Autism and overstimulation

24/04/2019

Fortunately, in recent years, attention has increased for problems in stimulus processing. Children with autism can become overstimulated by the sensory stimuli in his or her environment.

For example, a classroom can be very busy for a child with autism. There are therefore more and more children with autism who get stuck in the current school system. Fortunately, there is more awareness that the busy walls full of colorful posters and drawings, the many noises in the hallway and in the classroom are quite a challenge for some children to deal with. Let alone that these children still get around to learning.

In this blog I tell you how the world is experienced by a child or adolescent with autism on the basis of 5 senses.

See

In the big cities, metro stations it is a lot of shop signs and big advertisements. For people with autism, these visual stimuli cause busyness and chaos in their heads, it can give them restlessness.

Hearing

In a group, it can take a lot of energy for someone with autism to switch off sounds, to follow a conversation, while there is another conversation going on next to them in the environment. Talking at the same time also causes a lot of unrest. When someone with autism stays in such a situation too much and for too long, overstimulation can occur. In addition, someone with autism can also be sensitive to seemingly inconspicuous ambient sounds, such as the falling of a pen, the closing of a door or the sliding of a table.

Feel

Many children with autism find it difficult to tolerate certain textures. You probably know them children who have trouble with certain sweaters, wearing socks. Not wanting to eat yogurt with pieces of fruit in it. But also receiving unexpected touches, such as a pat on the back, a hand or having to give a kiss to grandma can cause overstimulation for some children with autism.

Smell

Some children with autism can be very sensitive to smell. For example, smell can sometimes be associated with something positive, but sometimes a smell can upset someone. This can be strong perfume, but also smoke or body odor.

Taste

There are children with autism or stimulus processing problems who refuse to eat foods of certain colors. But not only the smell, but also the texture and smell are of influence, this combination can cause overstimulation in some children. So the picky food is not ‘appointing’ your child. Try to find a middle ground. Offer various products so that your child can choose.