Sensory Sensitivity; Hyper and Hypo-Sensitivities For many children on the spectrum, their sensory world can be very unpredictable and often overwhelming. This leaves them feeling threatened and helpless; creating fear and strong anxiety. Understand their sensory world, and you will understand their behavior. Understand how they process their senses and you will be better able to support them! For people on the spectrum their nervous systems may react much differently in how they register sensory stimulation. People with autism often register stimulation in extremes, either hyper or hypo sensitive. It is like they have an on/off switch, but not a volume control knob. They may display hyper-sensitivity in one of more senses, whereby they have a heighten awareness of stimulation; often to the point of causing discomfort, pain, and even nausea. In milder forms this hyper-sensitivity can be annoying and distracting, but for many it can lead to severe sensory overload, causing their sensory processing to become overwhelmed and breakdown. For children with hypersensitivity, they are usually motivated to escape and avoid the stimulation, which can be misinterpreted as resistant, oppositional defiant behavior. They often over-react to the stimulation (noise, light, touch, smells) to the point of panic setting off the “fight or flight” response. At the other extreme, some children have hypo-sensitivity in one or more senses. For these children there sensory threshold for registering stimulation is very high, whereby they often have difficulty even sensing the stimulation. They need much stronger intensity of input for their nervous systems to respond to it. This is the child who may not feel pain, does not get dizzy after spinning, or does everything too rough! They often seek out high levels of the stimulation, simply to register it. They tend to be overactive in seeking stimulation, often called sensory seekers. Whereas people with hyper-sensitive may try to escape and avoid simulation, many children who are hypo-sensitive often are sensory seekers, to the point of being distracting to both themselves and others. Sensitivity can vary! As with many characteristics in autism, sensitivities can be “consistently inconsistent”. Sensitivity may stay the same or vary across senses or within each sense from day to day, moment to moment. They can be hypersensitive in one sense, and hyposensitive in another. Or, they can be hypersensitive to certain frequencies or intensities in one sense and hypo-sensitive to other frequencies/intensities in the same sense. These sensitivities can vary from day to day and be extremely effected by any stress to the nervous system; fatigue, lack of sleep, stress, hunger, illness, etc. They can seem oversensitive and avoid the stimulation one day and hypo-sensitive and seek it out on at another time. This can lead to heighten arousal, hesitation, and increased anxiety due to the unpredictability of the child’s sensory experiences. For those who are hypersensitive to stimulation, events that have multiple sensory stimulation (often crowded, noisy, situation with a lot of activity) can be totally overwhelming, rendering their processing dysfunctional. This can be very frightening and create “panic.” Hyper and Hypo-Sensitivities Tactile (Touch) Hyper-sensitive •Dislikes light touch. •Resists hugs and kisses. •Dislikes wearing hats. •Resists getting hands messy. •Fearful when others approach. •Picky about clothing. •Pushes up sleeves or pant legs. •Resists grooming. Hypo-sensitive • Needs strong touch to be registered. • Tries to handle or touch everything. • Insists on holding an object in hand. • May touch too forcefully. • Graves touch; is clingy. Visual Hyper-sensitive • Very sensitive to bright lights and sunlight. • May be sensitive to certain colors. • Very fine vision, seeing particles in the air. • Direct vision may be too overwhelming for child. • May squint, or look with peripheral vision. Hypo-sensitive • Very attracted to visual stimulation, often stares at light. • Seeks out intense visual stimulation. • Loves turning lights on and off. • Loves mirrors, shiny objects, reflecting surfaces. Auditory (Hearing) Hyper-sensitive • Sensitive to loud noises • Can hear frequencies others cannot hear. • Cover ears with hands. • Distracted by background noises. • Becomes agitated in large groups. Hypo-sensitive • Speaks loudly. • Very noisy person. • Turns volume up loud. • Hums or makes vocal noises constantly. • Loves items/activities that have distinct sounds (motors, pounding, etc.) Tastes and Smells Hyper-sensitive • Find many common tastes and smells repulsive. • Can be overwhelmed very easily with normal daily scents (perfumes, natural orders, chemicals, foods) • Sensation of smell goes directly to the limbic system (emotional brain). • May gag or vomit easily. • May be very picky eater. Hypo-sensitive • Tends to smell or taste everything. • May seek out strong smells and tastes. • Will often identify people and objects by their smells. • May put inappropriate objects in their mouth, smell others hair, or want to lick things. Vestibular (Movement) Hyper-sensitive • Gravitational insecurity. • Strong emotional reaction to unexpected movement. • Resists movement activities. • Gets dizzy and nauseous with simple movement. • Feels strong need to sit or keep feet on ground. • Often very anxious, insecure. Hypo-sensitive • Very active, always on the move. • Craves movement, climbing, falling, and spinning. • Fearless, impulsive movements without regard to safety. • Rarely gets dizzy. • Difficulty sitting still. Proprioception (Stimulation to joints and muscles) Hyper-sensitive • Places body in strange positions. • Often has difficulty manipulating small objects (e.g. buttons). • May turn whole body to look at something Hypo-sensitive • Often unaware of body position in space. • Awkward and clumsy. • Floppy, poor muscle tone. • Often needs to lean on objects and people. • Often bumps or crashes into things. • Craves pushing, pulling, banging, crashing.
Posted on: Sun, 17 Nov 2013 03:36:41 +0000
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