Sensory Difficulties in People with Autism

I found an article on an Autism site that I found to be very interesting. Many people who have Autism Spectrum Disorder have difficulty processing everyday sensory information. In most cases, this is called "Sensory Integration Difficulties" or "Sensory Sensitivity". People with ASD may be under-sensitive to sight (Hypo). This means objects can appear dark or lose some features, the central vision could be blurred whereas the peripheral vision is sharp or vice versa, or they could have poor depth perception and have problems such as throwing and catching. On the other hand, people with ASD could be oversensitive to sight. This means they could have distorted vision, images may fragment, or it could be easier for them to focus on a detail rather than the whole object. 

  In terms of sound, people with ASD may only hear sounds in one ear, they may not acknowledge particular sounds, or they might even enjoy going to crowded places. However, people with ASD might hear sounds that are magnified and become distorted, or they could be extremely sensitive to sounds and can often hear conversations in the distance better than those without ASD.

  When it comes to touch, people with ASD may experience more pain and discomfort and often only like certain types of clothing and textures. Many people with ASD do not like to be touched and therefore are extremely more sensitive to it. 

  Research has shown that people with ASD can handle spicy foods better than people without and can often eat almost everything in sight, even non edible foods, this is called pica. The other extreme could be those with ASD find some foods and flavors to be too strong and overpowering or even some food textures could cause discomfort. 

  Last is smell. Some people with ASD have no sense of smell and do not notice strong odors, within others, some smells can be extremely intense and overpowering.