Sensory issues, stimming, and special interests

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Hey! So I'm here to try and find out more about AS, because I truly want to understand. As a person without AS I don't fully comprehend the unique challenges faced by those with AS. I understand the sensitively to sounds and sights, but what about touch, taste, and smell. What is so bothersome about light touches, but not deep pressure? You you guys able to smell every last thing around you? What is it about certain foods that you can't handle? What is purpose behind stimming? When do you stim? How common is it among aspies to have sensory issues, and stim? As for special interests, I think a lot of you on hear say NT's can have them too. Has a psychologist said they do? What comes from these interests? What do they do for you? What make a special interest or habit AS?

Thanks! I'm just trying to understand the world of AS.

Light touch is super uncomfortable, as we have a tendency to be much more sensitive, to the point where its just as bad as pain. Deep pressure has less feeling too it than light.

I actually can't smell very well at all-and I know I am not the only one with AS like this.

With food I am a picky eater always have been-though I'm getting better-I can't stand too powerful tastes that's something I've learning about myself-yet I like spicy food. It just tastes.... pungent.

Stimming helps relieve excess energy that's creating an uncomfortable sensation in me and helps focus my thoughts. I stim a lot. Especially when excited, getting social contact with people, just getting some mental stimulation, or when I have anxiety, and when I really need to think about something.

These things are very common.

I don't know any NT's who have special interests like I do.

I'm just going to describe a special interest to you. It's when it's constantly on your mind, constantly the topic coming out of your mind, in some cases it's constantly the topic of what you buy in some, etc. you get the idea. It's an obsession.

I hope this helps even if just a little.

They say that when you've met one aspie, you've met one aspie. I'll now try to answer these questions based on me.

What is so bothersome about light touches, but not deep pressure? Generally, I don't like to be hugged. Also, I usually rip out the labels on shirts because it's irritating.

You guys are able to smell every last thing around you? I do have a strong sense of smell, but then, I also have poor vision.

What is it about certain foods that you can't handle? I'm actually not particular about what I eat. One of my quirks in this area is I'd buy 100 cans of Ravioli at a time if it's on sale. I also recently about 60 Marie Callender's pot pies. Again, because it was on sale. I also sometimes prefer to eat the raviolis right out of the can.

What is purpose behind stimming? Stimming relaxes me especially after a stressful day.

When do you stim? It's continuous. Sometimes I don't even realize I'm doing it.

How common is it among aspies to have sensory issues, and stim? These two traits are part of the autism criteria so I guess it's pretty common.

As for special interests, I think a lot of you on hear say NT's can have them too. Has a psychologist said they do? I'm not sure what psychologists say about this.

What comes from these interests? It passes the time. You can gain knowledge from it. It keeps you out of trouble.

What do they do for you? They keep me from going insane. Also, since I have no love interest, they help me pass the time.

What makes a special interest or habit AS? I think it's AS when you focus on it often at the expense of other necessary activities, like going out to make friends, sharpening your social skills, etc. Sometimes I get wrapped up in something and end up going the whole day without taking my medication, forgetting to pay bills, etc.

Same here.

This is all personal experience, nothing too scientific, just my two cents.

I'd say, same reason as how tickling is more bothersome than scratching, and how hearing drops fall from a faucet is more bothersome than listening to music. You know, that feeling of irritation. Except that in the AS case, everything feels amplified, and it's harder to filter out normally insignificant, irritating things, even those that our brain finds so unsignificant that it normally doesn't even allow it to reach your consciousness. I'm very sensitive to sound; that doesn't mean I have super ears, but that my mind automatically "listens" to everything, rather than just "hearing". I also feel a tickling sensation abnormally easily, even someone touching my arm feels downright irritating, because my mind can't seem to detect that it's nothing to be concerned about.
Naturally, then, since the mind has trouble ignoring insignificant sensations, it's easy to become confused, dizzy and tired if too much is going on at the same time. Imagine being automatically focused everything... I think you can imagine this.


That can be generalized as the discomfort about change. Imagine the feeling like this: you have to use someone else's computer, or whatever. Everything is structured the way he organizes it and you can't change it. There's a discomfort because it's not "your" way doing things. Then again even this very metaphorical situation may not be an issue for NTs... I just have no idea how to explain it otherwise. :D
But anyway... in the case of food, since it's not "yours", you don't know the taste, you don't know how it feels in your mouth, you have no sort of "strategy" for cutting it and putting it on your fork, it's all new... just the simple fact that you can't relate it to what you're trusted with gives a feeling of discomfort because there's no specific "program" for handling the new experience.


I don't know why but the mind just sort of tells you to do it because it "feels good", in some rationally incomprehensible way.
The exact reason may be dependent on the kind of stim, but I think it works kind of like an outlet. Imagine being very positively surprised about something, it'll make you want to jump up and shout "yay!" for no real reason (it SEEMS to have a reason because it's a reaction common enough to be considered as a social expression). Well, it's that sort of feeling except it's uncommon so there's nothing social tied to it.
The things that I most commonly do is rubbing my hands, sucking & tasting my collar, and pacing... I have these mainly when simply something new's going on, or I'm stressed, or I'm positively excited or inspired by something. Rubbing my hands is something I do all the time though.


They're there not for the sake of any specific goal, but for the sake of learning and knowing things, and learning and knowing things feels good. Compare it how it's tempting to attack a non-existent straw man position in debate, not because it has any real value, but because it feels good to win a debate.
What makes something a special interest? Well, as a logical extension of the above reason: it becomes interesting if there is a lot of facts to be learned. In my case, especially if these facts can be "systematized".
I may see a circuit diagram and wonder "ooh, what do all these symbols mean?"... I read something about planets on wikipedia, I see that their properties are systematically displayed according to some model, and I wonder "ooh, what is the name, size, mass, temperature, etc... of all these planets?", or in the case of one of my most profound interests, "ooh, what is the name, HP, MP, spells, behavior script, etc of this large list of Final Fantasy monsters? weapons? equipment? spells?"
It feels rewarding to learn all these things. I know, there's nothing rewarding in reality, but it sure as hell stimulates the reward circuit in my mind, and that's really what matters. It's really pretty comparable to a stim.

So, does any of this make sense to you? I also have a feeling that I'm not really saying anything new here: it'd be a lot easier to explain if it were possible to communicate qualia directly rather than having to encode it into words. But I tried at least...

THIS is exactly right.

It is not just the intensity of a sensation that matters. For example, a soft touch on the skin often has a different texture or "feel" to a firm touch or deep pressure. That texture can trigger a mild (or not so mild!) revulsion.

As for smell, again it can depends on the type of smell. Imagine someone spraying you in the face with perfume - you might well recoil from it. Well, if anyone peels or eats an orange within about 20 feet of me, I feel a bit like I have had orange perfume sprayed into my face. If I am on the train and someone is eating an orange anywhere in my half/third of the carriage, I look up alarmed, searching for where that horrible smell is coming from. I don't think I smell objects that other people cannot, I think my brain processes smells, and reacts to particular smells, much more intensely than most other people. I don't notice other people reacting to these everyday smells the way I do. But only some smells.

Various tastes and food textures can give a similar niggly, uncomfortable sensation as light touch may do to the skin. I can eat crunchy salad sandwiches, but I feel slightly uncomfortable - the texture and wet crunchiness is just off-putting - it doesn't feel right. So I prefer something simple and reliable, like peanut butter, to an exotic salad sandwich with 5 different kinds of salad item piled on top. The uncertainy, the texture, all can be offputting.

The point is, you won't find these things bothersome, because your brain isn't wired that way. Our brains are calibrated differently, wired differently, and have diferent mixes of neurotransmitters, so when we perceive the world around us, it is processed differently - often feels more intense (or much less intense) than it would feel to you. But texture, not just strength, is important: the type of sound, not just the loudness - the type of smell, not just the intensity (I like sniffing lavender oil, for example) - the type of food, and not just how strong the taste is. Sometimes strong sensations can be calming. And this will vary from person to person. Someone else here may very well have a different experience - and that variation itself is part of the nature of AS.



Well, stimming is one of the diagnostic criteria (repetitive behaviours) so it is likely very common.

As for "purpose", I don't see stimming as a conscious decision in the sense that someone might stand in a particular posture ("posing") because they think it makes them look cool.

I stim, I guess, because it feels comfortable or relieves stress. I was at a small group meeting in someone's kitchen and the others were all sitting at the table and I was pacing back and forth nearby (they were too busy yacking to notice) - because it was relieving my pent-up stress at being in this unstructured social situation. When your body is all stressed, doing some activity - walking, rocking, wringing your hands, etc - helps to discharge all that pent-up energy. To me it seems like a sensory and motor thing, not a purposive, planned action. It is like asking "Why do you clench you fists when you are angry?" You don't sit there thinking "I am angry. What can I do about it? I know! I'll clench my fists." No, when your body feels uncomfortably tight and wound up, movement - repetitive movement - feels like it reduces that, makes you calmer. But you don't plan it or think about it (have a "purpose" in mind), any more than you plan to scratch an itch - you just do it.



To me, a special interest is a bit like falling in love, except the object of your love - the one you cannot be without - is a topic rather than a person. When you are with your beloved topic, your world feels right. Everything is in its place, things are the way they should be. Your beloved topic is the interest you want to be near, want to spend time with, never get tired of hearing about. It is calming to be with your interest - a place of peace. The things that stress you out in the non-Aspie world fall away, and you are in your natural environment.

And we have this appetite for learning. Non-AS people seem to have an appetite for social interaction with their favourite friends (which Aspies often find draining), but many people with AS have an appetite for learning about their favourite topic - it recharges them.

And everything that ParaSait said.

To put it even more simply: it's my marriage.

I don't like light touches or deep pressure. If I know it's coming then I'm usually okay. It's mostly a matter of feeling the sensation of being touched overriding pretty much everything else that is going on. It's like being dumped in a giant pool of freezing water.

Yes, I smell everything around me. I can hardly walk by shampoo and perfume aisles in stores. It's overwhelming smelling them all at the same time.

As for foods, I find that it's mostly a matter of texture. I'm not that picky when it comes to food though (compared to other aspies). I can't handle spicy foods (burns my tongue until I drink something) so I usually avoid it. I also don't care for dressing or some sauces (all I can taste is the dressing/sauce).



Most of the time it's just a constant thing. As for why, I don't really know. It's just something I do. Though, it does pick up if I'm nervous or excited about something. Sensory issues and stimming are pretty common amongst aspies. I'm pretty sure both are criteria.



I have no idea what psychologists say about it. Nor do I know if NTs can have them. The way I see it, special interests are just hobbies (at least, that's what I thought before I came here). I see something interesting or cool (to me) and then I just go all out on learning about it and researching it. It's a sort of itch that I can only scratch by looking it up.

One of my special interests covers the Legend of Zelda series of video games. If it were a "normal" interest, I would have probably only played the games and maybe looked up some fan art or something. However, I've pretty much dove right in to basically being a historian of the series. Studying language, species, geography, physics, etc about the games. Learned a lot on the side as well.

I frequently read every page google has indexed for a certain topic (whatever the interest is) for both the general and specific topics.

Hope this helped!

At best, they feel like ants crawling on my skin. At worst... you know that feeling you get when you touch something so cold it burns? It feels exactly like that. The "worst" happens more often than the "best".



Deep pressure feels nice. Piling blankets on myself makes me feel instantly calm and like there's a nice happy glow in my head.



For me, it's the texture of them, or rather, the contrast in texture. Soft and hard textures together in my mouth make me gag. I can't eat multigrain bread because of this as I can't swallow it. The crusts on sandwiches give me trouble too.
I don't know why this happens.



I don't know; it's just automatic for me. Suppressing it is more trouble than it's worth.



Pretty much all the time. A better question would be: when do you not stim?
My answer
- When I'm asleep
- When I'm in a shutdown
- When I'm sick
- When I'm in a moving vehicle, although this doesn't always shut it down

The last one makes me wonder if it's due to some need for motion and whether one of the motor areas in my brain isn't functioning properly (well, I know they aren't, but that's clumsiness and hypertonicity; understimulation is a different issue).



Enjoyment.



They make life worth living.



The degree of intensity/focus, and the fact that it will often interfere with other activities and have a detrimental effect on one's life.