call these measures ‘sensory-avoidance’. 

Hyposensitive – Hyposensitive means under-sensitive. It’s the opposite of hypersensitivity. Individuals who are hyposensitive may go ‘sensory seeking’ meaning they try to seek out certain sensory inputs. 

For those that are hyposensitive in terms of their vision, things may appear quite dark or blurred. To those hyposensitive to sound, sounds may seem to be heard by one ear or they just don’t hear certain sounds. They may even enjoy loud noises or making loud noises. Individuals that are hyposensitive to smell can have a poor sense of smell and may not notice strong odours, including their own body odour. Under-sensitivity to touch can sometimes mean the individual has a high pain threshold and that they can be quite heavy-handed and like hugging people tightly or having heavy objects on top of them such as a weighted blanket. 

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One person can be both hypersensitive in one area and hyposensitive in others. These may vary in different situations and might even contradict each other. For example, an individual loving loud music but becoming distressed when they hear sirens, feeling uncomfortable when people gently touch them when they’re anxious but loving tight hugs when they’re happy or need comfort, or they may hate flashing lights at things like parties but they love watching really big and bright fireworks. It all depends on each of individually and our preferences. 

What is having Sensory Sensitivities like? 

It can be very distressing and sometimes it isn’t all that predictable. A lot of people, me included, will have varying levels of tolerance at different points of our lives depending on our moods, our stress levels, changes in our needs, etc. 

Sensory sensitivities have an effect on our daily lives. Which makes sense when you think about it! You go about your day and you’re constantly taking in the world around you. You see, smell, hear, and feel everything around you. 

For me, sensory sensitivities is loving seeing lots of different colours in sunsets and paintings but finding it difficult to look at lots of clashing colours and patterns. It’s getting headaches and nausea when I smell tangerines or strong perfume but adoring the smell of coffee, chocolate, and vanilla all over my house. It’s feeling the most comfortable when my partner squishes me into a tight hug but hating tight or heavy clothing. It’s becoming agitated at loud, repetitive, or overlapping sounds but loving my music being played at full volume through my headphones. And it’s loving trying new foods and flavours but still eating the same lunch every day so I know what to expect. 

But it’s also my eyes hurting and watering, and my head feeling like it might explode just because I was somewhere that had flashing lights. It’s being hit with a smell so bad or so strong that I vomit or I become very angry. It’s crying my eyes out on the phone to my mum because it’s hot outside and all of my summer clothes are too stiff, too itchy, too tight and I can’t find anything comfortable yet weather-appropriate to wear. It’s calling my poor Nanna from the kitchen floor, uncontrollably sobbing and screaming and pressing my palms to my ears, because the neighbours are drilling through the walls when I wasn’t expecting it and it feels like my ears are in agony. And it’s feeling physically ill then refusing to eat because I wasn’t expecting a certain flavour or it was just too much. 

Not all sensory experiences lead to sensory overload or overstimulation. Having sensory sensitivities just means we’re more likely to reach the point of overload or overstimulation. Sensory sensitivities is sensory seeking, sensory avoiding, feeling mildly uncomfortable due to sensory stimuli, feeling irritated, feeling overstimulated, and it’s sensory overload. 

What is overstimulation and sensory overload? 

When someone experiences sensory overload, it’s because there is just too much for one or more of their senses to process. The light in the room is too bright, it’s too loud, or there’s a strong smell in the room. Or all three at once! There are many ways they may respond to that experience and the severity of their reaction may depend on the severity of the stimuli. The reactions can be mild such as irritation or it could be much bigger like a panic attack or autistic meltdown. 

An individual can seem very agitated when they’re experiencing sensory overwhelm. This may be directed at the cause or at other things or people around them. For example, if an individual is wearing a t-shirt with a particularly itchy label in the back that keeps tickling their neck, they may become increasingly annoyed at their t-shirt or they may just become snappy towards others. When an individual is feeling irritable because of sensory overwhelm, they may become more intolerant to other sensory stimuli as well such as the temperature or textures they come in contact with. We’ve all seen that meme about snapping at your partner because the inseam of your socks are bothering you but it really can be like that!

Your focus can also be affected by sensory overload. When an individual is experiencing sensory overload, they may not be able to concentrate on an activity or they may jump from one activity to another. 

For example, if an autistic individual is in a restaurant with someone, the confusing sound of overlapping conversations from other tables, cutlery scraping against plates, the mixture of food smells, the sounds of the kitchen, music playing, and much more can be extremely distracting to them and they may seem like they’re not interested in the person they’re sat with. 

In more severe situations, sensory overload can lead to panic attacks, autistic meltdowns, or shutdowns. An autistic meltdown is an intense response to a situation or feeling of overwhelm where an autistic person temporarily loses control of their behaviour. This loss of control can be shown in many ways; shouting, screaming, crying, smacking, kicking, hiding, etc. Some of the physical behaviours such as smacking, hair-pulling, and scratching can be self-inflicted or on others. If you’d like to know more about autistic meltdowns, I’ve written a post that I’ll link here. 

The impact of a shutdown can be just as big to an autistic person than that of a meltdown. They’re not as easy to spot as a meltdown is because it’s almost the opposite to one. Shutdowns can look like a person going completely quiet, perhaps not being able to communicate at all, or not being able to move from where they are because they’re thinking too much about the situation that caused their shutdown. Some individuals will seek a quiet, dark room to lie down on a flat surface. Sometimes, shutdowns occur after a meltdown as a means to ‘reset’ and recover from one. If you’d like to know more about shutdowns, I’ve written a post that I’ll link here. 

It’s important to understand that all reactions to sensory overload, no matter how big or small, are all perfectly normal and shouldn’t be punished. You can’t force someone to stop having sensory sensitivities or reacting to them. But you can support people who have sensory sensitivities and make life just that little bit easier for them. 

What helps support those with sensory sensitivities? 

There are many ways to help with sensory sensitivities. Things you can do for yourself – if you’re able, things you can do for others, things for students, things for employees, things for clients, etc. 

Counteractive Strategies

These strategies are for when sensory stimuli is becoming a bit too much but hasn’t yet reached the point of overload, or they’re so someone who is hyposensitive can be sensory seeking in a safe way.  

If an individual can be triggered into sensory overload by sounds, for example, it may be beneficial for them to wear ear-protection such as headphones or ear-defenders. Headphones can be useful as they’re soft and provide a light pressure to the ears that some people find soothing. Music can be played through them or they can be worn without playing anything to block out loud noises. Ear-defenders or earplugs can be useful to filter out loud noises and increase focus. I have the Loops Switch plugs which are designed to allow me to change how much noise is filtered through them and they come in a small case that I can carry in my pocket. I take them everywhere with me. I also find them easier to wear than my headphones sometimes as I wear glasses and earrings. Airpods Pro have a feature that allows the user to set them to noise-cancelling setting. It almost completely muffles all the noises around the user. 

I’ve placed sensory-seeking items in every room in my house and in my bag I take with me to go out. I have quiet fidget toys for when I’m in public so that I don’t disturb others. I have a big cuddle chair that spins as I like the motion and I frequently ask my partner if we can go for drives because I like the movement of the car.

I’ve also created a kit to help me in times of sensory overload. I always have my headphones and/or Loops on me as well as some sunglasses, my lip balm to avoid chapped lips, and tissues or wipes to clean my hands, surfaces, or to pick up things that I don’t want to touch.

Exit Strategies

Sometimes an we may need to ‘escape’ the environment we’re in when we’re experiencing sensory overload. This could be by going upstairs to be alone for a few moments when family are visiting, going outside for a break from somewhere like a party or restaurant, or even sitting in the car outside away from all the overwhelm. These can be short breaks or the we may want to leave all together. 

Whenever I make plans to go places, I make sure I have exit strategies in place; reasons to go home, making sure I know how to get home, emergency taxi money, making sure there’s a quiet spot I can go to easily if I need it – outside, the car, or a quiet room – and things in my bag I can use to self-soothe or self-regulate. My partner and I know we can text one another if we want to leave and we’ll quickly say our good-byes and just go.

Prevention Strategies

Individuals or their carers and family can learn to recognise what triggers sensory overload as well as things that can help in those moments. They can plan ahead and avoid these triggers in many ways. 

Sticking to a schedule and having predictability ensures nothing spontaneous can trigger the individual as they know what to expect. Planning ahead and talking the individual through what they should expect about a situation or a transition is also a good tactic. It might help to ask others who have been to places or experienced situations what they experienced, what the individual should expect, or if they should go at all. 

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If possible, rooms can also be changed to suit someone’s sensory needs. This room could be in their home, place of work or education, or for when they visit their care staff (therapist, support worker, etc). This could look something like brighter or dimmer lighting, more or less smells in a space, changes of colour or patterns, and so on. My personal sensory corner that I’m building in my home will look something like; dim but cosy fairylights or a light projector, soft cushions, my weighted blanket, and a tent canopy so I can feel like it’s closed off from the rest of the world. I’ll just use my headphones to control the noise. 

There is so much more I can say about sensory sensitivities as it’s so vast and complicated. I hope you’ve learned a little something from this post though and be sure to read my other posts of which I have many more to come! 

Important things to remember:

Sensory seeking behaviour is very normal. It’s not just autistic people that do it. People with all different forms of neurodivergence can be sensory seeking such as ADHD, Tourette’s Syndrome, Dyslexia, and OCD. 

Sensory sensitivities cannot be forced to go away. They are a part of how a person’s brain is wired and just how it functions. They can be accommodated for or treated but cannot be punished away. 

We all experience the world in vastly different ways. Just because you don’t think something is loud, does not mean the person next to you agrees. Even if you yourself experience sensory sensitivities, that doesn’t automatically mean your sensitivities will be the same as the next person’s. 

You deserve the support you need. You are not asking for too much to have the air freshener in work be changed to something less strong, or to need time to go have a breather, or to have a room where you can jump or spin or sing or just sit in silence. As long as they are within reason, you deserve the support you need. 

More info:

National Autistic Society – Autism and Sensory Processing 

Think ADHD – ADHD and Sensory Processing

National Library of Medicine – Sensory Sensitivities and Schizophrenia 

Anxiety Centre – Sensory overload 

​HealthyPlace – What sensory overload feels like for people with PTSD

I will be creating a post soon all about ‘stimming’ and sensory activities! Stay tuned!