Mild, Moderate or Severe Sensory Issues?

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With each of the senses, do you have mild, moderate, severe or no sensory issues with them.

FOR ME:

Sound: Very, very mild

Sight: None, (I once met a person with AS who actually PREFERRED bright lights)

Touch: Moderate

Smell: Mild

Taste: Severe

Sound: Severe - loud noises make me nonfunctional fast. I'm okay with loud noises that I want to hear, like music or video games, at least sometimes. But lots of noises just feel like daggers tearing through my brain.

Sight: Severe - I have to wear sunglasses just about everywhere but my bedroom. If I step outside during daylight hours it is immediate pain and possibly a migraine. Even taking them off inside most stores means throbbing pain behind my eyes. within a couple of minutes.

Touch: Mild, but can get worse if I'm overstimulated - I don't like soft touches much at all and tags drive me up the wall. I have touch issues that apparently lead to a lot of irritation, pain, and itching that I can't really identify, but don't seem to be allergies.

Smell: Moderate - artificial scents and cigarette smoke can stop me cold, but I can tolerate certain minimal amounts. Strangely, I can handle quite a few scents that other people find offensive, but the stuff they use to "freshen" the air drive me away.

Taste: Mild. I may be a supertaster, though. I especially have issues with bitter food and drink (like beer, and, er, some vegetables).

Temperature: I don't really feel the cold until frostbite sets in. I feel the heat once it hits 70 degrees. At 75-80 I am swimming in sweat.

Proprioception: Mild-moderate. I have trouble determining quite where I am relative to other items in my environment. I walk into furniture and other things, and people moving around me are really stressful as I can never tell whether they're about to walk into me or I'm about to walk into them. Pressure helps relieve this to some degree, so I lean on anything in arm's reach. I could wear tight clothes, but no.

Some things can aggravate multiple senses: Sleeping in the same bed with another person, especially if they are close enough for me to feel their body heat (let alone make physical contact) or making noises, even quiet noises, will redline me into overstimulation fast. The last time I shared a bed with someone I had a meltdown and cried until I couldn't stay awake. There were, unfortunately, no other sleeping options available, so it was the bed or the hardwood floor. Scylla and Charybdis, as it were.

Last edited by Verdandi on 12 Feb 2011, 10:54 pm, edited 3 times in total.

Sound: only when dialogue is loud (like on the TV) - happy for music to be loud, in fact I often prefer it, but spoken word sounds harsher to my ears.

Sight: none, I like bright lights about the same as the average NT person (to the best of my knowledge) - however I'm a bit sensitive to colours - I absolutely prefer colours to be bright, as long as they're not discordant. Sometimes I don't feel right if I don't have some bright colour around me, and usually have a colourful computer desktop.

Touch: this is my big one. I can't sleep if I've been sweating, and I feel awful in my clothes. Living in a hot climate this means I take a lot of cold showers, and I know my reaction isn't normal because when my partner feels as gross as I do she can still go to bed and sleep regardless. I have some other touch-related things, and tend to pet whatever's under my fingers (keyboard, glass, shirt hem), especially after a drink.

Smell: none

Taste: I used to be terribly fussy, but I've been growing out of it since I left my teens. I like most foods now, and am quite adventurous, though I still can't deal with sultanas in cakes and breads (hot cross buns, anyone?). I have some textural issues with food, but that comes back to touch.

Sound: mild (Some sounds really bother me, but I think that I am just easily annoyed)

Sight: none

Smell: mild (Some perfumes really bother me; other than that, I have no sense of smell)

Taste: mild (really sensitive to sour flavors)

Touch: moderate (very sensitive to pain, but I actually like stimulation)

Last edited by Yensid on 12 Feb 2011, 11:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Sound: Mild

Taste: None

Touch: Mild

Smell :None. It's below average in fact and I am hyposensitive to some smells.

Sight :None. I just hate sun light that's it and it's in the summer.

Sight: Moderate - I can't open my eyes outside during most of the day if I'm not wearing sunglasses, and fluorescent lights mess with my eyes(making them hurt and twitch), but these issues can be addressed by wearing sunglasses or by not being around fluorescent lights.

Smell: Moderate - Smells that other people have no problem with or even find pleasing smell terrible, but the touch sensation of strong smells(burning throat and lungs) is the really annoying part; smell issues themselves are very annoying but not debilitating.

Sound: Moderate - I can hear really well and can't fall asleep if I can hear things happening nearby. Certain sounds give me an instant headache(like very high-pitched sounds) and some sounds make me nearly cry because the pain is so terrible, but I am generally able to leave the area and take pain relievers.

Taste: Mild - I can taste soap on dishes unless they've been rinsed really really well, and can taste trace amounts of ingredients. Unpleasant tastes are something that can generally be avoided. But the touch sensation of eating is a lot more annoying.

Touch: Moderate to severe - Certain feelings against my skin are so unbearable that my throat starts to close up and I feel like I am going to die. Food tastes are not much of a problem, but textures make me violently gag or dry heave. I can't physically swallow certain things that other people consider food. If there is oil or film on my skin I can feel it. For example, when I cook if I get oil on my hands I may wash them repeatedly to get the oil off. A lot of the stereotypical things about clothing bother me, like tags. When I was a child I would turn my socks inside out. I will not touch certain fabrics, like silk and nylon. They both feel oily and my skin feels oily after touching them and if I touch them I immediately want to wash my hands.

Exactly the same for me, I love the cold and cant stand more than 80 degrees.

Sight: Moderate? Bright lights make my eyes and head hurt, sometimes just walking outside on a sunny day, and often can overstimulate me.

Smell: Mild. Actually, I can't smell a lot of things.

Sound: Moderate to Severe Loud noises and many kinds of noises can overstimulate me. Like Vileseagulls, I do like to have music pretty loud, but like the TV or other things they drive me crazy.

Taste: Mild. Like Verdandi I am very sensitive to bitter, possibly a supertaster. I've researched it before, and supertasters usually are sensitive to bitter tastes. Dark chocolate, coffee, and other bitter things I can't think of right now are disgusting. Also, I hate mixed textures in food. For example, I like mint ice cream, and I like chocolate, but chocolate chunks in a mint milkshake I can't stand, just the different textures I don't like.

Touch: Mild. I can't stand light touches. If something touches me on my hand or arm or leg or something I can feel exactly where it touched me for several minutes, dunno what that means. I hate people touching me, but I don't think that' because of Asperger's. Actually, I often have my arm under my shirt, across my stomach with my hand on my side or something, touch is a way for me to stim I think. (NOT "playing with myself", just holding my arm or stuff like that)

Sound: usually moderate to severe, depending on mood

Sight: moderate-bright light is only slightly uncomfortable for me, but small movements in my peripheral vision bother me almost as much as sounds do

Smell: mild

Touch: very mild

Taste: none

Temperature: prefer cold air around me (ex: will sleep with window open in winter if allowed). hot weather does not bother me, i just like cold air.

Sound: Mild/Moderate

Sight: Mild/Moderate (more severe as a child)

Touch: Severe

Smell: None (Bad enough as a kid to not be able to go into certain buildings or houses because of their smell, however.)

Taste: Severe (I have bad texture issues with food and I assume this falls under taste. If not I do not have taste issues.)

In order from best to worst,

Sight
Hearing
Touch
Taste
Smell

Sight: Moderate to severe. Although I do have eye problems. But if I'm not wearing my glasses I can get sore eyes, headaches etc. When under sensory stress it just gets worse and worse.

Sound: Moderate to severe.

Touch: Mild to Moderate. On some days it's barely a bother and on other days it irritates me.

Taste: Moderate. Forget about enjoying spicy foods. It's usually too much flavour than spice that gets me though.

Smell: mild to moderate.

Temperature: Moderate to severe. I think I have some disregulation issues. It's either too hot or too cold. In the cold I can feel sore and in the heat I can become non functional.

Sound: Moderate. Absolutely hate loud, unexpected sounds. Alarms, sirens, incessant dog barking or babies crying all really hurt after awhile. Also hate steady screaming (I work in an auditorium where there are big concerts, and the screaming which they think is cheering is an issue for me). I often have to wear ear plugs at work when few others do. I also hear noises other people really do not notice. These background noises can distract from anything that I am doing or any conversations I am having. I remember writing an exam in a room with nearly a thousand people. I was sitting in the top left hand corner of the room. Two professors were standing all the way in the back right hand corner of the room softly whispering. I had to stop my exam and sit there with my hands over my ears until they stopped. I think I was the only one in the room who noticed/was bothered, and I was nowhere near them.

Sight: Moderate. Bright lights are awful, and sunlight, even that which is practically hidden behind a sky full of clouds hurts my eyes. I wear sunglasses everywhere! The bright lights of the shopping malls/department stores and some of my classrooms hurt my eyes as well. Also, that shift when the lights are off, and then someone turns them on suddenly, hurts my eyes.

Touch: Moderate. I hate unexpected touches of any kind. I can hug people if I choose to and if it is in my routine. I don't like people to touch me when I am not prepared, not wanting it, or it is out of my routine. I HATE soft touches. I also hate certain things to do with clothing. Tags for instance; I have to cut them off. They hurt so much. Lace also hurts. I hate the feel of it. When I was kid, I could never touch soft materials. I am not quite as bad now with the soft materials, but sometimes they still make me shudder a bit.

Smell: Mild to moderate depending on the scent in question. I am moderate when it comes to smoke which suffocates me, and with many artificial scents or strong cleaning chemicals which pretty much do the same. Air freshener suffocates me, strong perfume does too, and the ammonia my Dad uses to scrub the floor.

Taste: Mild. I do find that I have weak taste buds though, and need things to be very spicy, very sweet, or very salty. This might be considered more tactile, not sure, but I also have this thing where food as to be crunchy. Meat especially has to have an outer dark brown or black crust around it before I will eat it. I don't like soft meat.

Sound: Moderate to severe. I really, really don't cope well with loud sounds, high-pitched sounds, or many sounds at once. I can cope okay with specific sounds that I dislike, but it's the many sounds at once thing that gets to me. Put me in a room with several people talking and I'll shut down.

Sight: Mild to moderate. I am somewhat sensitive to certain types of lighting. The part that bothers me is that I take in too much visual information at once and get overwhelmed instantly.

Touch: Moderate. In general, I don't like to be hugged or touched. There are certain textures that really bother me. I'm extremely sensitive to humidity, which is one of the worst, most nauseating sensations out there. On the other hand, I am actually less sensitive to pain.

Smell: None. Weirdly, I don't seem to have a problem with smells. If I do process smells differently, it must be very mild.

Taste: Mild. I have problems with certain foods, but that's mostly due to texture than taste. For the most part my taste sensitivities are mild and don't have much impact on my diet.

Temperature: Moderate to severe. I am extremely sensitive to heat, and I can get overheated in 75 degree weather. I doubt I could ever live in a really hot climate. I am not particularly sensitive to cold, though.

Mine are all mild, really. I mean they can be dealt with but not for long periods of time.

SOUND: most of the time I have my in-ear headphones in so I don't notice sounds much. The ones that really really irritate me are vacuum cleaners and hair dryers. And there is a school next to me that likes to do taiko drumming which is terrible cuz I never know when the drum's gonna be hit. These things just make me angry though, not have a meltdown.

SIGHT: strobe lights and fluorescent lights. Strobe lights I cannot do ever. Fluorescent lights, if they are bright, make me feel sick and dizzy and tired. I can do a short time under them but not long.

SMELL: I get very angry around cigarette smoke. Also if anyone is cooking ground beef or has butter in a frying pan, I just have to leave that area. Tomato sauce makes me nauseous. Cannot stand to smell that near me.

TOUCH: this is okay. I can take it. I don't like hugs unless they are tight but, if people hug me that I know, I politely hug back. I don't get angry over touches, just feel a little uncomfortable at times.

TASTE: I'm very picky about what I eat. I avoid this issue by never eating out. Or if I do, I eat a select few foods I am comfortable with. If I have to go to someone's house and eat stuff they've prepared I usually tell them "I'm not hungry" or just eat bread.

TEMPERATURE: very very bad in the summer. Heat and humidity causes me to meltdown. Add in any other stressors like no food or too many people and I start b*tching badly.

Sound: Moderate (auditory discrimination difficulty)

Sight: Mild

Touch: Severe (Can't tolerate certain textures at all, as well as being mildly touched, tactile sensitivity. I consider it severe relatively to my age.)

Smell: None

Taste: Moderate, perhaps. I'm a very picky eater, but I prefer strong-tasting foods as opposed to plain-tasting ones.

Temperature: Mild (hyposensitive, but can't stand excessive heat and humidity)

Oh yeah, I remembered that certain things, like those plastic-feeling fabrics they use in clothing like gym shorts, send a shiver down my spine when I touch them.