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keepingmesane

sensory issues increasing with age?

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Hi all, sorry to have been missing from the forum for ages (you guys probably dont remember me anyway lol) but with my twins being quite high functioning i always felt guilty with others in a more difficult place. My twins are now 5 and doing well. kieran is on the gifted and talented list for literacy and is doing fantastic, jasmine is very lovable but definately still lives in jasmine land most of the time :rolleyes: . Isaac (now 4) has now been noted as having sensory issues and is in the middle of applying for a statement. Thankfully my youngest is bright as a button with no issues at all except for a major stubborn streak :)

 

im here to ask a question for myself though. im undiagnosed ASD though my family and i are now pretty much convinced that i am somewhere on the spectrum. Most people who meet me think im perfectly ok, but i can only manage short times out before it all gets too much and i have to almost practice whats going to happen before i go out, im generally getting better at things like school pick up as its a familiar routine with familiar faces, i hate it when then change where we go to collect the children (nevermind poor kieran... jas gets transport to a seperate school so i dont have to worry about that)

 

Im having a tough time at the moment, ive always been funny about touching things and hate having things such as soap on my skin, but its got so bad that i cant stand doing washing up or washing mine or my childrens hair, it makes my stomach knot up and awful sensations up and down my arms and i just hate it. i have to tolerate it at times as its a necessity... but it never used to be this bad. ive never liked it but could tolerate... now im having to use gloves and still cringe as i can feel the sensation through the gloves. even just thinking about it makes my skin crawl.

 

Is it normal for sensitivities to increase as we get older?

also, i never ever think of normal daily routines such as washing, cleaning teeth, changing clothes, beds etc. often i find its days before i get an 'oh yeah, i must wash my hair' i often end up wearing the same clothes again and again as they are comfortable and ive now gone to wearing only baggy things as i cant stand having anything tight on any more. i cant wear a bra as it irritates me too much... sounds daft but im so snappy if my clothes or hair irritate me (or if someone irritates me by trying to alter something on me)

i know its not good to admit the above but i honestly just dont think of it most of the time, im getting better but with reminders about the place and of course the children who have to do certain things.

 

 

anyone else the same?

Edited by keepingmesane

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I am very particular with clothes too, esp bras. But my breasts are too big to be able to go out without one! I find it v difficult to find one that feels comfortable enough to wear during the day, as it has to be cotton. I tend to buy several of the same thing if I like it tops, trousers etc. Then wear things till they are v old and tatty! But I don't feel it has got any worse with age really. I do have probs with touching certain things, like sponge etc. But have never had issue with washing my hair so can't really advise. I do make hairwashing a routine, that I do every 2nd day, as I have to look presentable for work. If I wasn't working I probably wouldn't bother so much to be honest. In my younger years I used to have to be nagged to wash my hair etc.

 

My other thing is food, I think this prob has got both better and worse as I have got older. Very fussy about what i will eat.

 

nice to hear from you, gread to hear Kieran is doing so well, and I am pretty sure Jasmine world is a nice place to be! hope all goes well with Issac. Lauren sounds like a typical wee girl! very stubborn.

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thanks for your reply xx i too have difficulty with food which has been at times very problematical.. for a whole year after the birth of my youngest daughter i would only eat toasted pitta bread (with nothing in or on it) its all i could eat.

 

Jasmine world is definately the place to be, she is so happy and carefree, if only everything was that easy :)

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Jasmine world is definately the place to be, she is so happy and carefree, if only everything was that easy :)

 

 

yeah!

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My sons sensory issues have got worse as he has got older. I was rather hoping that as he came out the other side of his teenager years they might decrease.

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in my personal situation i believe that my sensory issues are increasing! but mine is connected with anxiety i pretty sure of it i scare myself loud noises trigger me into panic attack any sudden noise! or with my short sighted vision also adds to this problem as sudden movements add to my anxiety list! i also have problems blocking out background noise and then concentrating when lots happening around me which isn't good for me especially happens in main tutor room at college i find hard to cope and not get angry and frustrated and upset and annoyed with myself and way my head behaves drives me mad and crazy! grrr... which sometimes it give me break from me!

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My knowledge of my sons sensory difficulties eg hearing, taste, touch, sight has expanded as he has got older but his sensory difficulties have not got worse.

 

When he is more anxious than his sensory difficulties affect him to a higher level.

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I agree this is becoming a problem for my 16 year old son. I wonder if Auditory intergration training might help I am considering this for my son just doing a little research first.

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it depends on "how older" you are talking about.

 

it would be interesting to find out from a group of adults over 20s, 30s, 40s etc etc etc 60s 70s..

 

personally, I would say, I got much worse (and in my mid-forties) which I am working to see what they really are at the moment.

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it depends on "how older" you are talking about.

 

it would be interesting to find out from a group of adults over 20s, 30s, 40s etc etc etc 60s 70s..

 

personally, I would say, I got much worse (and in my mid-forties) which I am working to see what they really are at the moment.

 

I am so glad to read your post. I have found problems with many things increase in the past couple of years (I am 45) Bear in mind I was a very sozzled alcoholic for most of my adult life, and perhaps this numbed me (I was up to two bottles of whisky a day). Since becoming 'sober' or with the advance of years, I do not know which pertains, things like water, washing, noisies, textures, heights, spatial awareness have become increasingly worse. I can only assume that as i was constantly drunk for many years, I previously put this down to being drunk.

 

As a child I went from no fears of anything, or particular problems with space or stumbling to acute ones as a teenager, so I am not sure if this is solely related to my suspicion of having Asperger's or not. I cannot recall how I felt about other environmental things (except clothes I suppose), but to me as a kid, I assumed everyone felt exactly like me anyway. I had no very great cognisance then of how differently other people felt.

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Hi

I'm in my forties and found I am very sensitive to clothing and find it difficult to regulate temperature, I wear very loose clothing especially at home.

 

 

Paul.

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hello MrB

 

Thank you for your positivity re my post.

it's very helpful to read posts by more mature Adults in this thread.

 

often Autism/Aspergers are, only or at least, predominantly seen as problems of children and younger people.

it's good to see the growing trend that older Adults coming forward more openly these days and there are more publications/books about Adults in their 30s, 40s 50s and beyond. hope this trend will continue.

 

Paul, I have been having the problem of temperature regulation or hypersensitivity to extreme temperature since my early Thirties, though it got gradually worse.

 

I reckon, some of us in older age may be more prone to developing certain physical illnesses though certainly I'm not looking forward to these.

 

have a good weekend and take care,

 

 

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I do notice that I'm more sensitive to the feel of clothes and to my own personal comfort than I used to be, but looking back I wonder how much age has to do with it. I think it's common when people are young and in their twenties to put up with things that are uncomfortable for the sake of fashion or looking good, when older people would just go for comfort. When I think back to the stiletoes I used to wear and the lacy, underwired bras I cringe, I couldn't possibly put up with that degree of discomfort now. I'm sure I was uncomfortable at the time as well, it's just that I was perhaps more willing to put up with it or didn't know any better maybe. Now I can only wear soft sports bras with no wiring and flat shoes. But, if you look at any older person, they're usually dressed more for comfort and look at the girls in their teens tottering around in awful shoes and no coats in February, give them twenty years and they'll be wearing comfy shoes and loose-fitting tops too. :whistle:

 

~ Mel ~

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I'd been thinking about this myself recently, too!

 

It's difficult to say in some ways...as I had a late dx at 41, previously I had thought that what I now know to be my sensory integration disorder was further evidence of my 'inadequacy' and 'abnormality'.

 

Bid :)

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From observation of DS I know his sensory difficulties are worse when he is tired or stressed. It also goes in seasonal cycles - when the tree pollen is out (spring) he always has more problems.

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The world has also become noisier particularly with increased technology - we didn't have mass iPod use 5 years ago but now people have no issue either playing music out loud or there being 'seepage' from having it too loud with headphones (and maybe that's wreaking young ears which in turn will mean things need to be even louder), nearly everyone has mobiles (often more than one) now and seems to need to have loud conversations, clashing ring tones, I don't remember shops playing loud music when I was young, and everything and everyone seems to be competing to be heard.

 

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hello MrB

 

Thank you for your positivity re my post.

it's very helpful to read posts by more mature Adults in this thread.

 

often Autism/Aspergers are, only or at least, predominantly seen as problems of children and younger people.

it's good to see the growing trend that older Adults coming forward more openly these days and there are more publications/books about Adults in their 30s, 40s 50s and beyond. hope this trend will continue.

Paul, I have been having the problem of temperature regulation or hypersensitivity to extreme temperature since my early Thirties, though it got gradually worse.

 

I reckon, some of us in older age may be more prone to developing certain physical illnesses though certainly I'm not looking forward to these.

 

have a good weekend and take care,

 

I wholehertedly agree, though this condition has been recognised and steps are being taken to ease the life of the young, one has just got to ask, what about all those older people that suffer the same, Me I am diagnosed at age 42, but it does occur there are many undiagnosed struggling with life. Fine, it is with this society it seems the young are prerequisite, those that need to be understod and directed, but what about the older, are we forgotten. I mean, we have got this far with life unaided, surely we can manage ? Know it, often we can't and life is a massive struggle and a question as to why bother. I am new to Aspergers as a condition, but lets not forget the elders, we despite our age still have a right to a comfortable life too, and any help would be much appreciated.

 

But on the issue of sensitivity, myself, I have never had any sensitivity, the things others find sensitive, I do not. I am not ticklish in the slightest respect, my taste always has been different, and with that hearing and sight. The latter, sight, I notice what other's don't see, and hear what others dont hear. Touch, well, I can cut myself or burn myself and not feel it, it has always been so. It was known I as a child had a high resistance to pain and discomfort, colds and such, never hindered me and I carried on as usual.It is only until recently I forced myself through interests sake alone to have my nipples pierced, to seek sensitivity and there found some of what I was searching for, pain yes, discomfort yes, sensitivity yes, but even then, despite the different states of healing, I am more analysing what I feel and reasoning it than enduring it as a process to an end.

 

Clothing, well, I vary, what I wear depends on mood, but I have been told what I wear borders on the extreme sometimes. One day I could be in hippy mode and wear loose colourful attire, the next day, I could be in black leather and silk, all dependant on how I feel. But, as I have got older, I have grown a liking for the more luxurious fabrics, silk, velvet and such as opposed to the harsh fabrics like cotton, linen etc. I have always as far as I can remember had an aversion to non natural fabrics they just make me feel uncomfortable, and the static crackle of the stuff makes me feel very uncomfortable and edgy.

 

 

Edited by Sa Skimrande

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