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Ask an Autistic - What is Sensory Processing Disorder?

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    Hi everyone, I'm Amythest, and welcome to
    "Ask an Autistic".
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    (Upbeat music) I want to write a song
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    to shine a light, be the change we want
    something's right...
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    We've been waiting in the dark for so long
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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 Proprioceptive 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 neuro-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,
    you know,
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    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 noise, like 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 that they're speaking, their
    brain just can't filter out all of the
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    auditory 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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    love of routine and resistance 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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    when this isn't the case. When you have
    sensory integration issues,
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    you know that you're different, and you
    wish that 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 that
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    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, you know,
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    there are some 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
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    neuro-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
    be putting towards learning,
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    or socializing, communicating
    and self-regulating.
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    Sensory overload is one of the,
    I think, biggest, and most frequent
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    causes of autistic meltdown.
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    That's why it is so important
    to allow any person or child
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    with sensory integration issues -
    autistic, or not -
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    to stim in whatever ways that they need to.
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    Because stimming isn't just a
    meaningless activity, or
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    you know, or a repetitive motion
    just because.
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    While stimming is often an expression
    of self in autistic people,
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    in people of all neuro-types with
    sensory integration issues
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    stimming is THE best and most
    important way to self-regulate.
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    By stimming in whatever way that
    feels natural, or comfortable
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    to that person, the person with
    sensory integration issues
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    is able to block out negative input
    with good input.
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    For example, a person with sensory
    integration issues
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    may vocally stim to block out
    a negative auditory stimulus
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    in their environment.
    Stimming can also allow
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    and enable a person with
    sensory processing issues to
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    engage in social situations
    and to be out in public longer,
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    and more often because they have a way
    to deal with all of the anxiety,
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    and the pain, and the stress
    that comes from negative sensory input.
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    So, when it comes to helping your
    child, or loved one, or yourself
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    deal with sensory integration issues,
    stimming is a very important part of that.
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    Allowing stimming, even encouraging
    stimming,
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    and exploring, if you are a person with
    sensory integration issues, what stims
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    can you do in w-, in certain situations
    to help yourself, and to lessen
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    the pain, and the mental burden of-
    of- dealing with negative sensory input.
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    And then of course, because the world
    isn't made for us, there are going
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    to be times when we have to
    accommodate for ourselves.
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    For myself, I always carry with me,
    in my bag, or my purse,
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    a pair of earplugs, some wet-wipes,
    um, ya know, to deal with any stickiness
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    I might accidentally come across.
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    Some gum, which provides really good
    uh, deep sensory input in your jaw.
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    And I, I don't have sunglasses right now,
    but I know that to combat
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    bright sunlight, or the flickering of
    fluorescent lights, which is just awful
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    a combination of sunglasses, and a
    hat with a brim, or just one or the other
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    can lessen the pain from bright
    or flickering, or bad-colored light
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    sources a lot. So I'm currently
    looking for a pair of sunglasses
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    that feel comfy enough for me to wear,
    and that I like the look of.
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    But when I find a pair that I do like,
    I will definitely include them in my
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    little kit of sensory things to help me deal
    with negative sensory input.
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    The important thing to remember,
    is that Sensory Processing Disorder
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    and sensory integration issues in
    autistic people
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    are a real and valid neurological
    condition.
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    And that, without accommodation
    or understanding, they can really
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    inhibit your life, and be super hard
    to deal with.
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    And in remembering that Sensory
    Processing Disorder is a real disability,
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    you can also remember that,
    with accommodation, you can
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    lead a happy and healthy and
    successful life. And that having
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    sensory integration issues, or being
    autistic, doesn't mean that you can't
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    live a rich and fulfilling and joyful life.
    It just might
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    require some accommodation, a little bit
    of foresight, or planning
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    and some understanding from
    the people around you.
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    So, this has been my video on
    Sensory Processing Disorder.
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    Just a brief overview (claps):
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    If you have questions about this topic
    or would like to discuss anything
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    I said in this video, feel free to
    post in the comments section because
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    I would love to foster some discussion out
    of this topic, and hear from all of you.
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    Do you have Sensory Processing Disorder?
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    Do you love somebody who does?
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    And if you have a question that you would
    like answered via video
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    feel free to post your autism-related
    question in the comments section below
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    or message it to me if you would like it
    to be anonymous.
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    And if you like this video,
    feel free to give it a thumbs-up,
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    and subscribe to my channel if you
    would like more
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    videos about autism, and to see new "Ask
    an Autistic" episodes when they come out
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    on Thursdays!
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    Thanks for watching my video!
    (reprise of song from beginning)
Title:
Ask an Autistic - What is Sensory Processing Disorder?
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Video Language:
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Duration:
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