Hi, I'm a 22 year old female, who has finally gotten around to remembering to join these forums. I was diagnosed with Asperger's in 2011 (finally), and involving myself in the autistic community caused me to learn about SPD, and end up in the IRC channel associated with these forums. Now I'm actually bothering to add in the longer response time part of the community.
I've not been officially diagnosed with SPD, but there's no way that sensory issues for me are abnormal and the most severe part of what I deal with. The levels that I deal with are often associated with people with much more "severe" autism. The SPD community has been able to already start helping me deal with these things.
So, well, hi. I dislike these introduction things, but I'm going to try to be good and post one for once.
Welcome Tuttleturtle!
I don't have Autism, but my SPD is quite bad affects everything I do. I do have an Ion Channel Disorder called Hypokalemic Periodic Paralysis that is affected by the SPD and the SPD is in turn affected by it. I can get into a nasty circle where they are each making the other worse. Throw in my Food Allergies acting up and it can sometimes be a gerbil wheel of nightmares.
Which sensory issues do you want help with the most? Are there any particular lessons for Autistics with SPD that you would like to share?
The sense I know least of what to do about is also the one that's most hypersensitive - smell. I actually went to an allergist because of how many headaches I get around everything that might have a little bit of toxins in it - he said I had one of the most hypersensitive noses he's ever seen.
I'd also like any suggestions for things that cut out specifically ultra-high pitched noises (i.e. the ones that are supposedly 'ultrasonic'). I have earplugs for normal noises, but those still are terrible with the earplugs.
For autistic people with SPD, my immediate response is weighted blankets. Weighted blankets are amazing (and how I got pulled into the SPD community at all). I've been putting together directions on how to make a weighted blanket so that I can share them with others who want to make a blanket for themselves. People with either just autism or SPD could also benefit a lot from them, but with both, its particularly helpful (and particularly worth spending money on)
Tuttleturtle-
I would love to have the directions on how to make a weighted blanket when you are finished with them. Thanks!
Welcome! I'm nineteen and have a brain malformation called polymicrogyria, causing severe sensory issues and difficulty hearing and speaking, among other things.
My hypersensitivity to the smell of some of my food allergens is seemingly off the charts. I can't get a Food Allergist to believe in them, but they are the main reason I am mostly trapped in my home. It is just too dangerous for me to be in a place where my Food Allergens are since they cause: Confusion, Dizziness, closing of my throat, and then I fall to the floor paralyzed.
I actually went through and categorized what types of sensory abnormalities I have. I actually didn't realize how many there were in me until going through the list on spdlife.
I identify with, to various degrees
-propioceptive hyposensitivity, interoceptive hyposensitivity
-tactile hypersensitivity, gustatory hypersensitivity, olfactory hypersensitivity, visual hypersensitivity, auditory hypersensitivity, vestibular hypersensitivity, interoceptive hypersensitivity
-tactile seeking, gustatory seeking, vestibular seeking,
-olfactory discrimination issues, visual discrimination issues, auditory discrimination issues, propioceptive discrimination issues, vestibular discrimination issues, interoceptive discrimination issues,
-dyspraxia
(And if you had an olfactory-centered version of Dan's made up sensory based anxiety disorder, that is far more descriptive than the social anxiety I've been diagnosed with.)