Anyone on the spectrum NOT have sensitivity issues?

[Sherlock77]

What everyone else has said, I don't have sensory issues around clothing, and I can mostly handle large crowds, but I am formally diagnosed with HFA-1 (high functioning) related to other areas of my life

 

[Captain Jigglypuff]

I’ve gotten used to wearing a mask because of my part time job. I working in a nursing home and need to wear one to protect the residents.

 

[Gerald Wilgus]

Only for noisy environments.

 

[Au Naturel]

Put me in an environment with a lot of loud random conversations and I shrivel up and die. Same thing happens in casinos with all the noise they crank out to keep the gamblers salivating like Pavlov's dog. OTOH, if it is orderly noise like a concert I don't have as much issue.

Food textures can do it to be as well. I don't like slimy. My sense of taste is different from many people. I don't like cooked vegetables, altho raw is fine. I had monumental food wars with my mother when I was a kid!

I also have sensory issues with clothing. If it is at all tight, I don't wear it. Seams can drive me nuts.

 

[Ronald Zeeman]

I Stay away from malls too many people talking too distracting.

 

[Mulder]

No sensory troubles here also. Just my theory. Sensitivity issues substituted with creative abilities in other departments.

 

[Sherlock77]

No sensory troubles here also. Just my theory. Sensitivity issues substituted with creative abilities in other departments.

Do you mean having more creativity, going along with fewer sensory issues?

 

[VictorR]

Welcome! It's a spectrum after all, so you'll everyone is impacted differently

 

[Thinx]

Hi and welcome. Consider too that this has been assumed to be a mainly male neurology or condition until quite recently, and that generalisation is in the process of being blown out of the water, so probably we shouldn't expect that any common idea even from experts will be infallible. Think it was Tony Attwood who didn't realise his own child had autism wasn't it?

It is a spectrum, plus also you will likely notice stuff you've been masking if you do find this somewhat fits for you. The usefulness of researching and perhaps of self diagnosing initially or ongoingly, is you can find and try out strategies and discuss all this with others who have been up against similar challenges. I would say the strategies are more important than the label, to me, but again that depends on people's circumstances.

Also and especially as a woman, take a look at Jessica Kingsley publishers catalogue for texts by women with Autism and clinicians about the new understanding that women have autism in much greater numbers than was previously understood.

However the female phenotype is somewhat different, perhaps partly at least due to the different socialisation women receive. Getting more emphasis on facilitating the communication of others, for example, at least by being quiet and listening, thus masking is more taught and ingrained, plus we are not noticed as experiencing confusion or difficulties in communication so easily. Currently these differences are not yet reflected in the diagnostic criteria, which can impede diagnosis.

Keep on researching and see how this fits for you.

 

[Nervous Rex]

I was going to link to the DSM V and write that sensitivity isn't one of the diagnostic criteria for Autism, but I read the link and ... it is! So glad I checked before opening my mouth.

Here's the DSM V's diagnostic criteria for Autism. At least two of the criteria under section B ("Restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities") must be met and one of them is "Hyper- or hyporeactivity to sensory input".

My sensitivity is mostly to smells. Air fresheners which others like, I find extremely annoying. It's like the small demands my attention - I can't tune it out and I can't focus on anything else if the smell is too strong.

I also don't like any electronic noises - no beeping refrigerator or microwave. And for some reason, any video played on a phone speaker is annoying - it's too tinny and shrill.

 

[Raggamuffin]

Before I was told to work from home for a minimum of 6 weeks, I'd go into work each day and feel the lights were too bright, people too loud, work too stressful etc.

Today I went in and actually felt ok. Whilst I was only in for one day, I felt good in myself and the usual triggers weren't as bad.

Later in the day my medication side effect (bad stomach) flared up really bad. By the end of the day I was back to how I'd been before - feeling dazzled by the lighting, annoyed by people talking and having fun etc. and unable to focus on work, to the point I got very little done.

As others have said - for me, it depends a lot on mood. Also, just because some triggers haven't caused you to feel overwhelmed, doesn't mean that they haven't sapped some of your energy away. Some days I go to a supermarket and feel so overwhelmed by the lights, the crowds, the noise and the rows of bright colours and logos etc that I feel so sick, dizzy and off-kilter that I feel like I might pass out. Other times I go in, and seem fine. But every time I go shopping - I want to be in and out of there as quickly as humanly possible, and I feel a real sense of relief the second I'm out the door.

Ed

 

[Nervous Rex]

Feeling uncomfortable because I‘ve never considered myself as NT but also don’t want to feel like a fraudulent Aspie.

There are many here who are self-diagnosed or undiagnosed. It's also possible for someone to be "almost autistic" but not fully meet all the criteria. My advice is to not worry about it - if you feel like you belong here, and if you find the discussions helpful, stick around.

 

[Nervous Rex]

Trying to work out what is the mask and what is actually me :/

I had the same question when I was formally diagnosed.

Masking takes an emotional toll and can be physically draining.

... and this has been the best answer I've found.

If a behavior becomes second nature and I can do it without thinking, then it's not masking - I've succeeded in changing myself.

If it is always an effort, then it's masking.

 

[Crossbreed]

Unexpected sights, sounds & smells jump out at me, but they do not distress me so much as they pique my curiosity.

Wool against my skin? No.
Clothing tags? Not usually a problem.

 

[Suzette]

Here's the DSM V's diagnostic criteria for Autism. At least two of the criteria under section B ("Restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities") must be met and one of them is "Hyper- or hyporeactivity to sensory input".

Hyper or hypoactivity to sensory input is surely difficult to diagnose? One of the things that bother me is repetition on the radio. My husband likes a certain radio station and he turns it on in the morning. I swear the station plays 20 songs only. By dinner time I feel physically ill listening to the same songs...again! Now, I know that will prompt a few people to chuckle. But I am not joking or exaggerating. I feel sick. And some of the songs stick in my head so badly I dream them!
All I can do is go in another room or put head phones on. And this I do.

But how does "hyperactivity" actually get diagnosed? Does my sensitivity to repetative songs qualify?

One of the things I am discovering about myself is that a life time of masking has given me the apperance of not being bothered by a great many things. Growing up I was teased, bullied and shamed over anything to the point where I still can not advocate on my own behalf very often.

I am very good at "stuffing down" any feeling at all. This is seperate from my suspected alexthymia which I have talked about before.

But I do know when clothing itches, feels tight, lights are too bright, sound too loud or repetative. I know these things but you might not realize I am bothered because I can hide my reactions so well.

There was a girl at a fastfood restaurant I went to recently. She was working the register. In appearance she had that "flat effect" demeanor. And I couldn't help but wonder if she wasn't "stuffing it" as people shouted and rushed around her with bells and buzzers going off all around her.

 

[SDRSpark]

But how does "hyperactivity" actually get diagnosed? Does my sensitivity to repetative songs qualify?

One of the things I am discovering about myself is that a life time of masking has given me the apperance of not being bothered by a great many things. Growing up I was teased, bullied and shamed over anything to the point where I still can not advocate on my own behalf very often.

I am very good at "stuffing down" any feeling at all. This is seperate from my suspected alexthymia which I have talked about before.

But I do know when clothing itches, feels tight, lights are too bright, sound too loud or repetative. I know these things but you might not realize I am bothered because I can hide my reactions so well.

Yep. I didn't realize until relatively recently that I do have sensory sensitivities, and at times they can be pretty extreme. I just didn't realize not everyone felt this way, and I didn't realize that the "anxiety attacks" I have are actually meltdowns (because I didn't know what a meltdown was at that point in time). I'm quite certain this lack of knowing actually prevented an official diagnosis.

I distinctly remember being asked about sensory issues on a questionnaire for assessment - but they specifically asked "does the tag in your shirt bother you". I said "no" because my shirts don't have tags. Of course the nonexistent tag doesn't bother me. Oops, I took the question too literally lol. I still think about that to this day.

 

[Suzette]

, and I didn't realize that the "anxiety attacks" I have are actually meltdowns (because I didn't know what a meltdown was at that point in time). I'm quite certain this lack of knowing actually prevented an official diagnosis.

Exactly!

 

[watersprite]

Welcome.



I have sensory requirements in some areas, thresholds in others, time limits in many of them. Kind of like a Venn diagram I suppose.

You don’t need to worry about being a, “fraudulent aspie.” We fired the iinspectors. Actually those words sound rather impressive together, and made me smile.

 

[Aspychata]

Sensory issues, sometimes l have more people issues but it has gotten better 60 years later.

I use to not look at the eyes. Better days now. Sometimes l really don't want to look at people's eyes. I don't want any connection at all. I am really fussy about who l share my time with.

 

[Matthias]

I was going to link to the DSM V and write that sensitivity isn't one of the diagnostic criteria for Autism, but I read the link and ... it is! So glad I checked before opening my mouth.

Here's the DSM V's diagnostic criteria for Autism. At least two of the criteria under section B ("Restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities") must be met and one of them is "Hyper- or hyporeactivity to sensory input".

I don't think it was part of the DSM-IV criteria. I don't know about DSM-I through DSM-III but I think the DSM-5 added it for the first time.

My sensitivity is mostly to smells. Air fresheners which others like, I find extremely annoying. It's like the small demands my attention - I can't tune it out and I can't focus on anything else if the smell is too strong.

Is it the smell itself or is it a chemical sensitivity? I suspect sensitivities to smells and fabrics are chemical sensitivities or allergic reactions which is likely the case for people who get headaches or eye irritation from it. I think food allergies or sensitivities are also more common in autistic people.