We will start this article with the disclaimer that we are not medical experts on this month’s topic. In fact, we are not experts of any kind on this subject. We are only sharing information and/or knowledge that we have gained mostly by personal experience and some research.

This month we would like to inform you about Sensory Processing Disorder or SPD. WebMD defines sensory processing disorder as a condition in which the brain has trouble receiving and responding to information that comes in through the senses. This is a common occurrence for people with autism.

In fact, I am sure all neurotypicals have something that sends shivers down our spines, something we are overly sensitive to. Do you cringe when you think of how nails down a chalkboard sounds? How about the feeling of bugs continuously crawling on you? What if you find a tick or perhaps a spider crawling on you? Now imagine this happening to you but your brain does not immediately have the proper response and is unable to cope.

SPD can affect any of the body’s five traditional senses—sight, smell, touch, taste and hearing. It can also affect multiple senses simultaneously. Our experience with Isabella and SPD is that she goes into sensory overload, which is when the brain cannot process all the stimuli coming in.

This causes extreme anxiety and sends her into what we call her panic mode because, at that moment, she is unsure how to react to the situation. Her typical response is fight or flight.
One example for her is when there is a power outage. A power outage disrupts her normal routine, and due to one past episode where alarms sounded when the power went off, she is afraid this will happen again. And the volume of the alarms hurt her ears.

Her response to a power outage is to flee. She will try to remove herself from the uncomfortable environment and away from any loud alarms.

As alluded to, loud noises cause her distress. She will cover her ears when she is in a place or area that is loud. When the noise level decreases, or once her brain becomes inured to the volume and she can tolerate it she will uncover her ears.

There was a time that, in order to get her to go into stores, we utilized earplugs so that the overhead music and the intercom would not bother her.

Another sensory issue she has is foam on her hands. She struggles with foaming soap. She does not like the way it feels on her skin. Most children love bubble baths, but that is not the case for her. The texture just really bothers her.

These are just a couple of examples of SPD she has, but with time, therapy, and repeated exposure we have seen enormous progress. However, there are often situations where we must be on guard and ready to react.

In general, there are many stimuli that can trigger sensory overload, including crowded spaces, uncomfortable clothing (texture, tags, etc.), unexpected noises, physical touch and numerous others.

Some of the most common responses to sensory overload are anxiety, tantrums in children, physical discomfort, panic, and flight, that is, escaping the trigger situation. Each individual with SPD has their own reactions and ways that they attempt to handle the overloading of senses. We are just sharing what we know from our family’s experience.

According to WebMD there are several other medical diagnoses that are associated with SPD in addition to autism. Those include, but are not limited to, ADHD, Tourette Syndrome, PTSD, and general anxiety. So, in the future, if you encounter anyone who appears to be overreacting to something that seems normal to you, our hope is that you will remember this article or some of these examples and be sensitive to the situation and perhaps extend a little grace.