Sensory Processing Disorder
You may have heard around tumblr about Auditory Processing Disorder, a type of Sensory Processing Disorder. SPD means that a person experiences their senses differently than a neurotypical person. SPD can be part of Autism or ADHD or it can be a neurological disorder all on its own. SPD isn’t universally respected as a diagnosis by doctors who prefer to diagnose people as Autistic or just label them “picky” but I have SPD so let me tell you a bit about it.
People who are hypersensitive experience their senses more intensely than someone who is neurotypical. Symptoms include
Feelings stressed or panicking while hearing loud noises or being under bright lights
Hating perfumes, the smell of food cooking, or other, even pleasurable, intense smells
Feeling itchy in clothes or under sheets others wouldn’t find scratchy
Focusing on background noises others don’t notice
Not enjoying being touched or not enjoying being touched in certain ways
People who are hyposensitive experience their senses less intensely than someone who is neurotypical. Symptoms include
Fidgeting, getting sensory cravings, or “stimming”
Being very touchy and physically affectionate
Being bad at personal space
Both types of SPD can “not know their own strength” and use inappropriate amounts of pressure on objects or people. Both can also have trouble hearing, hyposensitive people for obvious reasons but hypersensitive people because they can’t sort between the background noise and whatever their supposed to focus on. Both are also known for running into things and having poor balance.
Someone with SPD may be hyposensitive in some senses and hypersensitive in others. Someone can even show signs of both hyper and hypo sensitivity in a single sense. Experiencing too much or too little sensory stimulus can cause anyone to panic, but both are much easier states for someone with SPD to reach. Emotional reactions to too much or too little going can mean that people with SPD have to be particular about the places they go and things they do. SPD can affect a person’s life a little or a lot depending on the type they have and how intensely. Again, it isn’t universally recognized by doctors so the treatments can vary. Children will often go to a sort of sensory boot camp where they learn to manage their responses to different stimulus. For teens and adults, they usually take care of it themselves by managing their spaces and doing self care to not enter spaces or do things that will cause them to become over or underwhelmed.
2087
jbbartram-illu
kianamaiart
tangentwithtanner
blakekathryn
dededos
germansingergirl
