A question liked to sensory challenges

If an autistic individual struggles with one of their senses being ‘overly’ sensitive, is it reasonable/common to have another sense be ‘under’ sensitive?

For example, I am very sensitive to noise- to a painful level. This is something, by reading on here, that I know a lot of us struggle with. I also know that others recognise sensitivities in their other senses. I would argue that my sense of smell is pretty sensitive, as is my sense of taste. My vision not so much. I can spot tiny details, but often miss larger things right in front of me. But the sense I really find lacking is that of my ability to detect when I’m cold or have hurt myself. My pain threshold is pretty high as a result. I detest being hot and I also don’t like being touched, except with warning from a select few people, but I really struggle to pick up on when I’ve hurt myself. A few months ago I walked in from a satisfying time in the garage of cleaning, organising and finishing a project, went to talk to my wife who immediately asked what I’d done. She looked a bit concerned, but I didn’t really know what she was worried about until she’d told me. I had a really deep cut on my leg and was bleeding to a reasonable level. I just didn’t feel it or recognise that I’d done it. It wasn’t anything bad, just required a bit of looking after it and now have an oddly shaped scar. But this sort of thing happens quite a lot to me. 

It might not be a thing, but it was a question I’ve been wondering about. It would be great to hear your thoughts/ experiences. Perhaps it’s just something linked to me, but equally, I’d be interested to see if other people have comparable instances or to see if it is something linked to autism or not.

Parents
  • I can relate to a lot of what you experience. I don't do well in the hot and don't like being touched unless it's from the right people.

    I also have a high pain threshold and it takes a lot of pain to really recognise it. I feel like my awareness doesn't work all that well. It's like if I don't drink enough which I struggle with I don't feel it, so I don't feel myself getting dehydrated which is an issue. My sense of smell is the same, I have a great sense of smell but I can never distinguish what's what it's very irritating. I know we differ slightly but I wanted you to know your not alone in this.

  • Ah thanks for this. The more I speak to people on here, the more I seem to understand about my experiences. I could be pretty hard on myself in the past, so it’s nice to turn here and ask a question instead.

    The touching thing is something a lot of people don’t get. People that know me well do though. Our society seems geared towards contact at times, which can be tricky when this circumstance is considered.

    I was reading one of the links posted in reply to my post about interoception. It made for interesting reading and explained the difficulties of recognising certain needs, such as the need for a drink. I can be like this with hunger at times, especially when focused on an interest or task.

Reply
  • Ah thanks for this. The more I speak to people on here, the more I seem to understand about my experiences. I could be pretty hard on myself in the past, so it’s nice to turn here and ask a question instead.

    The touching thing is something a lot of people don’t get. People that know me well do though. Our society seems geared towards contact at times, which can be tricky when this circumstance is considered.

    I was reading one of the links posted in reply to my post about interoception. It made for interesting reading and explained the difficulties of recognising certain needs, such as the need for a drink. I can be like this with hunger at times, especially when focused on an interest or task.

Children
  • I can be doing a task I am engrossed in and before I know it, three hours have passed, it's gone dark and I haven't put the light on, I'm bursting for a wee and I haven't had anything to drink in all this time. It just doesn't register. I think thirst is a big one for me. And I often make a drink and forget to drink it or get distracted. One thing I read on a link off here is interoception about feeling full. For a lot of people it's feeling hungry. But for me I can eat and eat but I'm trying to be more mindful now and really listen to if I am full. Maybe I'm just greedy.