Sensory Questions

[Shaun-Junior Bishop]

Hi, I'm an neurotypical guy going through the ASD diagnoses and just wanted to ask a few questions. So over the past 3 years I've pretty mu h come to the point that I know I have ASD just because of the amount of research i have done but i have a few questions:

Stimming: do you guys ever create a stim to see if it works? A few people have asked me about my stimming and thought you were born with a fixed few but I tend to create my own and if I like the feel of the sensory input then I use it as a go to, to relieve myself when I'm over stimulated but does anyone else create their stims?

Light: So as a child I always hated going outside. Never knew why but I got black out blinds at age 15 and never got rid of them. Only over the past 2 years have I realised that I'm just really sensitive to light. I never knew that people dont see and feel this intense light when they just look at any object that has a reflective surface but my question is, somedays I feel like I can cope with it and the light is not too bad and then some days it's so bad that if i try and take my glasses off I'm blinded and i start to have sensory overload. Any else?

 

[CassLovesBears]

I was wondering the same thing because I have two different modes i call them hyperaware and aloof. Im either too aware of everything going on around me and it begins to overload me or im so aloof/distractible that i could get hit by a car. I dont know if this is due to me possibly being autistic(Not diagnosed). During the aloof time noises barely bother me. Im just zoned into my own thoughts and my surroundings really disapear. Or when I become "aware". Becoming aware is when every sound is audible to me and i notice it. My body is no longer on autopilot. Some days I find myself more aloof than others and some i find myself so aware that i drive myself crazy. It almost feels as if i fake autism due to this...How can you experience the same thing differently? One day police sirens barely bother me the next im holding my eyes begging for them to stop in my head. I dont get it...


Also, i take on many stims that werent originally my own so i dont see why you couldnt create some. I never knew hand flapping was a thing but once i found out i enjoyed doing it. It helps me when im upset. So i think changing stims is completely normal.

 

[shysnail]

I think it's pretty common to "create" stims in the sense of moving from a behaviour that is noticeable to a less noticeable one. I also have toys for stimming that don't fit my "natural" stims, but some of my natural stims are better redirected, like digging my fingertips into a squishy repeatedly rather than into my arm.

Do sunglasses help you for your light sensitivity? I also have problems with certain types of light, but it's both bright and dim lights for me so it can be hard getting the balance right

 

[inkfingers]

Hey, there. I try out different stims sometimes. I was officially diagnosed last year, and had not previously done much hand flapping or rocking, but I tried it out just for kicks, and it really works for me. The one really weird (not normal) stim that I've always had since I was a child, is smelling a clean blanket. My stims change from time to time, and sometimes I find new ones. The hard part is trying to quit harmful stims (I have trouble with hair-pulling and skin-picking).

I've never had sensory problems with bright light, so I can't offer you any advice there.

 

[SusanLR]

I have a great amount of sensitivity to light.
Also have keratoconjunctivitis sicca syndrome which makes it worse. Aka: The worst form of chronic
dry eye. So for me light and my eyes are a big deal.
My ophthamologist told me either rose or lavender tinted glasses help with the eyes more than any other
colour lens. And those colours are calming. I have to wear glasses anyway so I always have several pairs all with varying coloured tints.
I have very dark brown for intense light outside and driving on very sunny days, lavender for days it isn't too bright or the light doesn't bother that much, a pair of rose coloured (fav), and one that is almost clear with only a light rose I only use at night.

Stimming is something I haven't tried to invent different things with. I do what comes naturally.
I also have a difficult time not stimming in a way that isn't good for me...skin picking and lip biting.
Rocking in a rocking chair, always fooling with my hair, and moving/clasping my fingers or twirling
a ring are my most common. Having difficulty tonight skin picking at a little pimple under my lower lip.

 

[Fino]

I prefer using objects for stimming because otherwise I do things which damage some part of myself, like my skin. So I buy various objects and try them out. An unusual one I currently like is what I believe was advertised as a "saw" but it just looks like a textured wire. It's bumpy!

 

[tducey]

Light doesn't bother me at all but I can't stand to hear a hammer hammering or someone put their hands all over a balloon.

 

[heaven777]

i do not like bright light. i like it aesthetically of course, like who doesn't love a beautiful summer day. but i myself do not like to be under bright lights. let's just say i like hoodies and dark glasses lol.

my main sensory stim is that i scratch the top of my head, like really hard with all fingers and thumbs. it's like as my right hand goes forward my left hand goes backwards, just repeatedly for about 30 seconds and it feels so unbelievably nice, like it releases a sudden burst of those feelgood endorphin chemicals because after i've done it i just collapse inwards and flop out for about a minute. i have a very overly sensitive scalp or something.

i don't know if it was an autism sensory related issue but i used to have a big problem with scratching my skin in general, i would lay awake at night for hours just moving my hands around my body and scratching, even though there was nothing there that was itchy, it just felt relieving somehow and i couldn't stop. but it went on so long even to the point the sun would be rising sometimes before i could stop and fall asleep. i think that may have been anxiety related, though, and that was why my doctor eventually prescribed pregabalin because it puts you to sleep so easily.

 

[Storm Hess]

Hi, I'm an neurotypical guy going through the ASD diagnoses and just wanted to ask a few questions. So over the past 3 years I've pretty mu h come to the point that I know I have ASD just because of the amount of research i have done but i have a few questions:

Stimming: do you guys ever create a stim to see if it works? A few people have asked me about my stimming and thought you were born with a fixed few but I tend to create my own and if I like the feel of the sensory input then I use it as a go to, to relieve myself when I'm over stimulated but does anyone else create their stims?

Light: So as a child I always hated going outside. Never knew why but I got black out blinds at age 15 and never got rid of them. Only over the past 2 years have I realised that I'm just really sensitive to light. I never knew that people dont see and feel this intense light when they just look at any object that has a reflective surface but my question is, somedays I feel like I can cope with it and the light is not too bad and then some days it's so bad that if i try and take my glasses off I'm blinded and i start to have sensory overload. Any else?

I tend to stretch my fingers very wide where I get this pleasurable sensation in the muscles and across the skin of my hands from my pinky fingers to my thumbs and sometimes I do crabby hands...crab claws. If I am recording or listening to music, I catch myself rocking back and forth.
Light does bother me. Certain sounds and loud sounds...for example, I cannot stand the sound when animals lick themselves or when people slurp soup or eating with mouth open. High frequency sounds are actually painful.