• Some adults with an ASC consider their sensory sensitivity has a greater impact on their daily lives than problems with making friends, managing emotions and finding appropriate employment.
• The most common sensitivity is to very specific sounds but there can also be sensitivity to tactile experiences, light intensity, the taste and texture of food and specific aromas. There can be an under or over reaction to the experience of pain and discomfort, and the sense of balance, movement perception and body orientation can be unusual.
• The child with sensory sensitivity becomes hypervigilant, tense and distractible in sensory stimulating environments such as the classroom, unsure when the next painful sensory experience will occur.
• We know that the signs are more conspicuous in early childhood and gradually diminish during adolescence, but can remain a lifelong characteristic for some adults with an ASC.

Information courtesy of Professor Tony Attwood.