Living with Sensory Overload: Coping Strategies for Autistic Adults
By @chairufajar found on unsplach.com
What may look like a tantrum and an out-of-control person to you could actually be someone having a sensory overload. Sensory overload is known as a meltdown for those familiar with autism. Sensory information is the information you get from your five senses; however, those on the autism spectrum take in more information than their brain can handle. This extra sensory information can cause a spiral into sensory overload and lead to being overstimulated. Autism is a spectrum, so everyone is different. Sensory overload can cause anxiety, stress, physical pain, a breakdown, and withdrawal. Not all sensory overloads result in a meltdown. Some people will become withdrawn and quiet.The National Autistic Society gives examples of things that can cause sensory overload. For instance, while fluorescent lights in the supermarket are bright to neurotypicals, for me and many autistic people, it is like staring at the sun. These types of lights hurt my eyes. Another example is hearing electricity; when near something that conducts or uses electricity, most autistic individuals will hear some noise; for me, I hear a buzzing. This buzzing is very disturbing and causes me to become irritable. Other common things that can send someone into sensory overload are clothing tags, touching something with a weird texture, and loud places, like a mall or an airport. When confronted with these things, it overloads our senses and makes it hard to carry on.
Over the years, several YouTube videos have been made, giving insight into what a person may experience when they have sensory overload and get overwhelmed. One of the recent and most informative sensory overload simulation videos is by the YouTube channel SAYS, which provides a 360-degree view of what it feels like to autistic people. It is best watched with headphones or earbuds and on fullscreen to get the whole experience. Give it a try and step into our world.
As someone who experiences sensory overload, I have found it helpful to develop coping strategies to navigate daily life. There are many different strategies to limit or prevent sensory information overload. Most autistic people use noise-canceling headphones or earbuds to limit sounds. These headphones do not block out all sound, but they do limit the amount of intake. Cutting out the tags in clothing and choosing fabrics you can tolerate is another strategy to prevent sensory overload. Fidgit toys can help someone focus only on one thing instead of multiple things. Some strategies used for sensory overload include box breathing, the 5-4-3-2-1 coping strategy, and removing yourself from the situation.
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI hope you are doing well. To be honest, I haven't heard about sensory overloads and now that I've read your post, I see the struggles of people with autism. I never knew about what triggers them either. I'm glad that you were able to find ways to handle your issues and provide examples of what you do. Thanks for sharing this information.
I have a brother who has autism. My brother is nonverbal so it can be quite hard for us to understand what he needs from us to help him when there is a sensory overload. Over the years we have learned things he may or may not like though. It can be very frustrating in public, not at the fact that my brother is having a sensory overload, but at the fact that a majority of the people do not understand what is happening. They automatically think he’s having a “tantrum” and just unnecessarily stare. The staring always upsets me if I am being honest. At times I educate and other times I stare back to almost say “Please stop staring at my brother with judgment”. I usually give the benefit of the doubt they may not understand what is going on. So thank you so much for sharing these blogs and informing those who do not know.
ReplyDeleteThis is an issue that I think is extremely important to discuss in our modern era. The rise in technology and other media integrating into ever growing cities, even neurotypical individuals can struggle with feeling sensory overload. Obviously it is on a lesser scale, but I think it allows us to provide an analogy to make people have some sort of understanding of how autistic people might struggle and add more empathy in general to the world. glad to hear you have developed coping strategies that you feel are successful in managing this.
ReplyDeleteHi Samantha, I will have to admit I was most excited to read your blog this week as I mentioned previously my 8 year old son has ASD. Sensory overload is something he experiences a lot and I know everyone on the spectrum experiences things differently but hearing how you feel in those situations gives me something to compare to. My son hates loud noises and electronic sounds but I never knew it could give off a buzzing sound. I often wondered why he has difficulty with lighting but never thought it could be as bright as the sun. Each blog you write I feel like I understand him better and better!
ReplyDeleteHi Samantha, love your the awareness you are bringing in. I find it very interesting as I mentioned I work as nanny and did noticed some kids are sensitive in very early age with texture and noises. As they grow up we need to take clothings tags off the cloths, socks not all textures feel good. So yes thank you for sharing even more information about Austism
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