Shruti Misra

Academy Capstone-6
McMennamy
September 20, 2016
Sensory Issues in Autism
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is the leading neurological disorder in the
United States, affecting tens of thousands of people across the nation and having an
exponentially increasing diagnosis rate. Characterized by difficulty in communication,
forming social relationships, and using abstract concepts, the disorder is comprised of a
vast range of symptoms, among which many are related to the senses. Sensory issues are
pervasive across the entirety of the autism spectrum and encompass a multitude of issues,
from lack of response to too much response, and affect every sense from vision to touch.
Sensory problems in autism can range from one extreme to another, with some
individuals displaying too much responsiveness and others displaying too little.
Hyposensitivity, or under-responsiveness to stimulus, is most common in young children.
This can present as apparent deafness in response to sound or as a lack of sensory seeking
behavior (Leekam). Children who do not seek sensory stimuli may be perceived as
antisocial, uncommunicative, and removed from interaction. They may be unresponsive
to common environmental stimuli and fail to perceive changes in their conditions (Sicile).
Hypersensitivity, or overreaction to stimulus, is less common and is generally negatively
associated with developmental age (Lane). The younger a child is, the more likely he or
she is to be overly responsive to certain stimuli. This can manifest as seeking sensory
stimulus, such as a need for pressure, or aggression when faced with unusual stimuli
(Lane). In general, hyposensitivity is far more prevalent in children with autism than
hypersensitivity and has a greater connection to autism as one of its major symptoms
(Lane).

However, it is important to realize that hyper and hyposensitivity are not

mutually exclusive. An individual may be hyposensitive in one sense and hypersensitive

Shruti Misra
Academy Capstone-6
McMennamy
September 20, 2016
in another (Grandin). For example, while a loud and unexpected may cause an aggressive
reaction (hypersensitivity), the touch of someones hand may elicit no reaction at all.
Sensory problems can affect the entire range of the senses, including vision,
hearing, and touch. The majority of neurotypical individuals, people who are not on the
autism spectrum, attest to sight being chief among the major senses, with a vast array of
data coming into the brain solely through the eyes. However, the perceptual aspect of
vision is highly compromised in many individuals on the autism spectrum. Perception is
the ability of the brain to process and make sense of the information relayed through the
eyes. While those with visual sensitivity generally have normally functioning visual
organs and can easily pass eye exams, the perception systems in their brains are
compromised (Grandin). In extreme cases, the sensitivity can manifest as visual tune outs
and white outs (in which vision completely shuts down and only blackness or whiteness
can be seen) when faced with unusual visual stimuli (Grandin). In other cases, perceptual
awareness may disappear. While individuals retain the ability to see shapes and colors,
nothing has meaning. In daily life, visual sensitivity can present significant impediments
to normal living. For example, some with autism are able to see sixty-second flickers.
The flickers represent the fact that household electricity turns on and off sixty times a
second. This is unnoticeable by neurotypicals, but in those with severe visual sensitivity,
both eye strain and a pulsating effect can occur (Grandin). Another major source of
sensory problems is hearing. A study conducted in 1999 found that children with autism
have a hearing loss rate 18% greater than children who do not fall on the spectrum
(Kern). Like with vision, the hearing organs are usually not damaged, but rather the
processing systems in the brain are compromised. This lack of normal sound processing

Shruti Misra
Academy Capstone-6
McMennamy
September 20, 2016
may result in the inability to distinguish between sounds or hear certain frequencies. For
example, some are unable to hear consonants in words (Grandin). On the other end, high
sensitivity to sounds may result in becoming obsessed with specific noises; such as
flowing water or the sound of pencil on paper (Sicile). Other effects can be covering ears
and appearing deaf when faced with loud or unexpected sounds. Becoming desensitized
to sounds can result in echolalia (repeating words over and over again) or repeatedly
singing TV commercials and songs. Another major sense commonly affected in autism is
touch. Tactile sensitivity may manifest as an intense need for pressure stimulation while
at the same time being unable to tolerate touch (Grandin). Children who present this
sensitivity withdraw when touched unexpectedly as their nervous system does not have
time to process the sensation. Some only have the ability to feel touch when it is enacted
with their direct knowledge (Grandin). Touch can also play a role as a replacement for
vision and hearing when individuals have low sensitivity to them. Instead of seeing and
understanding an object, those who have touch as their primary sense must feel things to
get an accurate representation of the world (Grandin). While vision, hearing, and touch
show the most obvious symptoms of sensory issues, sensory problems can affect many
other senses as well, including prioception (awareness of the body), kinesthetic
(movements), and vestibular sensing (balance).
Sensory issues can lead to various emotional and behavioral responses. One of the
major effects is exacerbating maladaptive behaviors, behaviors that inhibit the ability to
adjust to particular situations. In individuals with autism, at least 50% of maladaptive
behaviors can be explained by sensory dysfunction, with taste/smell, auditory, and
movement sensitivity playing the chief roles in causing maladaptive behaviors (Lane).

Shruti Misra
Academy Capstone-6
McMennamy
September 20, 2016
Sensory problems are also associated with mental illness. Parents of children with
significant sensory issues commonly report anxiety, social problems, communication
issues, and antisocial behaviors (Lane). Sensory problems can cause specific responses
related to the stimulus and sense affected. Fight or flight responses are typical in
individuals with high sensitivity. A fight response manifests as a form of aggression while
a flight response may appear as anxiety or panic attacks (Coursera). Aggressive responses
are usually due to sensory overload. For example, hearing a loud noise may lead to
striking the person or thing that made the noise (Sicile). In addition, many can only
access one sensory channel at a time. Rather than simultaneously processing many pieces
of sensory information at once, they can only focus on one task at a time; for example,
not being able to process what a person is saying if they are looking at the person (Sicile).
The symptoms and effects of sensory problems change through the years as the
body and brain develops. The most obvious symptoms of autism appear in infants of
about 18 months of age, although more subtle indicators may be present much earlier.
Alongside the more commonly known symptoms including repetition and withdrawal,
the first sensory issues also develop. One of the most apparent symptoms that appears
early in development is the stiffness in a baby when picked up (Sicile). As the infants get
older, they are often found to display hyposensitivity (under-responsiveness), avoiding
stimulation rather than seeking it (Lane). Later, when progressing into the child stage,
many individuals display more symptoms of hypersensitivity (over-responsiveness).
While retaining some hyposensitive behaviors, they are more likely to have overreactions
to certain sounds or touches or become fixated on certain stimuli (Kern). In general, the
intensity of sensory issues decreases as the individual ages. Young adults usually report

Shruti Misra
Academy Capstone-6
McMennamy
September 20, 2016
that the severity of their sensory dysfunction lessened with age and they are better able to
manage their sensory issues.
When dealing with autism, it is important to keep in mind that those on the
spectrum feel sensation differently than neurotypical people. While their sensory organs
may work perfectly, the processing centers in their brains may be dysfunctional and
unable to analyze, compartmentalize, and organize information effectively. This
dysfunction creates perceptions markedly different from the norm.

Works Cited

Shruti Misra
Academy Capstone-6
McMennamy
September 20, 2016
Coursera: Autism Spectrum Disorder from the UC Davis Mind Institute. Web. 16
September 2016.
Grandin, Temple. Thinking in Pictures: And Other Reports from My Life with Autism.
N.p.: Vintage, 1995. Print.
Kern, Janet K., et al. The Pattern of Sensory Processing Abnormalities in Autism.
SAGE Publications, vol. 10, no. 5, 2006, pp. 480-494. Web. 2 September 2016.
Lane, Allison E., et al. Sensory Processing Subtypes in Autism: Association with
Adaptive Behavior. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, vol. 40, no.
1, 2010, pp. 112-122. Web. 8 September 2016.
Leekam, Susan R., et al. Describing the Sensory Abnormalities of Children and Adults
with Autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, vol. 37, no. 5,
2007, pp. 894-910. Web. 8 September 2016.
Sicile-Kira, Chantal. Autism Spectrum Disorder: The Complete Guide to Understanding
Autism. NY, NY: Perigee, 2014. Print.