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What counts as a 'sensory issue' and can you have aspergers without having any?

Hope

 The one thing which makes me question my diagnosis and makes me feel different from other people with AS is that I don't think I have any significant 'sensory issues'. This is a good thing as from what I read they sound awful, but I cannot really relate.

Are the following 'sensory issues':

When I read I cannot bear background noise, lawnmowers, music, and need quietude. But then so do many people without AS - this is not a specifically AS problem, although I might take it a step too far because I find it very hard to concentrate with background noise.

Was scared of fireworks as a small child and balloons popping, not so much anymore.

 

But I have no problems with food - eat an extensive diet. No problems with clothing or significant problems with touch, but have never been into cuddles.

Not keen on crowded environments, but I simply avoid them as much as possible.

Noises are never painful, just distracting. I can endure loud noises even if I would rather it were quiet.

At the group I attend, two women there always want to talk about 'sensory issues', but they seem irrelevant to me. For example, one of them always wants the door closed due to noise I cannot even hear. My main issues are socialising, making friends, obsessions, phobias, OCD anxieties.

Can you have Aspergers with minimal 'sensory issues' ?(a phrase I actually can't stand, it is too medical)

I have been properly diagnosed on NHS and meet the full criteria for AS, but I don't really have the sensory part.

  • There was a loud drill outside bus-stop today, while annoying, I could bear it. Noise izs only a real problem when I am trying to work. I don't mind ambulence sirens etc. And I have no texture or clothing problems. So I guess I prove that not all people with AS have significant sensory issues, yet when reading the literature I feel an oddity here. I have all the other symptoms

  • I rock and talk to myself (well talk through what I'm doing). I can however refrain from doing this is public and when anyone is in my house. However if everyone's awaySmile

    I wonder If you don't expose yourself to situation's were your senses can be overloaded. If anyone asked me if I had a problem with noise, I would answer: no. But when I worked in heavy industry all of the loud noises used to make me feel sick and nervous.

    I have issues with tablets and the textures + aroma's of some foods. I think this is would be a sensory issue. However if I avoid those foods, I forget I have problems with them until I'm confronted with them.

    I think a lot of ASD terminology comes from NT's, and thats why lots of people with ASD dont always pick up on having ASD until later life. I find when I read things on ASD (I must say I havn't read anything decent), the terminology applied sounds a bit "naughty child".

  • Thanks Longman.

    I think I am very analytical of my condition, and I still question myself even though I have a diagnosis.

    It is hard for me to remember too much about my childhood and to know how much something affected me back then. I can't recall 'sensory issues' as such being my main problem, just that I often felt overwhelmed by things, particularly in a busy playground, was an anxious, introverted child and really struggled to relate to people, although I had a very happy childhood.

    Maybe this is just me being overly pedantic but  I can't stand these terms: 'sensory issues', 'meltdowns', 'stimming' - they all seem to be medical terms, imposing structures onto peoples' unique experiences. I much prefer saying that sometimes noise bothers me, which is true, but I would not say I have 'sensory issues'. Of course other people with AS have extreme problems with all their senses, being either hyper or hypo sensitive, but 'sensory' concerns are not my main problem and might not be the main problem of a significant minority of other people with AS.

    I don't  like the term 'meltdown', prefering the word tantrum, emotional upset, or temper outburst. I prefer 'overwhelmed' to 'overloaded'. I rock when stressed, pace, giggle and talk to myself, but I don't call this 'stimming', this is just me. And I can't stand stereotypes. We are all different. Two people at my group annoy me because they keep on talking about 'sensory issues', and I want to talk about problems making friends, relating to people, and anxieties.

  • My understanding is that sensory issues can work both ways - ie you can be over-sensitive or under-sensitive. Some people on the spectrum for example are insufficiently aware of pain, when they need to be for their own safety.

    The trouble is we are expecting to live up to a set of diagnostics, which the professionals rely on when trying to make a diagnosis. If you go back to those tests we've all tried, you can get a high enough score to indicate autistic spectrum without ticking all the diagnostic boxes.

    Also it is difficult to define sensory issues if you don't have a clear idea of what is normal. I thought a lot of problems I had everybody around me had, just I seemed to handle it less well.

    One of these is noise in supermarkets. I'm not aware of noise. But what I have discovered is that I don't filter it out, as NTs do. I just cope with all the information from necessity. However I get anxious in supermarkets the longer I'm there, and particularly so where the refrigerators are. I get tense and anxious in queues. I start muttering and draw attention to myself unfavourably.

    When I got my diagnosis I started experimenting, primarily to find out why I got so anxious and tense and even irritable. I would sit somewhere near the tills, where there are usually seats provided and listen. I have been astonished how much I can hear, including conversations at some distance, and I can distinguish the sources of noise.

    By strategising how I use supermarkets I am now more relaxed. I try to queue away from the entrances and the fridges. I'm also aware now of when I'm feeling tense and know how to avoid it.

    Indeed some people on the spectrum can be very specific, but some of the other examples you read about, the person affected did not know there was anything unusual.

    Incidentally there is a (not serious) test for aspergers that looks at the responses in certain situations. One of them is you are in the supermarket queue and the noise is getting too much for you - Do you (A) grin and bear it knowing you'll suffer for it the rest of the day (B) shout let me through I'm an Aspie and I need my own till or (C) quietly ask a member of staff for assistance.