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Although a sensory processing disorder is not considered a qualifying characteristic for a diagnosis of autism, I have yet to meet a\u00a0 person on the autism spectrum who does not have a challenge in this area. In interviewing adults and teenagers of different ability levels for my book, Autism Life Skills<\/em><\/a> (Penguin 2008), most of them stated sensory processing challenges as the number one difficulty for them, regardless of where they were on the spectrum.<\/p>\n

Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) is a neurological disorder that causes difficulties with processing information from the five senses: vision, auditory, touch, olfaction, and taste, as well as from the sense of movement (vestibular system), and\/or the positional sense (proprioception). For those with SPD, sensory information is sensed, but perceived abnormally. Unlike blindness or deafness, sensory information is received by \u00a0people with SPD; the difference is that information is processed by the brain in an unusual way that causes distress, discomfort, and confusion.<\/p>\n

For those interested in knowing more about auditory processing, Autism College will present a free live Q & A on the topic on Tuesday, July 19, 2011 from 6:00 to 8:00pm\u00a0 PST with visiting professor Terrie Silverman, MS, and with Chantal Sicile-Kira moderating. You may sign up here.<\/a><\/p>\n

Sensory processing – <\/strong>making sense of the world – is what most adults conveyed to me as the most frustrating area they struggled\u00a0 with as children, and this impacted every aspect of their lives \u2013 relationships, communication, self-awareness, safety and so on.\u00a0 Babies and toddlers learn about the new world around them \u00a0by using their senses. At first they put everything in their mouths, they grab your finger with their little fists, then they start using their eyes to look at all those cute baby mobiles hanging over the crib. They learn to recognize the sound of their mother and father\u2019s voices and\u00a0 other noises.\u00a0 They start putting meaning to what they are hearing and seeing. The lesser known senses that have to do with balance and body position (vestibular – where are heads and bodies are in relation to the earth\u2019s surface;\u00a0 and propioceptive -where a certain body part is and how it is moving) are also necessary in order to making meaning of the world around. If\u00a0 these\u00a0 are not working properly and are not in synch, they acquire\u00a0\u00a0 a distorted view of the world around them and also of themselves.<\/p>\n

Most parents and educators are familiar with how auditory and visual processing challenges can effect learning in the classroom. Yet, for many, sensory processing difficulties are a lot more complicated\u00a0 and far reaching than that. For example, Brian King, Ph.D, a licensed clinical social worker who has Asperger\u2019s, explained that body and spatial awareness are difficult for him because the part of his brain that determines where his body is in space (propioception) does not communicate with his vision. This means that when he walks he has to look at the ground because otherwise he would lose his sense of balance.<\/p>\n

Temple Grandin, Ph.D, (Thinking in Pictures, Animals in Translation<\/em>) is an animal scientist, and successful livestock handling equipment designer. Temple designed and built a deep touch pressure device \u2018squeeze machine\u2019 when she was a teenager as she needed the deep pressure to overcome problems of oversensitivity to touch, and helped her cope with feelings of nervousness.<\/p>\n

Donna Williams, Ph.D, bestselling author, artist, musician, had extreme \u00a0sensory processing challenges as a child and still has some, but to a lesser degree.\u00a0 Donna talks about feeling a sensation in her stomach area, but not knowing if her bladder is full, or \u00a0if it means her stomach hurts because she is hungry.\u00a0 Other adults mentioned that they share the same challenge especially when experiencing sensory overload in crowded noisy areas. \u00a0They shared that they set their \u00a0cell phones to ring every two hours, to\u00a0 prompt them to use the restroom, \u00a0in order to \u00a0avoid a potentially embarrassing situation.<\/p>\n

Many adults on the spectrum find it difficult to\u00a0 tolerate social situations. Meeting a new person can be overwhelming \u2013\u00a0 a different voice, a different smell and a different visual stimulus \u2013 meaning that difficulties with social relationships are not\u00a0 due to just\u00a0 communication, but are about the total sensory processing experience. This could explain why a student can learn effectively or communicate with a familiar teacher or paraprofessional, but not a new one.<\/p>\n

Many difficulties shared to varying degrees include:<\/p>\n