Autism Sensory Issues: What to Look For & How To Help

Autism Sensory Issues

Autism sensory issues can include both hyper-sensitivities and hypo-sensitivities. A sensory processing disorder, affecting 5 to 16 percent of school-aged children, is a condition in which an individual does not respond normally to stimuli, such as sounds, textures, and smells.

In 2013, the American Psychiatric Association added sensory sensitivities to the list of symptoms that can help diagnose autism. This article will go over what hypersensitivity and hyposensitivity are, what to look out for, and how to help those suffering from them. 

Autism Hypersensitivity

Some children experience autism hypersensitivity. Hypersensitivity in autism can include hearing, seeing, or touching something that results in a negative feeling.Autism Sensory Overload symptoms can differ from child to child, with some children moving around, making odd noises, or touching hands to engage their senses.

Children experiencing sensory overload can often have a difficult time processing and understanding where objects are. Other examples of hypersensitivity can include touching every item and object in a room, listening closely to a group of noises to identify the most treble sound, tearing paper, chewing and smelling excessively, inability to feel pain or warmth, and seeking out noisy areas in their homes.

Hypersensitive children may be more prone to injuries since they do not experience pain. Due to this inability, some kids may intentionally, or unintentionally, injure themselves in order to feel pain-like sensations.

To accommodate hypersensitivity, you can:

  • Dim the lights in a room.
  • Allow your child to wear sunglasses, a hat, or a visor to block overhead lights.
  • Give your child earplugs or headphones to block out excess noise, especially in particularly noisy environments.
  • Use incandescent lighting, rather than fluorescent lighting.
  • Ask your child for their permission before touching them.
  • Buying clothing for your child that accommodates their personal sensitivity, such as tight fabrics, tags, buttons, and scratchy fabric.
  • Closing doors to eliminate noisy sounds and bright lights that could be distracting.
  • Accommodating to your child’s food aversions, such as avoiding hot, cold, and spicy foods.
  • Avoid using scented products in your home, on your, or on your child. This can include shampoo, perfume, household cleaners, and air fresheners.

Autism Hyposensitivity

Some children experience autism hyposensitivity. Hyposensitivity in autism occurs when a child has an abnormal response to sensory input. Similar to hypersensitivity, symptoms of hyposensitivity can widely vary from child to child. Oftentimes, children with this condition are sensitive to visual input, and will quickly get tired from reading or will have difficulty finding objects, such as a book on a desk or a cereal box in a pantry.

Children who experience hyposensitivity often try to find sounds, and will listen to the TV or the radio very loudly. Other examples of hyposensitivity can include licking inedible objects, preferring strong tastes with meals, intensely hugging people, running or crashing into people, having trouble balancing, crashing into objects or furniture, dropping objects, stumbling, and swinging or spinning for long periods without getting dizzy or nauseated.

Children with hyposensitivity may not feel or experience pain and temperature like the average child does, which can result in various injuries. 

To accommodate to hyposensitivity, you can: 

  • Give your child sensory-stimulating toys, such as fidgets or safe items to chew.
  • Use weighted blankets.
  • Arrange furniture in your home to prevent your child from injuries. This can also include padding hard edges and corners.
  • Giving your child time to practice and use physical skills, like running and dancing.
  • Allowing your child to swing, rock, and engage in other sensory-stimulating activities.
  • Giving your child food and drinks they prefer, such as cold beverages or textured food.
  • Using a firm touch.
  • Using visual supports and aids for your child if they have trouble processing verbal information.

How You Can Help Your Child

There are various therapies available today to help your child with hypersensitivity or hyposensitivity. Speak to your child’s pediatrician to decide what the best course is for your child.

Speech therapy can help your child with swallowing and oral muscle movements, improving speech, and other sensory-stimulating and sensitivity-reducing activities.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) can help your child slowly increase their tolerance to experiences that are sensory overwhelming.

Occupational therapy (OT) can help your child by using physical activity to enhance their ability to process sensory input in everyday, typical environments. Occupational therapy can also help your child by meeting and accommodating their sensory needs.

Autism Specialty Group 

We’re a behavioral health care organization treating children with Autism through Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). Our mission is to raise the bar of our profession by providing the highest level of service, state of the art treatment and support systems, and an excellent team of accomplished professionals. Contact us today to learn more about our services. 

References: 

Autism Speaks (n.d.). Sensory Issues. https://www.autismspeaks.org/sensory-issues 

Loftus, Yolande. (2021, June 18). Hyposensitivity Among Autistic Individuals. Retrieved August 9, 2021 from https://www.autismparentingmagazine.com/hyposensitivity-among-autistic-individuals/ 

Rudy, Lisa J. (2020, December 17). What Is Sensory Processing Disorder? Retrieved August 9, 2021 from https://www.verywellhealth.com/what-is-sensory-processing-disorder-260517

Sensory Overload in Autism: Sensitivity Differences. (2018, March 21). https://otsimo.com/en/sensory-overload-autism/ 



Autism Specialty Group