Can you be neurotypical and have sensory issues?
But anyone, neurodivergent and neurotypical people alike, can have difficulties with their sensory system.
Sensory overload can happen to anyone, but it is more common in autistic people and people with ADHD, PTSD, and certain other conditions. It causes feelings of discomfort and being overwhelmed. Moving away from sources of sensory input, such as loud sounds or strong smells, can reduce these feelings.
Sensory overload — that explosive phenomenon that's sparked when the senses take in more information than the brain can process — may befall anyone. But for neurodivergent people, heightened sensitivity may trigger an avalanche of sensory information and a greater chance of overstimulation.
Sensory overload is when your five senses — sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste — take in more information than your brain can process. When your brain is overwhelmed by this input, it enters fight, flight, or freeze mode in response to what feels like a crisis, making you feel unsafe or even panicky.
Neurodivergent is a nonmedical term that describes people whose brains develop or work differently for some reason. This means the person has different strengths and struggles from people whose brains develop or work more typically.
Almost everyone has experienced moments of hyperfixation in their lives. Having said that, people with ADHD, ASD (Autism Spectrum) and schizophrenia are likely to experience hyperfixation more intensely and more frequently than neurotypical people [1].
Anyone can experience sensory overload, and triggers are different for different people. Sensory overload is associated with several other health conditions, including autism, sensory processing disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and fibromyalgia.
If you find itchy tags unbearable, loud music intolerable, and perfume simply sickening, you may have Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) — a condition that disrupts the way the brain takes in, organizes, and uses the messages received through the eyes, ears, muscles, joints, skin and inner ears.
Stress and fatigue can contribute to sensory processing issues. When your brain is stressed and exhausted, it is less capable of processing multiple sensory stimuli. It may become more easily overloaded.
Sensory overload can occur as a symptom in people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Sensory overload occurs when one or more of the senses becomes overstimulated in some way.
Is sensory overload anxiety or ADHD?
SENSORY OVERLOAD IS COMMON FOR PEOPLE WITH ADHD OF ALL AGES.
Some of the symptoms of ADHD—such as self-regulation and trouble paying attention to what's going on around you—may themselves induce sensory overload.
Sensory issues are common in people with autism and are even included in the diagnostic criteria for autism spectrum disorder. Each autistic person is unique, and this includes their personal sensory sensitivities.
Sensory overload is an experience shared by people with PTSD and all different sorts of trauma. It can feel uncomfortable or even scary, but it's a natural reaction to an overactive brain. Learning to accept its place in your life is the first step to overcoming it and adapting to the noise.
There are many different things, or combinations of things, that can trigger sensory overload. They include: crowds, or tightly packed spaces. loud sounds, such a loud music, fireworks, a crowd, a festival. strong smells.
Many adults describe the feeling as being assaulted, attacked, or invaded by everyday experiences. They are bothered by sounds or textures that most people don't hear or feel. These experiences can become physically and emotionally unbearable and extremely distracting.
You absolutely are neurodivergent if you have been diagnosed with a developmental or learning disorder, such as autism, ADHD, dyslexia, or Tourette's syndrome. You may decide to consider yourself neurodivergent if you have no diagnosis but think, behave, or interact in ways that are outside the norm.
High Sensitivity is therefore a form of neurodiversity as the brain is working differently from the expected norm. Just as with other forms of neurodiversity, people with High Sensitivity are more prone to stress as their systems can be overloaded with too much sensory input.
Hyperlexia is advanced and unexpected reading skills and abilities in children way beyond their chronological age. It is a fairly recently named condition (1967) although earlier descriptions of precocious reading do exist.
Hyperfixation is most often associated with ADHD, but it can be a symptom of several different mental health conditions, including: Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
A neurotypical person can also be someone without dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD, or other neurological differences.
What does being neurotypical feel like?
The word “neurotypical” refers to people who have brains that function in a similar way to most of their peers. Individuals who are neurotypical develop skills, such as social or organizational skills, at around the same rate as others their age.
Yes! Although they sound similar, sensory processing difficulties can be present without autism. Often children or adults with other neurodevelopmental or psychiatric conditions such as Developmental Delay, Intellectual Disability, Anxiety, ADHD, or mood disorders can also exhibit Sensory Processing Disorder.
Many different mental illnesses are associated with a heightened sensitivity to stimuli from the outside world, among them post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, attention deficit (and hyperactivity) disorder (ADD/ADHD), and more.
Sensory overload, such as feeling like your nervous system is being bombarded and overwhelmed by visual, auditory, taste, touch, and smell stimuli, is a common symptom of anxiety disorder. This article explains the relationship between anxiety and sensory overload symptoms.
Overstimulation, or sensory overload, is when your senses are just completely overloaded with information, making it difficult (or sometimes near impossible) to fully process the information you are receiving. This type of overstimulation is often seen in what we often call highly sensitive people (or HSP for short).
Overstimulation (OS) occurs when there is “too much” of some external stimulus or stimuli for a person's brain to process and integrate effectively. This leads to an unpleasant sensation of being flooded and an impulse to escape the stimulus – or, failing that, to cry or scream or thrash about.
- Reduce demands on the individual immediately. ...
- Give the individual time to calm down and regulate. ...
- Stop talking. ...
- Find a quiet space. ...
- Use a strategy or support you know will help them to regulate.
Adderall works by increasing levels of dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine, thus bringing the brain from a state of overstimulation to a normal state of stimulation.
Self-stimulatory behavior, often called “stimming,” is when a child or adult repeats specific movements or sounds as a way to self-soothe or remain engaged in a situation, often referred to as “fidget to focus.” Many people assume that only individuals with autism engage in self-stimulatory behaviors.
Differences in emotions in people with ADHD can lead to 'shutdowns', where someone is so overwhelmed with emotions that they space out, may find it hard to speak or move and may struggle to articulate what they are feeling until they can process their emotions.
Can you have sensory issues without being autistic?
Sensory issues are considered a symptom of autism because many people on the autism spectrum experience them. But not everyone with sensory issues is on the spectrum. Some have ADHD, OCD or developmental delays. Or they may not have a diagnosis at all.
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Many people identify as neurodiverse, including people with:
- attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
- Tourette syndrome.
- depression.
- dyslexia.
- intellectual disabilities.
- schizophrenia.
ASD, AS, ADD/ADHD, SPD, HSP, PDD-NOS are all part of the spectrum of neurodivergence.
Yes! Although they sound similar, sensory processing difficulties can be present without autism. Often children or adults with other neurodevelopmental or psychiatric conditions such as Developmental Delay, Intellectual Disability, Anxiety, ADHD, or mood disorders can also exhibit Sensory Processing Disorder.