Sensory Hypersensitivity and/or Hyposensitivity in Autism
The most common sensory problems autistic people experience are their hyper- or hyposensitivities to sensory stimuli. Their senses seem to be too acute (in the case of hypersensitivity) or not working at all (in the case of hyposensitivity).
Hypersensitivity
Hypervision (seeing 'invisible') means that they can see better than other people, i.e. their vision is too acute. For example, they notice the tiniest pieces of fluff on the carpet, complain about "moths (air particles) flying", dislike bright lights, look down most of the time, are frightened by sharp flashes of light, etc.
Hyperhearing (hearing 'inaudible') is widely reported. Temple Grandin describes her hearing as having a sound amplifier set on maximum loudness, and she compares her ears with a microphone that picks up and amplifies sounds. My autistic son seems to hear the noises before any of us. He can announce of his dad coming home before anybody else can hear the car turning to the porch. As noises seem so much louder to him, he usually moves away from conversations and avoids crowded places.
Children with hyperhearing are generally very light sleepers, are frightened by sudden unpredictable sounds (telephone ringing, baby crying), dislike thunderstorm, crowds, are terrified by haircut, etc. They often cover their ears when the noise is painful for them, though others in the same room may be unaware of any disturbing sounds at all. Sometimes hyperauditory kids make repetitive noises to block out other disturbing sounds.
Hypertaste/Hypersmell: Some autistic individuals with olfactory hypersensitivities cannot tolerate how people or objects smell, though non-autistics can be unaware of any smell at all. They run from smells, move away from people and insist on wearing the same clothes all the time. For some, the smell or taste of any food is too strong, and they reject it no matter how hungry they are. They are usually poor eaters, gag/vomit easily, eat only certain foods.
Hypertactility is very common among autistic population. Some autistic children pull away when people try to hug them, because they fear being touched. Because of their hypertactility resulting in overwhelming sensations, even the slightest touch can send them to panic attack. Small scratches that most people ignore can be very painful to them. Parents often report that washing their child's hair or cutting nails turns into an ordeal demanding several people to complete it.
Many children refuse to wear certain clothes as they cannot tolerate the texture on their skin. For some people it takes many days to stop feeling their clothes on their body. And, unfortunately, when this comfortable feeling (or 'non-feeling') has been achieved it is time to wear clean ones, so the process of getting used to it starts again.
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