3 ms·
As an undiagnosed but frequently-accused autistic person: > Up to 90 percent of autistic people report sensory problems, including heightened sensitivity to so
by ssl-3 3y ago
As an undiagnosed but frequently-accused autistic person:
> Up to 90 percent of autistic people report sensory problems, including heightened sensitivity to sounds or an aversion to certain smells. Yet others barely register sensory cues and may seek out sensations by making loud noises or rocking back and forth.
I couldn't read anything after that last sentence.
It seems like nonsense to me, and therefore it seems that everything after it is also likely to be nonsense.
I don't (and haven't) done things like make loud noise or rock back and forth because I somehow seek to have more sensation. But I have done things like that because the sensations I am perceiving are too intense (even if those sensations do not exist outside of my own head).
In normal daily discourse, the last thing I want is more uncontrolled and inescapable stimulation.
And when uncontrollable stimulation gets to be too much (which can happen in a quiet and empty room, or a very loud and busy room full of colors and scents) and becomes overwhelming, I sometimes seek to whelm myself with things that can be controlled.
But that's never because I'm seeking more. It can be because I want or sometimes need for the noise (eg, the scents, scenes, tastes, sounds, physical sensations, and internal noise like pain and internal dialogue[s] and strong emotions) to cease, but since that is often impossible then the best I can do is give myself something else that I can control to focus on.
And that could mean making loud noises, or rocking. It can also include literally running away, or vocal outrage that surprises anyone around. The antidote could include lots of things.
But it's always just an attempt at an antidote; it isn't ever an attempt to feel more.
I think that if "up to 90 percent of autistic people report sensory problems" is true, then "at least 10% of autistic people are completely misunderstood" must also be true.