The Need to Have a "World of their Own"

  Our senses help us discover, learn and understand the world we live in and everything around us. Our perception or reactions to various stimuli that we encounter in our day to day living is governed by our senses.
  Our body is equipped with a lot of senses. The five most recognized of them are:

• sight
• hearing
• taste
• smell
• touch

  In addition to that, other senses include:

• thermoception -  sense of temperature
• proprioception - sense of position.location,orientation and movement of the body and its parts
• vestibular sense - sense of balance
• nociception - sense of pain

   All these senses receive stimuli from inside the body or from the environment and convert these into electrical information which are then carried by cells specialized to conduct impulses (neurons) to the brain where it gets processed for meanings. The body then will produce an appropriate response. This may not be the same for people challenged with Autism.
  People under the Autism Spectrum have difficulty in processing information that comes into the brain through the senses. There are also instances where they can experience fluctuations in sensory processing leading to over or being under sensitive to sensory input from one or more of the senses. Sensory processing can also be delayed and distorted.
  These unusual ways of processing sensory information as it comes to the brain affect the ability to produce appropriate responses. These may manifest differently in each individual but more often than not would result to confusion, anxiety and fearfulness making it hard for them to understand people they interact with and their environment.
   To site examples of how serious these irregularities in sensory system can affect them:

• bright lights may bring about stinging sensation to the eyes
• hearing sounds as too loud or too soft
• light touch may feels like a pinch
• may be very sensitive to different tastes or textures of food and vomits easily
• poor vestibular sense may bring about cravings for excessive movement or may dislike any movement
• may have intense emotional reactions and have difficulty calming down in response to certain stimuli e.g. crowded and noisy places, sudden change in routine, loud music

   In their everyday life, it so sad that they have to struggle and find ways to cope up and shut themselves off from the undesirable effects of  faulty sensory processing giving rise to inappropriate, odd behaviors that stigmatize persons with Autism. The display of "challenged behavior" is a coping mechanism to shield themselves from overwhelming sensory input to the point of retreating to their "own world". Because in their "own world", they can block off those stimuli so they can be calm and relieved from pain, confusion and distress.

  They may do these to cope up and recover:

• When other senses seem to be not working well, they use other reliable senses like the senses of touch and smell to understand their environment

                           smells, licks, or taps object        

• At times when they cannot deal with all the sensory information coming in, they shut down one or some of the senses, thus other senses are able to function better:     

                           behaving as if deaf

                           rocks unconsciously during other activities

   

   This may just be a little bit of information of how a person under the spectrum experiences the world. Its not easy to live in a world of this kind when the very basic tool to survive- the sensory system for that matter- is not functioning at its best. 

   If you happen to know, work with, live or love someone with Autism, take time to know how they experience the world and why there is a need for them to retreat into their "own world".  In this way, we can accept and understand them better. We can render their much needed support. Perhaps when that happens, there would be no need for them to have "a world of their own".


Posted by Red

Image Credits:
  Spring smile by Tina Phillips
  Surprised cartoon boy by Grant Cochrane

Reference:

  Sensory Issues in Autism, The Autism & Practice Group, 2007