#undersensitive

Issues With Hyposensitivity/Undersensitivity in Autism

Many people on the autism spectrum have difficulty processing everyday sensory information. Any of the senses may be over- or under-sensitive, or both, at different times.

Sight and Hyposensitivity

Objects appear quite dark or lose some of their features.

Central vision is blurred but peripheral vision quite sharp.

A central object is magnified but things on the periphery are blurred.

Poor depth perception, problems with throwing and catching, clumsiness.

Sound and Hyposensitivity

May only hear sounds in one ear, the other ear having only partial hearing or none at all.

May not acknowledge particular sounds.

Might enjoy crowded, noisy places or bang doors and objects.  

Smell and Hyposensitivity 

Some people have no sense of smell and fail to notice extreme odours.

Some people may lick things to get a better sense of what they are.

Touch and Hyposensitivity 

Holds others tightly - needs to do so before there is a sensation of having applied any pressure.

Has a high pain threshold.

May be unable to feel food in the mouth.

May self-harm.

Enjoys heavy objects (eg weighted blankets) on top of them.

Chews on everything, including clothing and inedible objects.

Proprioception and Vestibular Hyposensitivity 

A need to rock, swing or spin to get some sensory input.

Stands too close to others, because they cannot measure their proximity to other people and judge personal space.

Finds it hard to navigate rooms and avoid obstructions.

May bump into people.

I have trouble hearing people sometimes. It’s not because I can’t hear the sounds they’re making, it’s because I have trouble translating the sounds into something meaningful... like words.

Background noise makes it worse. Sometimes I can hear people (in a meaningful way) perfectly fine in a quiet environment, but once the background noise starts it's as if my ears don’t “know” what sounds to prioritise and pick out. All the sounds blend together. Words become mere mouth noises.

Background noise makes it worse, but it isn’t necessary for there to be a problem. If I’m tired or unable to concentrate, I might not be able to “hear” you even if we’re alone together in a quiet room. 

If what you’re saying isn’t important and I don’t need you to slow down or repeat yourself, I might act like I can hear you even if I can’t, or I will try to read your lips. If I can hide it, you won’t know about it.

The video above was made to show Americans what an American accent sounds like to the rest of the world. To do this, the actor uses garbled speech that sounds like English but doesn’t actually make any sense.

It’s a bang on representation to what auditory processing problems are like for me when they’re bad. It is exactly what it’s like. Not “kind of like” - it is it! Most of the time I can pick out bits of what people say, but when it’s bad (like when I am mentally fatigued as well) then this hearing problem (auditory processing disorder, which is fairly common with autism) turns everyone I talk to into the British version of this video.

25. Stomach and feet

55. I have 3 oops. Enviest, evaded and undersensitive

118. I do, but it doesn’t like me :(