Published on 12, July, 2020
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.
Hello, I think I can contribute to this
I recently had a big flare up of eczema. Normally, a gp palms me off with the steroid cream dermovate, ‘use it sparingly’, and that’s it. This time, a different gp who I remember seeing as a child, put me on antibiotics, anti histamines to help stop itching overnight, and different steroid creams for face and body. Anyway, my skin is starting to repair but I didn’t realise how deep I had scratched on torso and legs. Quite a bit of scarring.
I also found out from completing my sensory profile, that you can be both hypo sensitive and hyper sensitive, depending on the stimuli, etc. I had a cystoscopy a few years back and the pain was almost intolerable. Yet, I can hit a kettlebell into my leg or arm and feel very little. When someone hugs me, usually a parent, I’m aware that they are catching round me but feel almost nothing. Sometimes, I rest my 5kg dumbbells on my shoulders, just to feel something. I also find that my lack of spatial awareness and grip is becoming more noticeable as I get older. And the more strength I develop from weight lifting = more everyday clumsiness with the most basic of tasks.
I suspect that I have a better tolerance to cold temperatures. I can run my hand under very cold water and feel not phased for a while.
Loud environments seem to stop me from speaking, because it’s as if I lose hearing of my own voice, and then I don’t have any concept of whether I’m speaking loud enough, too quiet, etc.
Autism really is a complex thing. There can be so much variation of how a person receives the world and everything in it, and it’s different for so many people. :)