Key point 1In autism, sensory impressions are processed differently
In the supermarket, Alex leaves his trolley where it is and walks out without any shopping.
🔋 Light, music, announcements and crowds all at once. It was more than he could bear.
Sensory differences are so common in autism that they are part of the official criteria. This means that input from the environment and from your own body arrives stronger, weaker or less filtered than it does for most other people.
The sense organs themselves usually work normally. The difference lies in how the brain sorts, weighs and filters the impressions.
A brain without an automatic filter
Most brains tune out what doesn’t matter on their own: the hum of the lamp, the label in the collar, the conversations at the next table. In many autistic people, this only happens partly. Everything is there at once, and what matters has to be picked out actively. That takes energy all the time (see hyperacusis).
More than “being sensitive”
This isn’t about being fussy or having a weak character. When light hurts, a smell causes nausea or a touch feels like an electric shock, that is a physical experience, not a feeling you can think away. And it isn’t “imagination”: for the person experiencing it, it is exactly this intense.
Key point 2Any sense can be affected
Alex cuts the label out of every jumper and has eaten the same five lunches for years.
🔋 Texture and smell – not a quirk.
Which senses are affected differs from person to person. Some have one or two main areas, others almost all.
👂 Hearing
- Everyday sounds are too loud or unpleasant: dishes, the vacuum cleaner, the hairdryer, chewing noises, typing.
- Several sounds at once are hard to sort out. In restaurants and bars, you can barely understand the person across from you.
- A constant quiet humming or buzzing (fridge, neon light) can be torment.
- Details: the page on hyperacusis.
👁️ Sight
- Glaring light, neon tubes, sun or flash photography dazzle and quickly start to hurt.
- Flickering screens, lights or movement at the edge of vision are distracting.
- Busy, crowded surroundings (supermarkets, crowds, patterns) are visually overwhelming.
- Some people spot the tiniest details very quickly, yet can’t find anything on a cluttered surface.
👃 Smell
- Perfume, cleaning products, food smells or smoke quickly become unbearable and can cause headaches or nausea.
- Smells from other rooms or on other people stand out, even though nobody else notices them.
- On the other hand, familiar scents can be very calming.
👅 Taste and texture
- Certain textures (slimy, grainy, mixed) are almost impossible to bear.
- Eating is often limited to a few “safe” foods.
- Sometimes foods must not touch each other on the plate.
🤚 Touch
- Seams, labels, tight or scratchy clothing are bothersome all day.
- Unexpected touch, hugs or being jostled can be unpleasant or even painful.
- Firm, even touch (pressure, a weighted blanket), on the other hand, is often experienced as calming.
- Water, washing hair, brushing teeth, cutting nails: many everyday tasks are sensory challenges.
🌡️ Temperature and pain
- Cold or heat is felt either very strongly or hardly at all.
- Some feel pain much less and notice injuries late. Others react to it very strongly.
🧭 Body awareness and inner signals
- Balance and body position: clumsiness, dizziness on swings or rides, difficulty with sport and coordination.
- Inner signals (interoception): Hunger, thirst, tiredness, needing the toilet or even your own feelings are noticed too late or only vaguely.
Key point 3Too much and too little often occur together
Over-sensitive (hyper)
Input is too strong: sounds, light, smells, touch. You want to get away from it.
Under-sensitive (hypo)
Input arrives too weakly: pain, hunger, cold, tiredness. You notice it late.
Sensory seeking
Some people deliberately look for strong input: pressure, movement, music, flavour. It helps them feel themselves and calm down.
All of this can occur in the same person: keen hearing but hardly any sense of pain. That often makes it hard for the people around them to understand.
Sensitivity isn’t constant. It gets stronger when you’re tired, stressed, hungry or ill, or after a lot of input. On good days you can take more, on bad days hardly anything.
Key point 4The input adds up – and costs energy
After an ordinary day at the office, Alex is as exhausted as other people after a marathon.
🔋 Nothing bad happened. It was a thousand small things.
Many kinds of input are bearable one at a time. The problem is the sum: if you process neon light, noise, smells and tight clothing all day, you are drained by the evening, even if nothing “bad” has happened.
The energy battery on a high-stimulation day
Typical everyday situations
What happens when it gets too much
Anyone exposed to too much input for too long reacts with irritability, withdrawal, headaches, nausea or exhaustion. In the extreme case, a meltdown or shutdown follows. Over months and years, this can turn into autistic burnout.
Key point 5A lot can be eased with simple means
Hearing
Ear protection, noise-cancelling headphones, a quiet corner, soft furniture and rugs.
Light
Sunglasses, a cap, dimmed or warm light, avoiding neon tubes and flicker, turning down screen brightness.
Smell
Fragrance-free products, airing rooms, keeping away from the kitchen and perfume, a familiar, calming scent as an anchor.
Clothing and touch
Seamless clothing, removing labels, soft fabrics. Ask people to tell you before they touch you.
Food
Accept safe foods. Try new things in small steps, without pressure.
Choose your timing
Shop at quiet times, travel outside rush hour, don’t schedule appointments back to back.
Quiet places and breaks
- Set up a retreat at home: dark, quiet, soft, furnished however you like.
- When out and about, know where it is quiet (toilet, side room, park, car).
- After high-stimulation situations, deliberately plan time to recover, without feeling guilty.
When sensitivity is too low
If you notice inner signals late, you can set up aids: reminders to eat, drink and take breaks, fixed bedtimes, dressing by the temperature rather than by feeling, regular self-checks (“When did I last eat?”). With injuries, it is worth taking a close look even if it doesn’t hurt.
Professional support
- Occupational therapy: Therapists who specialise in sensory processing help you understand your own profile, shape your daily life and practise strategies.
- Medical check-up: Have your eyes, ears, skin and allergies checked so that physical causes aren’t overlooked.
- Peer contact: Autistic communities know many practical everyday tricks from their own experience.
Key point 6Good things come with it too – and the people around you can contribute a lot
The other side of sensitivity
If you perceive intensely, you also experience beautiful things intensely: music, colours, patterns, nature, textures, scents, subtle changes. Many autistic people describe deep joy in details that others miss. The challenge is to manage the intensity, not to get rid of it.
For those around them
Believe what the person says about their perception, even if you notice nothing yourself. Ask what helps instead of judging it. Turn down music, light or perfume where you can, and offer a quiet place. Don’t take headphones, sunglasses or withdrawal personally: they are there for self-protection, not to put you down.
Talking about it openly
“My brain doesn’t filter sensory input well. Bright light and noise take a lot of energy from me. Could we meet somewhere quieter?”
In short
- In autism, the brain processes sensory impressions differently and often filters them less automatically.
- Every sense can be affected: hearing, sight, smell, taste, touch, temperature, pain, body awareness and inner signals.
- Too much and too little sensitivity often occur together, and some people also actively seek out sensory input.
- The input adds up and costs energy. Too much leads to exhaustion, meltdown or burnout.
- Ear protection, sunglasses, suitable clothing, quiet times and places to retreat to ease a lot.
- Occupational therapy, a medical check-up and understanding from the people around you help further.