Senses

Post Reply New Topic

People with AS are meant to be more sensitive to things such as sounds or textures and i'm curious to find out if this is true, and if so, how it presents.
Personally, i love different textures, whether it is something i'm eating or wearing. I will go into shops and get told off for touching all the clothes.

i am sensitive to more than one...

sound, touch, taste and sight... but not smell

I have sensitivities to certain textures of foods (this is a touch, not a taste issue), certain sounds and certain smells. It is both good and bad. For example, while I find certain sounds distressing and painful, I also get a lot of pleasure out of other sounds.

I also have scrambled processing of visual and auditory stimuli, which cause me difficulties moving about new places.

Im hypersensitive in all areas but I think my sight is the worst.. I cant even go outside on a sunny day without clenching my teeth in pain and squinting so hard it hurts.

I dont know how to choose.

I'm very sensitive to sound - particularly pitch, and timbre; some sounds are physically painful, some are orgasmically sexy.

My sense of smell is pretty good, I think - I can sniff at least certain smells before anyone else, every time. Others though, seem to be just ordinary sensitivity.

My eyes - well - I notice things other people dont, sure, but I don't really know whether sensitivity is only physiological, or mental too.

Touch - no real trouble, though I tend not to touch people, excepting a few hugs. I do sometimes wonder if I don't touch the physical world enough. I've often thought that many places I've been remained unchanged as I passed through them - on the small scale of trying not to crash into things/knock things over, and on the large scale of not "making ripples". I don't tend to bruise, or get hurt easily though.

Taste - not necessarily a hypersensitvity, perhaps an insensitivity. I love the acid taste - the stronger the better. Like when you eat the small white crystalline block of flavouring that hasn't got crushed properly, found in the bottom of a pack of Salt & Vinegar crisps - I love it. Also the waft of vinegar that evaporates, as you pour it on really hot chips. I like citrus fruits, and coca-cola, though I don't drink it so much now.

I would add, though, that I have no comparison/mean to compare any of these to.

Me too, Silent... I drink dill pickle juice... just the thought of the smell of the stop solution in traditional photography makes my mouth water (it smells like vinegar)...

I also have a good sense of smell... Not necessarily that I smell MORE than others, but I DO tend to be able to identify more quickly, or at least connect it to something...

The same thing goes for hearing, I tend to notice smaller details and make connections others don't, except that I'm hypersensitive to loud and sudden noises... Motorbikes and emergency vehicles are the worst. They come fast and loud and make me feel very, very anxious.

Touch, however, is the very worst... I'm not a real huggy / touchy-feely person, but what really freaks me out is texture. I CANNOT run the palms of my hands along anything textured... just thinking of it now makes my stomach tighten and gives me unpleasant goosebumps... hair, dry skin, canvas, wool... ANYTHING.

I hate synthetic cutting boards. Those tiny ridges that run in lines to stop the meat moving about - uuurgh! I like almost anything natural, barring bird s**t. No real problems come to mind straight off, excepting the cutting boards.

I have virtually no sense of smell. I blamed cigarettes but I quit smoking in March and I still can't smell anything.

My eyes are really sensitive to bright light.

My body temperature seems to be higher than everybody else's... I'm almost permanently too hot. BUT on the rare occasions when I do get so cold I can feel it, it takes me ages to warm up again.

I am a very tactile person and find the whole Aspie non-contact 'thing' very strange: this is the main reason why I'm not sure I have AS. I love smooth textures: marble, suede, velvet etc..

I do too but thats not the problem.. its not touching things its being touched by people that drives those of us with the problem nuts especially if we arent expecting it

True about the touching when not expecting it, that I don't like. Even when I see a person's hand come near me, and I've noticed this lately, I tense up internally. Like I'm bracing for it, even if it's just coworker touching my forearm to get my attetion while pointing at the monitor...

And as for smooth textures, I have no problem with those! Velvet, silk, marble, cashmere...
Those I can run my palms over. Just nothing rough, or I'm bound to cringe and make funny faces and shudder...

I will flare up if someone slaps me on the back or tickles me unexpectedly, but that's normal I think. But I love being hugged - I'm really quite clingy - whereas most Aspies seem to dislike this. True?

I've always been VERY sensitive to sharp objects, looking at them would make my eyes water. I couldn't listen to markers on paper *only some brands or if they were dry* Thinking about it now, I hate when my phone rings! I don't like high pitched noises unless it's someone singing (if they're good) (christina aguilera haha)

When I was little I couldn't wear underwear because of how it felt and the sensation of it rubbing on my pants. It would itch like crazy.

I never realize this was something other people didn't have until now tho!

In order, sight, sound, taste, smell, touch.
I wear sunglasses 99.5% of the time I'm outdoors. Bright light without sunglasses, I can try to keep my eyes open but they start closing and I start sneezing. High-contrast stuff (like when some tard parks a large white van in front of our house while I'm working on the computer) gives me a headache. Soundwise, my daughter hits this one pitch when she and the wife are play-fighting that just feels like a drillbit into my brain. I have trouble tuning sounds out in a big way.
Smells can get to me as well... too many women on 'the bus' (I've noticed it in several geographic locations around N. America) wear WAY too much perfume, and it's usually not even good perfume. Many young males smell as though they've marinated themselves in cologne. There's a smell in my house right now that's driving me nuts... it smell like bug spray. However, it's probably the shipyard. Nice thing is, most scents I can tune out unless they're truly overwhelming.

I'm most sensitive to sound and touch.

I chose sound - there are some sounds, like being able to hear someone else's TV or music, or kids screaming, or conversation with lots of stupid giggling or 'wooooooo' noises that make me feel physically violent towards the person(s) producing them. I'd have liked to have chosen smell as well, though. Most artificial smells, like scented soaps, perfume, hairspray, air fresheners, cleaning agents, etc. make me feel sick, headachey and short of breath. I love the smell of natural things like flowers and rain.

I am most sensitive to taste.

If something tastes bad and I don't like it, I can tell immediately.