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Children with autism can also experience sensory processing difficulties that can affect their daily life and how they interact with the world around them. These difficulties extend beyond the commonly known five senses to include eight distinct sensory systems.
Young people and children with autism can be hypersensitive or hyposensitive. When a child is hypersensitive is can mean their senses are heightened and they experience things more intensely. Hyposensitivity is where these senses require more stimulation to have the same experience as others. Let’s take a look at the 8 senses:
Many autistic children experience visual sensory processing issues. They may be hypersensitive to bright or fluorescent lighting, or visual clutter. Some may find certain colours or patterns overwhelming, while others might be drawn to them. Some children crave bright or flashing lights or enjoy having a lot of items clustered together to look at.
This is all to do with our sense of hearing. Some children may be hypersensitive to sounds, finding everyday noises like traffic or crowded spaces overwhelming. Even background noises like the fridge humming or children playing outside can be incredibly difficult to tune out. With loud unexpected noises causing severe pain and overstimulation. Many young people choose to wear earphones or noise cancelling headphones to help with this. Others might be hyposensitive and seek out loud or repetitive sounds. They may enjoy holding noisy items close to their ears or against them.
Tactile sensitivities are very common in autistic children and young people. Some children may be averse to certain textures in clothing or food, while others might seek out specific tactile sensations. Light touch may be avoided by some and they seek deep pressure which may be calming. However some children may prefer light tickly touch and find deep pressure too intense. Difficulties around tactile sensations can be why some children don’t like being dirty or sweaty.
Olfactory sensitivities can display as strong aversions to certain smells or an ability to detect scents that others might not notice. Some autistic children may enjoy strong or even pungent smells, like strong perfumes or cigarette smoke.
Many autistic children experience taste sensitivities, this can lead to selective or obsessive eating habits. Certain textures or flavours may be overwhelming or unpleasant, causing children to avoid and reject food. However some children may seek out and enjoy very strong flavours or spice.
The vestibular sense relates to balance and spatial orientation. Some individuals may seek out intense movement or spinning sensations, while others might experience dizziness or discomfort with even small movements. This can look like very slow deliberate movements, or a child who spins or moves their head frantically. For some this can even cause motion sickness or vertigo.
The “body awareness” sense helps children understand where their body is in space and how it is moving. Some may be oversensitive to proprioceptive input, causing certain movements or pressures to be uncomfortable. Others may be under-responsive, seeking out more intense physical activities or deep pressure to get enough sensory feedback. This can lead to behaviours like jumping, crashing into things, or enjoying tight squeezes.
Interoception helps feel and interpret internal feelings, like hunger, tiredness and feelings. For children with autism, they may have some difficulty around this. You may notice missed or confused signals like not going to the toilet or realising they are hungry.
For children with autism, sensory processing differences can significantly impact daily life. However, each child had a unique sensory profile that can vary widely. A child’s sensory needs may even change day to day or in different environments. Understanding these sensory differences is crucial for developing effective support for our young people.
