Sensory issues and fluctuation/worsening

Post Reply New Topic

Hey, this is a question for the adults on the spectrum, as well as anyone with knowledge on this subject. I'm aware that sensory issues fluctuate in intensity over time (whether by hour or day), but I'd like to know if any of your sensory issues are actually worse now than when you were a kid? I can't find much reliable or informative information about this, since most resources and websites cater only to children.

As a child, I had mild-severe sensory issues depending on the situation, but now as an adult, I have some different sensory issues that have popped up (or were triggered), and there's more now than when I was a kid. Smells didn't use to bother me much, but now smells that don't bother anyone else make me gag and shiver uncontrollably. Also, my sense of touch is more sensitive now (it was still pretty sensitive before) and I can no longer wear certain materials. On the contrary, I'm no longer sensitive to taste or food textures (I used to gag and spit out any soft foods), and now I eat food because of the interesting/weird textures. I have many other sensory hyper and hypo-sensitivities that have changed dramatically over the years. Is this common?

Can sensory issues in autism change over time as the brain develops, and can they be triggered by later life experiences? Anyone have any experiences to share? Also I'd be grateful if anyone could point me to some websites regarding this information. Thanks.

Hi,

yes. Things can appear and go even in short times. At least for me. A matter of anxiety level and depression level.
Really scary if you realize things that havent been there before. And just then when you feel bad
But they vanished again

Example Feeling bad in a crowd.

Also dependent on food supply. If Im hungry then I have more issues

I think that this has something to do with working memory issues. If you're more busy then of course youll be more prone to sensory overloads

EDIT: INFO mild spectrum with every now and then strong anxiety issues

Sensory processing disorder is a disability in and of itself, but most importantly, it's a neurological disability. Neurological disabilities are notorious for fluctuating without any fathomable cause. That shows you how incredibly not-understood the human brain is.

I have noticed differences. A lot of things which bothered me as a child didn't bother me as a teen or now. Some of the things which didn't bother me as a child bothered me as a teen! I now have different sensory issues to the ones which I had as a child, although some are similar or the same. As for neurological fluctuation, I think Tourettes is a good example of how strange and variable our neurology is because one day I have one set of tics, another day different ones!

_________________
I have HFA, ADHD, OCD & Tourette syndrome. I love animals, especially my bunnies and hamster. I skate in a roller derby team (but I'll try not to bite )

One thing I have noticed that has only really come up in the last year or so is finding that supermarkets are really difficult for me now. The lights are too bright, everything is painted white so very reflective, packaging is in bright colours and clashing colours next to each other. It's noisy, kids' screams carry, there are conversations going on all around me that blur together in my head. I'm electrosensitive so get a lot of shocks from the shelves, trolleys etc. And of course way too many people in there. It doesn't surprise me that children throw tantrums in shops, I'm often tempted to join in!

The only way I can do it now is with sunglasses, ipod and a detailed list made in order of what is in which aisle. (Of course they change this every six months and I arrive to find I have a plan that doesn't work.) I know I wasn't as bad as this as a child, it's a much more recent development.

The colour white in general, I've never liked it but now I find it looks very harsh to me in a way I don't remember it looking before.

My eyes seem to be a lot more sensitive to light than ever, and I feel more comfortable in dark glasses. Again, that has become more powerful in the last 5 years or so.

But then there are allsorts of other weirdnesses I've had all my life that I didn't know until reading on here that they were sensory issues. Disliking the mouthfeel of most fruits, freaking out if a stranger's hair touches me, feeling uncomfortable in loose-fitting clothing for example.