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Hi everyone, I'm Amythest, and welcome to
ask an Autistic.

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(Upbeat music)

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Today I'm going to be talking about
Sensory Processing Disorder.

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Sensory Processing Disorder is a 
neurological condition in which the brain

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does not interpret sensory input from the
environment correctly.

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A person with Sensory Processing Disorder
may be over or under sensitive to input

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from their environment, such as lights,
colors, noises, music, people talking,

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smells, textures, and tastes.

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Every autistic person will have some kind
of Sensory Integration Issues.

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This is just part of our neurotype
and part of what makes us autistic.

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But, Sensory Processing Disorder, as a
neurological diagnosis can exist

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on its own, in non-autistic children. 


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Sensory Processing Disorder really can
affect and encompass all of the senses.

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Now, human beings actually have more than
five senses, we have something like

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eighteen to twenty-two, depending on who
you ask.

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But, I think that there are the seven
basic senses that are important

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to know about to understand 
Sensory Processing Disorder.

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So you have the basic five, which I think
everybody has heard of.

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That's taste, touch, smell, sight, sound.
Yeah, I think I got that right.

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And then there are two senses that most
people haven't heard of.

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And that is the Proprioception Sense and
the Vestibular Sense.

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Proprioceptive Sense is the sense of
where your body is in space.

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It allows for you to know where your limbs
are, how much force you're

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exerting on things.

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And also, where you are spatially in your
environment, and how to interact

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with objects in your environment.

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The Vestibular Sense is the sense that is
all about motion and movement.

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It is a sense that tells you if you are
in motion or standing still.

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If you are up or down, swinging, spinning,
upside down,

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all of that is informed by the
Vestibular Sense.

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So, as I'm sure you can imagine, 
when a person is under or over sensitive

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to any of the sensory input they may 
receive from their environment,

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their experience is going to be a lot
different than a typical person's.

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And their life is going to be very 
different because of the things they

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have to deal with.

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For example, a child who is undersensitive
to proprioceptive input may have trouble

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knowing where his body is in space,
he may have trouble knowing how much

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pressure to exert on things.

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So he may either be too gentle, and be
consistently dropping small objects.

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Or, he may be too rough in play, and be
constantly seeking out really rough

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activities to give him a lot of deep
pressure input on his joints.

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Like wrestling, jumping around,
jumping on a trampoline.

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A person with sensory integration issues
who is very sensitive to noise may have

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a lot of trouble with auditory processing
issues when they're in a space where there

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is background music or a lot of people
talking, like in a restaurant.

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So while they can hear the person who is
sitting across from them and speaking,

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they may not be able to interpret what the
person is saying.

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They know they're speaking, their brain
just can't filter out all of the auditory

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information.

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So like I said, sensory processing issues
can encompass and incorporate all of the

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senses.
And everybody who has sensory integration

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issues, autistic or non-autistic will have
their own set of triggers,

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negative sensory input that causes them
discomfort or pain.

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And many people who have
sensory integration issues, will have

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some sensory input that they actively seek
out and they crave, often because they are

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undersensitive to it.

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So, an autistic person who seeks out 
Vestibular input because they are

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under-sensitive to vestibular input 
may really enjoy activities like

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swinging on a swing, or spinning on a
tire swing, or on a computer chair.

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Something that comes up a lot, and I get
questions about this a lot, comes down to

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Sensory Defensiveness and food.

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Many autistic people have a very limited
diet. And this is both due to

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their routine and resistant to change,
but also to sensory defensiveness.

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Sadly, children who are struggling with
sensory integration issues may have their

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sensory defensiveness toward a certain 
texture or taste of food, interpreted

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by their parents as just picky eating or
even outward defiance.

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This isn't the case. When you have sensory
integration issues,

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you know that you're different, and you
wish you weren't.

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Sensory integration issues and
Sensory Processing Disorder can cause

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a lot of grief in our daily life, because
this world isn't really built for us.

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It is so loud, and so fast, and so bright,
and all the clothes are too tight,

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and everything's too itchy and it can be 
exhausting just trying to get some sleep

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at night with all these sounds all around.

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Sensory integration issues can be
really hard to deal with, and it's

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important to remember if you're having
a showdown with your kid over dinner,

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they're not trying to be defiant to you,
they're not just being a picky eater

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if they have sensory processing issues.

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That is a real neurological condition and
a valid disability.

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And a child with sensory processing issues
doesn't need to be shamed in any situation

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and they don't need to be coerced to do
things that cause them pain.

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Because, really, sensory processing
disorder, when you have a negative sensory

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input as a trigger, it isn't just
uncomfortable or a little annoying.

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It's often very painful, and it is
important to remember that there are some

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children who are just picky.
But when it comes to children with

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with sensory integration issues, they have
a disability. And so accommodation and

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understanding can go a long way.

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When you have a neurological or
developmental disability, you start off

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with less brain energy, call it,
in the morning than typical people do.

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And then, throughout the day, as a
person with sensory processing issues

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is triggered again and again, that
takes up more and more of their

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brain energy that they would be otherwise