New eBook: What it Means to be Autistic (Pt. 2)
An excerpt about sensory sensitivities and sensory processing differences
The purpose of my new eBook
I began writing this eBook after my son was formally diagnosed with Autism, at age 11.
I’d been pretty certain about both of us being Autistic for a few years, so it didn’t come as much of a surprise to me… but my spouse and son didn’t have the benefit of 20 years’ experience and two relevant post-secondary degrees to help them process this new information.
I wanted my family, and all families, to have access to easy-to-understand, neuro-affirming, non-pathologizing information about autism.
I recently shared an introductory article including some elements from my new eBook. The following is another excerpt from that book, with a focus on our sensory differences.
Sensory sensitivities
Almost all (or maybe all) Autistic people experience our senses differently from others. Many have sensory processing disorder (SPD) or what we call sensory sensitivities. These are ways in which our senses are more sensitive than most other people our age.
This may be for all of our senses, only one of them, or just a few. Some people are really sensitive in some ways, while their other senses are actually much less sensitive than other people their age.
What are those senses, anyway? If you’re reading this, you probably already know the basic five senses: sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell. Some Autistic people are very sensitive in one or all of these areas.
Did you know, there are three other senses that most people don’t know about?
Sensory systems
In addition to smell, sight, taste, touch, and hearing, our bodies have three other sensory systems.
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