Read this blog to learn about sensory overload and autism, including what can trigger it, what it looks like, and how to manage in everyday life.
Autism impacts 1 in every 100 people globally and can add more challenges to an individual’s life. While ASD can manifest differently in boys vs girls, sensory overload and autism often go hand-in-hand, and can make seemingly easy everyday tasks more difficult for all kinds of reasons.
Sensory overload in autism occurs when an individual becomes overwhelmed by excessive sensory input, such as loud noises or bright lights. Managing triggers and creating a calm environment can help reduce stress.
Here at The Brain Workshop, we are dedicated to helping you understand disorders such as ASD and ADHD to ensure that you get the support you need. We look at topics such as echolalia, sleep disorders, and how you can support loved ones who need it.
What is Sensory Overload?
Sensory overload and autism often go hand-in-hand. In short, sensory overload can be described as an intense feeling of being overwhelmed that occurs when the brain receives too much information from different senses that it can’t properly process – such as sight, taste, smell, sound, touch, and other sensory processing.
People with autism can have anxiety, panic, and even meltdowns triggered by sensory overload, where they can have an involuntary reaction as a response. If someone is experiencing a sensory overload, they will be more sensitive to sounds, smells, tastes, and other stimuli, which could make them have adverse reactions to bad smells, unpleasant tastes, uncomfortable textures, and bright lights. When this happens, their feelings of anxiety and frustration will increase, and can result in irritability, physical discomfort, difficulty concentrating, and more.
Some common triggers for sensory overload in autistic people include:
- Changes in the set routine
- Too much visual information
- Touch and texture sensitivities
- Fatigue can more sensory overload more likely
- Unpleasant, strong, or unfamiliar smells and tastes
- Loud and/or disruptive noises (including background noises)
Why Sensory Overload is Common in Autism
Autistic people will experience the world differently compared to neurotypical individuals, and strong likes and dislikes plays a key role in this. It is common for people with ASD to be hypersensitive or hyposensitive to a range of stimuli (sights, tastes, touches, etc), meaning that they will have either an over-responsive reaction or an under-responsive reaction to these different stimuli, respectively. In fact, it’s common for both hyposensitivity and hypersensitivity to occur in the same person for different things.
As it stands, we do not know the exact cause of these sensitivities. However, it’s important to take steps to ensure that you and your loved ones with ASD are as comfortable as possible – just like we should do our best to ensure anyone’s comfort.
Many autistic people can experience sensory issues relating to:
- Touch
- Taste
- Smells
- Sounds
- Sights
- Balance
- Proprioception
- Interoception
Common Triggers of Sensory Overload
Since sensory overload and autism are often tied together, you will need to learn a person’s specific triggers. However, there are common categories that these triggers will fall under, such as unpleasant tastes, smells, changes to routines, and more.
Below are some common sensory overload triggers in autistic individuals:
- Changes in the set routine
- Fatigue can more sensory overload more likely
- Unpleasant, strong, or unfamiliar smells and tastes
- Touch and texture sensitivities
- Too much visual information
- Loud and/or disruptive noises (including background noises)
Signs of Sensory Overload in Autistic Individuals
There are lots of signs that can point towards sensory overload in a person, but please remember that this can look different in everyone. You might notice irritability, fatigue, and restlessness, but be mindful that some people are better at masking their behaviour better than others.
7 signs of sensory overload in autism:
- Extreme fatigue
- More irritable
- Urge to block different senses or sensory experiences
- Feelings of restlessness
- Physical discomfort
- Heightened need to self-stimulate
- Feeling ‘wound up’
What Behaviours Are Exhibited When Someone is Experiencing Sensory Overload?
Sensory overload can look different for everyone, and what might apply to one person might not apply to another. However, there are a variety of signs that you can look out for that will be a good indication of whether someone is experiencing sensory overload or not, especially when they are exhibiting many of these behaviours.
Once you know how to spot someone who is experiencing sensory overload, you can take steps to help them manage it and calm them down.
The following behaviours could be a sign of sensory overload:
- Covering ears or eyes
- Not talking, talking faster, or talking louder
- Moving around more (spinning, jumping, etc)
- Often chewing on non-edible or non-food items
- Frequently playing rough or touching other people
- More stimming behaviours (swaying, rocking, hand flapping, repeating noises, etc)
- Refusing to or insisting on wearing particular items of clothing or eating particular foods
- Trouble recognising sensations in the body (hunger, shirt, need to use the toilet, pain, etc)
- Having trouble responding or communicating when the brain shifts all resources to handle the sensory input (this is called a shutdown)
- The need to escape a situation or experiencing overwhelming and escalating emotions (this is called a meltdown)
Practical Strategies to Manage Sensory Overload
Sensory overload and autism can be challenging to work through, but there are some practical strategies that you can implement when you start to feel overstimulated or uneasy.
Here are some things that you can do to help manage sensory overload:
- Determine what you can change and what you can’t
- Create sensory-friendly environments wherever possible to avoid discomfort and overstimulation
- Using products that provide deep pressure, such as weighted blankets
- Use protective measures like headphones, ear plugs, sunglasses, etc, to help manage sensory overload and stimuli
- Get a good night’s sleep and take measures to improve your chances of sleeping well, such as covering distracting lights and turning off electronic
- Using visual supports if you have difficulty with processing audio information
- Exercise every day to improve your mental and physical health
- Have a plan to go through if you do experience sensory overload or meltdowns
- Utilise sensory tools like chewies or fidget toys
How to Create a Sensory-Friendly Environment
There are a number of things that you can do when it comes to sensory overload and autism, with many of them being easier than you might think. However, please remember that everyone will have individual needs that need to be met, so it might take some time to find what works.
Be Aware of Fabrics and Textures
Many people with autism will have a range of textures that they do not like, with a common example being velvet. However, this sensitivity to textures can extend far beyond fabrics, and could include anything slimy, or something like the texture of microfiber cloths or damp cotton.
Come up with a list of textures that you or your loved ones with ASD doesn’t like, and see what alternatives you can come up with. This could mean that you replace some pillow covers or blankets, or that they simply know which clothes or clothes to stay away from, which will help reduce sensory overload.
Have “Safe” Foods Available
It’s common for autistic people to have a set collection of foods that they like, and trying new foods can be a challenge – particularly when it comes to texture. This can mean that trying new foods is almost impossible, but you should always encourage this without being forceful.
To help create a sensory-friendly environment, it’s important to have “safe” foods viable at home or at school. This could be a very specific sandwich, or it could be a collection of foods that the person enjoys such as cheesy noodles, chicken tenders, and more.
Be Mindful of Harsh Lighting
Lighting is a key factor to consider when you want to create a sensory-friendly environment. Harsh lighting such as LED lights can be painful for many people with autism due to the level of lights and also the unpleasant noise.
Get the right lighting by changing bulbs and shades where possible. While not always possible, getting light switches that can be dimmed is a fantastic option, as this allows a good level of control over the lighting.
How The Brain Workshop Can Help Support Sensory Challenges
Sensory overload and autism is common, and this means that we should know how to manage it and the signs to look out for. Looking for tools and support to manage sensory overload and autism? Contact The Brain Workshop today to explore our autism-friendly resources and expert guidance.
If you would like to learn more, please don’t hesitate to visit the Brain Workshop and find out more about us, our team, events, or even read our FAQ. If you want to find out more about ASD, why not have a look at our blogs on how to parent a child with ADHD and autism, if ASD is a learning disability, the difference between Asperger and autism, or learn about 10 iconic autistic fictional characters.
