How common are sensory issues in AS?

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My 11 year old who is pending assessment for AS, has some sensory issues, she has always been irritable about her clothes, labels, says small knocks really hurt and used to scream the place down having her hair washed when she was younger, and even more recently having a towel wrapped about her head after her hair was washed. She also recently said that when I leave her bedroom window open sounds come in that hurt her ears.

However, she claims that busy places don't bother her, and that she likes loud music such as at parties etc.

I know sensory issues can vary, and I did also read that some autistics don't have any (and some are under sensitive to sensory input).

I just wondered, as so many people on the spectrum do seem to have sensory issues whether it's quite unusual for someone with AS to not mind busy places and loud music.

Many thanks.

Sensory issues are very common in those with AS, but they vary from person to person quite a lot. For example, my daughter is really annoyed by noise, movement/colours, food textures/ tastes and certain fabrics, but she's not troubled by smell at all, and doesn't really mind touch, except hair brushing. Her classmate hates the cloakroom just as much as her, but it's the closeness of the other kids that gets to him. He will lash out if they get too close. He never complains about the noise at all. With her, it's just the noise and the movement (she says it's like a bee-hive) and she doesn't complain about being jostled. The other thing to remember is that under-sensitivity is common too, although it's hyper-sensitivity that tends to cause the distress.

Hi, I have a 4 year old girl with AS and she has some sensory issues. However she loves parties and seems ok with noise, although occasionally covers her ears when her little sister cries! Ive read that some people with AS create mre noise when another noise bothers them so they often get louder to cover it, not sure how reliable that is though. She seems to crave noise and people, and loves large gatherings, the more the merrier. She is very loud herself and has a louder voice than me, I cannot physically compete with her volume level. She shouts a lot and her deliberate screams literally give me earache.

She always wears dresses regardless of the weather because she likes "fresh air" on her legs, hates socks or tights, dont know what Im going to do when winter comes!! She doesnt seem to feel the cold and equally will insist on wearing thick winter pyjamas on a hot night. Sometimes she hurts herself and doesnt notice even though it looked painful and has left a mark, other times you only have to accidentally knock her slightly and shes in tears!

Hope this helps

My Son could never stand his younger sister crying, still cant. We have ear muffs for him when she cries. . He has always been afraid of all electrical appliances such as lawn mower vacuum cleaner, blender, hair dryer, hand dryer etc. He is getting better with age however, He still will not go into public toilets if there is a hand dryer in there.
He cant stand sun cream on his face, sticky hands, dirty hands, stickers or stamps or temporary tattoo's on his skin.
Strong refusal to the smell of certain foods or the taste of mint flavours or strong flavours. Wont eat anything which requires too much chewing. He has always had a strong refusal to washing his hair and having a hair cut.
Loves having a thera brush massage, so doesnt mind touch.

I have sensory issues with clothing, food, and touch, but noise and light usually don't bother me much. So I think it's definitely possible.

There are various sensory realms and individuals can be hypersensitive in one area (tactile), yet hyposensitive in another (auditory). I am on the spectrum myself and enjoy certain loud ("mechanical"/repetitive) sounds. I am also hypersensitive to some textures (and skeeved out by some textures like wet paper towels), but somehow hyposensitive to others, leading me to run my fingers on certain surfaces until they bleed (though I have been known to do this with textures I enjoy as well).

I, personally, have never known anyone on the spectrum who had absolutely no sensory issues. Of all possible symptoms, this one--to me--seems to be the most universally held, though the way the sensory issues play out are very different from person to person. I find it more consistent than eye contact and more consistent than stimming, for example. For my daughter, it is all about smell and certain tactile sensations. For my son, it is all about proprioceptive and vestibular issues. Neither of them are bothered by loudness or sound in the least.

If you are interested in learning more about sensory issues, I find "The Out of Sync Child" to be one of the best for explaining what is going on and also for explaining why things can seem so contradictory or inconsistent.

I think it just depends on the person and the situation. I don't think there is one pat answer to that. Some things bother me all the time, some things bother me in some situations and not in others. Some things that used to bother me don't now and some that didn't bother be before and intolerable now.

Sometimes sensory issues don't make sense either. In the car I love to crank up the music. The louder the better, but in the house I can't stand it loud. In someone else's house, when I'm falling asleep, light or sound doesn't bother me. In my own house, it has to be dark and quiet with a fan on.

Also, some things may change and won't bother her anymore, and she may develop new issues that bother her.

Sensory is just sensory and not governed by any logic.

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When I was a child, I always felt ill going into a shop with fluorescent lighting. My mother used to say that I put it on. . I'm also sensitive to barometric pressure changes, and to noise.

My daughter is 12 and has Asperger's. She started out having sensory issues when she was about 4 months old. Of course we had no idea why all the baby toys that played music made her cry or why she gagged on certain textures of food. We were clueless as to why she lined her foam letters up all thru the house and sorted them by color. We just thought she was very smart. It wasn't until she was about 4 that the seams in her socks were unbearable. Then as she grew older it was tags and seams in underwear. Now at 12 it's full blown everything! She hates bright lights but can tolerate loud music/ parades/school lunchroom more so now than when she was younger. I was under the impression that all aspires have sensory issues.