Sensory overloads

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So i often read on here about sensory overloads with loud noises and such. I do not know if I have aspergers or not but I am curious what a sensory overload is like. Can some of you explain what its like so I can see if I experience it? The fact that im asking seems to me that I dont experience them but idk. Also do some people with AS NOT get sensory overloads and only display traits? If so thats probably what I am.

Sensory integration. I always have had clothes no tags, made from soft cotton. I can't tolerate anything else.

I can't stand being touched.

It happens if I have to go into a store like Target or a mall (something I avoid at all costs). It's a combination of 200 people around you moving in different directions, 100 different smells, lots of sounds, things flashing, moving, advertisements, the sound of shoes on the floor, someone bumping into you, 4 people getting in your way, not knowing where the thing you are looking for is, a sense of being trapped.

I freak out.

One time a year or two ago I wanted to see if a store in the mall had a pressure cooker or something. I went in, was in the mall for no more than 2 minutes and left before I could even make it to the kitchenware store. It was just too much.

I wrote this about a sensory meltdown one day. Maybe this'll help.

silachan and quietbird those were very good descriptions, thank you. I cant say I have sensory overloads judging from what you wrote. Are there Aspies who dont experience them?

Hi.
I only have sensory overloads when I am just hanging out around other people, when I am not actively concentrating on a task. When I apply concentration I am able to block out much of my surroundings. It seems to be one or the other: full on or full off.

I have mild aspergers. I don't have major sensory issues, though I do have some. I can deal with some crowds, but there is a point that is too much. Mine is probably way higher than most here. Plus I'm always wearing headphones and listening to my ipod, so I don't hear a lot of chatter as I'm shopping. I can usually pass under the radar in crowds, so it's almost like I'm not even there.

I have a horrid sense of smell, so I don't usually have issues there. Though I cannot go into those candle stores. Too many smells. It makes my head spin (literally - felt like i'd been spun around until dizzy). I'll get out quick. A few breaths outside and I'm better.

I don't mind if close friends/family touch me, but strangers or coworkers or such, it's all I can do not to flinch. Makes me feel dirty, like I should wash the spot they touched. Though I'm fine with hand shaking (probably cause I wash hands so much).

I like comfortable clothing, loose, easy care, soft, etc. Anything too stiff or out of my comfort zone will make me fidget all day.

I am hypersensitive to texture of food. The family still remembers the Thanksgiving I tried stuffing. I make the most memorable faces when I don't like food.

This is one of the best sets of videos ever to show people sensory overload and other ASD issues....

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A ... D8&h=5b51f

My sensory "overloads" aren't quite like this. I am actually relatively comfortable in a place like a mall, because all of the sounds sort of blend together into a background noise. What bothers me is when I am sitting in a quiet room trying to do something and then someone starts making a repetitive noise, such as eating potato chips or breathing heavily through his or her mouth. I had particular trouble my junior year of high school because the kid that sat behind me in one of my classes always had a stuffed nose and whenever we took a test, all I would be able to concentrate on was his breathing. It was the only thing I could hear/think about. That sound would just keep grating on me, getting more and more intense, and I would try to ignore it, then I would plug my ears with my fingers, but that didn't work because I needed one hand free to write, so I would plug one ear, and then lean my head over to the side and plug my other ear with my shoulder (because that didn't look weird at all ), and then my neck would hurt, my heart would start racing and I would feel like I wanted to scream/cry/run out of the room but I couldn't because I had a test to take...and meanwhile everyone else was just sitting there perfectly content like they didn't hear a thing.

Lots of sounds have this effect on me, and some types of movement as well. For example, my dad has this certain was of rocking his leg back and forth (possibly a stim). Whenever I am trying to watch TV and I see that leg moving in my peripheral vision, I HAVE to turn my head to the side, or put a pillow or something next to my face so that it is blocked from my view. And then if the TV screen is dark I can see the reflection of his foot moving in the screen, so I have to actually block that part of the screen from my view and only see half of the picture until the screen is brightly lit again. I try to just ignore it, but this movement literally makes me want to cry. Sometimes I even close my eyes when I walk past him in the room so I don't have to see it. I know it sounds ridiculous, but I have been trying to get over this sensitivity for the last 15 years and it still bothers me more than ever, so it has to be a neurological thing.

So I would say a sensory overload can be any feeling of extreme discomfort/urge to cover your eyes, ears, leave the room, etc...caused by any type of sensory stimulus.

Sometimes I'm fine in stores but if I havent eaten or feel tired, I can get overwhelmed quickly and just need to leave. I get a little clammy and feel trapped in the press of all those people. I had one back at christmas where I left the mall after ~4 minutes. Felt like an eternity getting to the door.

Another type is if noise is breaking my concentration. I can have a snap meltdown where I shout. i do this most often when I'm in a place where I expect peace (driving or at home). At other times I'm more prepared for a sensory assault.

But I'm not diagnosed either.

My greatest sensory overload has to be sound, particularly if I am reading or trying to concentrate on something. I have to plug my ears so I have as close as possible to silence, even then if I can still hear the slightest sound through my plugs it still drives me insane. Repetitive or high pitched sounds are the worst, like a barking dog, chirping birds, crickets and lawn mowers and other machines.