Sensory Triggers

If you are Autistic or live with someone who is, you probably know your/their particular sensory triggers. There are lots that overlap, but everyone probably has one or two that are unique to them (since we're all unique individuals).

When I talk about sensory triggers, I'm talking about objects, sounds or experiences that can trigger sensory overload, over stimulation or meltdown/shutdown. In serious cases, it can cause seizures.

Some things can trigger someone almost immediately and others can take time to build up over the course of a day or more. It also depends on how well we were balancing ourselves prior to whatever trigger was introduced. If we are tired, hungry or sick, we'll be more fragile. Other times, there is no real predictor to how we will react.

I'm going to mention some of mine, because it took me a very long time to realize what I was experiencing was sensory overload due to very common things. It doesn't help that I didn't get a diagnosis until last year. All of this is through my own self-discovery and observations of my son.

Clothing:

When dealing with sensory issues, it seems a lot of Autistics fit into one of two camps: the clothes wearers and the strippers. Some will wear the same clothes all the time, regardless of season. Others will want to be naked, or at the very least, topless, as much as possible, regardless of the temperature.

I ran around naked a lot as a child, but grew into more of a clothes-wearer as an adult. However, I have no shame or problem being naked.

For me, clothes have specific issues. I pretty much always have socks and slippers on in the winter and must be barefoot in the summer.

I wear tight pants, but do not want anything tight around my waist. I rarely wear belts or sweaters with tight hems. I'm not a fan of tights or pantyhose.

I dislike tight things around my neck, so no chokers. I'm very specific about turtlenecks and only wear them sometimes. I will not wear itchy wool (I think that's pretty common with everyone).

Noises:

(Note: it's quite possible these are better attributed to misophonia)

Whistling makes me crazy. A shame because my husband will happily whistle a tune and I REALLY. CAN'T. STAND. IT.

Retching/burping/gagging/vomiting noises - mostly because I'm an emetophobe though. I don't think this has to do with sensory really, but it will cause a panic attack.
(I have had to get used to burping sounds since living with two males, but I still don't like it. Also, yes, China was awful for that.)

Snot sniffling - when people snuck/sniff their snot instead of blowing their nose, it drives me up the wall. Again, I live with two males who do this and I can only take so much.

I very much dislike the sound of trumpets/horns. You can instantly ruin a song for me by playing trumpet.

People chewing with their mouth open.

It could be because I see some sounds and those sounds are just gross and disgusting.

Experiences:

People breathing on me, sighing or coughing - Sometimes I feel like a target, like people go out of their way to come near me and cough. Or just walk down the street, pass me and cough in my direction. There's always some weirdo behind me in line sighing and breathing down my back. Makes me nuts!

When in bed, I cannot have my husband breathing on me - I will make him face the other way.

Crowds:

For me crowds can cause a sensory overload situation because of the movement and heat. Add to that the fact I can't predict what so many people are going to do and I find that difficult to deal with. Also, everyone is coughing and breathing all over the place. Ugh.

Pregnancy: that was pretty much one long sensory overload experience.

Fun:

It's important to remember that even too much fun can cause us to overload. It's not just things we don't like that set us off, but even too much of a good thing can overwhelm us after a while. For this reason, I make sure to intersperse fun/exciting activities with calming activities throughout the day, for my son. As he gets older, he'll be able to tolerate more, but right now he's so young, he can't regulate as effectively. Even me as an adult, I need to limit my "fun" to some extent. I can go to one party on a weekend - I'm not one of those people out Friday and Saturday nights, running from event to event. If I go out on a Friday night, I need Saturday and Sunday to recoup.

If you want, comment and add some of the things that really irritate you and send you into Overload Town.

Tracers, Auras and Other Sensory Overload Experiences

Mashable put together a nice collection of autistic/sensory overload experiences on video. Each video tries to simulate what it's like to be autistic. It's really hard to capture sensory experiences on video - it's the sort of thing where it would be great if people could just spend time in each other's heads. But since we can't, these videos are close enough.

I especially like the taking a walk and Wal-Mart visit videos. My vision does not become as blurry though. For me, I see what I call "tracers" and "auras" (and not the fancy coloured New Agey auras). Also, these experiences are not as fun as they might sound!

Auras are easy enough to describe. It's a fuzzy glowing light, a halo, around people and things. Everything.

Tracers are like a bad seventies music video where lines of light follow any movement of a person or object. So, let's say I were to wave my hand in front of my face. There would be hundreds of hands just like it, like a paper fan spreading out, following its movement.

I also sometimes see flashes of light go past my eyes. I have had my eyes checked by an ophthalmologist and I have had brain scans. There is nothing physically wrong or different to explain why I have these experiences. It's just crazy sensory overload.

Seeing either or both of them usually mean I am tired and/or over stimulated and need to get away to a quiet place quickly. If stuck, I will become dizzy, get a headache and then nauseated. My body will start to ache. This happens often in shopping malls, especially crowded ones. I cannot think straight.

Because of this, I usually stick to small stores. I do a lot of my shopping online. I also completely refuse to buy Christmas presents for anyone but children now - you will not see me in a store at holiday time! Instead I "gift" donations to charities of people's choice - again something easily done with a credit card online and I'm also doing something good. North Americans have too much stuff anyway.

Looking at me, you wouldn't think or know anything is wrong. I continue walking around like nothing is happening, maybe rubbing my eyes more than usual. I may have to concentrate more on where I'm going so I don't run into things and this might make it harder to approach me. I typically don't want my thoughts disturbed, so those people in malls trying to get you to sample something are even more annoying to me.

Add to that the annoying mall "muzzak" and scents from perfume, soap or candle shops and I start getting agitated. Basically, if I have to go to a mall, I run in and run out, getting only what I really need, so I don't get to the overload point. Knowing my limits and having them respected is really important to being able to be productive. Otherwise I could be ruined for days.

I Don't Like Love - Sensory Issues Explained

TRIGGER WARNING: People touching others without express consent

Every once and a while I get reminded of a date I had with Hubby, very early in our relationship. We decided to meet at a restaurant and I went to find a seat to wait for him. I didn't know, but he was close behind me, so he came up from behind and touched my hair. My reflex was to snap my arm back, with my hand in a fist, and whack whoever touched me without permission. I ended up punching him square in the face and giving him a bloody nose.

Little did he know, I hated having my head or hair touched. Little did he know, I hate people touching me from behind. I hate people touching me without permission. I hate strangers touching me. I use the word, "hate" because it really is a strong aversion.

After the bleeding stopped, and I explained my issues, we still had a nice dinner. And evidently, he never tried to sneak up from behind me again. But it was nothing personal.
My quick reflexes would be very helpful if I were actually being attacked, but they are a bit of a mood killer otherwise, I must say. Still, I'll explain a little bit about why I react that way and maybe you can get an idea how it feels.

I should remind people that I have Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) and not just autism, so that could explain my extra sensitivity. Also, my sensory issues have changed since childhood, meaning I'm not quite as sensitive as I once was.

For as long as I can remember, I hated having my hair or head touched. Getting my hair brushed and styled was something to endure, not enjoy. My mom loved braiding and tying my hair. I hated it. The best way I can describe it is when you get the hebbie-jeebies - being touched gave me a feeling of pain, shivers and distinct uncomfortableness. It's just a yucky feeling.

Light touch is worse than deep touch. I enjoy a rough scalp massage, like when getting my hair washed at the salon. But a soft caress gives me the most disgusting feeling. So did long hugs. It could be so bad sometimes, that it actually made me vomit.

What looks like a loving hug can feel like torture

So not liking soft kisses, caresses and other common demonstrations of affection make it look like I don't like love. When it's a child, it looks like the child hates you or finds you disgusting. It offended my mother greatly. My mom always wanted to smother me. Or at least, that's how it felt, because she didn't respect my bodily integrity.

It is always a worse (or more pronounced) sensory experience when the activity is forced upon me. So a surprise touch or one where I did not give consent is worse. In other words, a hug I did not want will feel more disgusting than a hug I want. Again, this was all much worse as a child since I could not get away from my mother. I learned to ignore my own feelings in order to make her feel happy. I will not go into the ramifications of how that sort of behaviour affects a person when it comes to interacting with other people, but I think you can guess. Suffice to say, it made me numb to some extent, and I have done things with people without feeling a thing or caring what was happening to my own body. 

My son, who seems to be my little sensory carbon copy, shows the same signs of having the same sensory issues as I do. He is a bit different, but he's not big on hugs or kisses unless it's on his own terms. If I had my way, I would just love to squeeze him and cover him with kisses, but it's not about what I want because I know what it feels to have people do things to your body against your will. This is why I always ask. ALWAYS.

The point to take away from all this, is that having a sensory issue where touch can be a problem does not mean the person doesn't want to be touched or loved. It means it feels overwhelming and weird at times and worse when forced. I am not in control of the way my body "over" reacts to stimulus. It is not conscious. It is not my fault. My body works differently and that's it. I still love touch, but it has to be on my terms.

Also, I don't have the same reactions as I did as a child. My senses are somewhat muted now. My husband is allowed and able to touch my face and head. But part of that could be because he has respected me and my body and that goes a long way.