Sensory Processing Explained

The Autistic Sensory Experience

Autistic people often process sensory information differently than neurotypical people. This isn't a defect in our senses—our eyes, ears, and skin work fine. The difference is in how our brains filter, prioritize, and respond to sensory input.

Where a neurotypical brain might automatically filter out the hum of fluorescent lights or the texture of clothing tags, an autistic brain may process these as vividly as a conversation or a fire alarm. Everything comes in at full volume, all the time.

Hypersensitivity and Hyposensitivity

Autistic sensory processing typically involves both hypersensitivity (over-responsiveness) and hyposensitivity (under-responsiveness), often in the same person depending on the sense and context.

Hypersensitivity

When hypersensitive to a stimulus, you experience it more intensely than others:

• Sound — Background noise feels loud and distracting; certain frequencies are painful
• Light — Fluorescent flicker is visible; bright lights cause physical discomfort
• Touch — Clothing tags, seams, or certain fabrics feel unbearable
• Smell — Perfumes, cleaning products, or food smells are overwhelming
• Taste — Certain textures or flavors trigger strong aversions

Hyposensitivity

When hyposensitive, you may not register stimuli that others notice easily:

• Pain — Not noticing injuries or illness until they're severe
• Temperature — Difficulty sensing when you're too hot or cold
• Hunger — Not recognizing hunger or fullness signals (interoception)
• Proprioception — Seeking pressure, crashing into things, or appearing clumsy

The Eight Sensory Systems

Most people know about five senses, but there are actually eight. Understanding all of them helps explain the full range of autistic sensory experiences:

• Vision — Light, color, movement, patterns
• Hearing — Sound, pitch, volume, frequency
• Touch — Pressure, texture, temperature, pain
• Smell — Odors and scents
• Taste — Flavors and textures of food
• Vestibular — Balance, movement, spatial orientation
• Proprioception — Body position, pressure, muscle feedback
• Interoception — Internal body signals (hunger, thirst, bathroom needs, emotions)

Sensory Overload

When sensory input exceeds our brain's capacity to process it, we experience sensory overload. This can happen from:

• A single intense stimulus (sudden loud noise, bright light)
• Accumulation of multiple moderate stimuli over time
• Environments with unpredictable or changing sensory input
• Being already depleted from masking or other demands

Sensory overload can lead to meltdowns, shutdowns, or the desperate need to escape. It's not a choice or a character flaw—it's a neurological response to genuine overwhelm.

Managing Your Sensory Environment

Know your profile

Pay attention to which stimuli bother you most and in what contexts. Your sensory profile is unique—what works for one autistic person may not work for you.

Build a sensory toolkit

Tools that help manage sensory input:

• Noise-canceling headphones or earplugs
• Sunglasses (even indoors)
• Fidgets and stim toys
• Comfortable clothing without tags or seams
• Weighted blankets or compression clothing
• Familiar safe foods

Modify your environment

Where possible, adjust your surroundings:

• Replace fluorescent lights with incandescent or LED
• Add soft furnishings to reduce echo
• Create a quiet retreat space
• Control temperature and airflow

Advocate for accommodations

At work, school, or medical appointments, you can request sensory accommodations. Dimmer lights, quieter rooms, written instructions instead of verbal—these aren't special treatment, they're accessibility.

Your Experience is Valid

If the world feels too loud, too bright, too scratchy, too much—you're not imagining it. Your nervous system is processing the world differently, and that experience is real.

Our Sensory Toolkit offers grounding techniques and regulation strategies for when you're overwhelmed.