Sensory Overload: Personal Experience Emily, a member on this page, shares her experience with sensory overload. Sensory overload for me can come from sound, light, the movement of other people, and maybe other things Im not even aware of at this point. Ive seen it described as ones central nervous system vibrating, which I think is a great way to describe it to someone who is unfamiliar with it. I often want to cry, or need something tactile when Im overloaded, so Ill hit my hands into something (usually my legs, each other, or my head - but not in a self-injurious way) or shake them pretty hard. Deep pressure helps too, because its soothing in general. And of course, getting away from whatever is bothering me is a good idea. Autism Discussion Page: Thanks for sharing Emily. Yes what you describe are common sensory sensitivities for many on the spectrum. For those that are tactile defensive, light touch is usually very annoying, even painful, especially if they dont know it is coming. Usually I find that most people are much better with the touch as long as they are controlling the touch. It is mostly when others are touching them. So, in therapy, I will always have the parents invite the touch, but let the child control the touch. This way the child can regulate how they want it. Also, yes, frequently when sensitive to light touch, they often like deep pressure touch. Tactile defensiveness is in the sensory receptors in the surface of the skin, so light touch activates those sensitive receptors. Deep pressure touch goes past the surface and into the receptors deep into the muscles, negating the surface receptors. Usually with desensitization procedures, we start with the deep pressure touch (or any touch within the childs comfort zone) and gradually lighten the touch until he can tolerate light touch without activating the “fight or flight” response. Also, we usually start by providing the touch on parts of the body (e.g. shoulders) which are usually less sensitive. As the child learns to tolerate the touch, we gradually work our way to more sensitive areas, until the child is tolerant to touch on most of the body. The thought is we are gradually resetting the nervous systems threshold for the fight or flight response. That is just a theory; there is no physical evidence to prove it. You also seem to have problems with filtering out unwanted sensory stimulation, being distracted by background stimulation. This is also common for people on the spectrum. The brain has a hard time focusing attention on one source, while filtering out background stimulation. It tends to bounce around across all stimulation. For people like you, it is better to lower the stimulation level around you so you can focus on the task at hand. Something that is not talked about as much, that you mentioned here, is the movement actions of others as a problem. I hear that mentioned frequently, but usually from self reports, rather than the literature. Sensory overload can come from two sources. (1) Over sensitivity to a given simulation, and (2) not specific sensitivity to any one sense, but becoming overwhelmed by multiple sources of stimulation (noisy, busy, confusing setting) coming in at one time. Too many different sources of sensory stimulation (noise, bright lights, overpowering smells, etc.) are bombarding the brain at one time. The first one (defensiveness) is the intensity of the stimulation and the second one is the amount of stimulation coming in from multiple sources at one time (not defensiveness, but modulation issue.) Also thanks for sharing what strategies you use to regulate in such situations. You mentioned strong proprioceptive input, hitting/banging body parts and shaking your hands hard. Yes, strong input into the joints (banging, push, pull, snapping as in shaking/flapping hands), muscles and tendons helps to (1) release stress chemicals and (2) calm and organize the nervous system. Deep pressure touch also helps a lot. Also, any repetitive, rhythmic sensory patterns help to regulate the nervous system, as well as help tune out unwanted outside stimulation. So, the self stimulation that many people display can help to (1) calm and organize the nervous system, as well as (2) block out unwanted stimulation so the nervous system can rebound. Thanks so much for sharing! People need to hear what your experiences are. This series on sensory issues can be found in the blue book, Autism Discussion Page on the Core Challenges in Autism.
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 23:02:35 +0000
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