#sensory differences

Me: what is that smell

Autism (sensory processing disorder) : I don't know but i dont like it. im trying to sleep pls let me sleep

Me: lets just close the door and hope the smell goes away

ADD: or we could just zone out and stare at the wall and question our life choices for the next ten minutes and just suffer with the smell

Me: what part of that sounds like a good idea

ADHD: ALL OF IT

Me: *rubs eyes* im going to sleep

Restless Leg Syndrome: we've been sitting all day... you're not sleeping tonight

Me: correction, we're going to sleep in three hours

Brain: correct

Autism (pattern recognition) : yeah - i think it might be two hours on average tho?

Is the a me-tism?

Or is this an our-tism?

Cuz every time I do it - especially with a scrubby tool or cloth - I have to take breaks otherwise I get an intense wave of unease and nausea.

If I push myself through "just do your other arm you big baby" etc, my blood pressure drops. I even end up feeling myself start to get dizzy.

I wear headphones constantly, especially in public, because my brain processes sounds as literal PAIN. It's physically painful. That's like saying if I repeatedly kicked you every couple minutes, you'd eventually stop feeling it. Or... here's a thought... maybe just don't kick people?

This is such a common thing people do to autistic folks - just telling us to "get used to it." Exposure therapy doesn't work for us because these sensitivities aren't "all in our heads" - our entire nervous systems are literally wired differently. This kind of misinformation is genuinely harmful and extremely disappointing coming from the source it did.

"Well why is it okay when you listen to music full volume with headphones, but it bothers you when my radio is loud?"

Because they are two different things. My music is the same music I've been listening to for years non stop (fully serious. I listen to music at all times. At school? Music. Drawing? Music. Sleeping? Music. Peeing? Music.). They are sounds I am used to. Sounds that my brain and body are VERY familiar with, along with that, they are sounds that make my body and brain feel good. Listening to them at a loud volume makes me feel good and stimmy. It makes my body feel calm and happy.

Even music that I LIKE hurts my body at a loud volume if I'm unfamiliar with it. I need to listen to it quietly for a long time first.

Once I know it super well, I can BLAST it, and it makes me feel good!

But if it's a song or audio I don't like, it hurts me no matter what. It causes my body physical pain if it plays long enough. Once I become familiar with it, it still hurts, only a little less. But if its loud? No, it's still horrendous pain that has made me have meltdowns and panic attacks.

Whilst yes, I don't like listening to music tastes that aren't my own because I just don't find it enjoyable, it is more than that for me. I am not being bratty or overreacting. Unfamiliar or unpleasant songs at a loud volume (and even a quieter volume if I'm already feeling unwell) cause me PHYSICAL PAIN.

I can't explain it any other way.

A lot of allistics I've spoken to about this don't understand how I can easily blast my music on FULL VOLUME in HEADPHONES for hours on end, but begin to hyperventilate and hit or bite myself if a cars volume is just barely too loud with a genre I don't like or am unfamiliar with.

I've noticed that a lot of us have "autistic" or "neurodivergent" in our bios, and I have a theory that our love of tickling may have something to do with how our brains process sensory stimuli. I am curious what proportion of us are neurodivergent, so I decided to make this poll in order to get a better idea.

please reblog so we can get as much data as possible!

as this is a silly little poll on tumblr.com, take it with a grain of salt. nevertheless, I'm eager to see the results!

My phone. Has an AAC app on it just in case, haven't used yet due to anxiety and complex feelings about it

My school jacket which is a comfort item that also happens to have 4 pockets which I use completely (I've got stuff like small stim toys, my wallet, pads, etc., in them)

My sunflower lanyard

My communication cards which are attached to my lanyard

My noise-cancelling headphones

My prescription sunglasses and the cool tinted add-on lenses that connect to the main frame with magnets

My crossbody bag that I call my "accessibility bag" because I can. Specifically a crossbody bag for easy access to what I bring

What I have in my bag

Bottle of water

Snacks

My glasses case

Mini bag full of stim toys (tangles, pop-its that can turn into bracelets, a chewy, rubber bands, monkey noodles, bubbler pen)

A notebook and small pencilcase

A cheap LCD tablet

An umbrella

Chewing gum

Painkillers and anti-inflammatories

An eye mask

A mask

A wire for my headphones (connects them to my phone like wired headphones) incase they die

Some bracelets that I made, plus other jewellery like rings because sometimes I spontaneously want to wear them