Autism: Sensory Vs Processing Issues

In autism, both sensory and processing issues are common. It is very tempting to believe, then, that the two are connected and that sensory issues lead to processing issues.

You might be surprised to learn that this is not actually the case.

Instead, it is possible (as is the case for autistic authors, Lucy Blackman, and Ido Kedar) for people with autism to experience severe sensory issues but no processing issues. It is also possible that autistic people have severe processing issues, but no discernable sensory issues.

I have both hearing and vision-related sensory issues. But my visual processing is quick, while my verbal processing leaves a lot to be desired. In fact, I prefer to read rather than watch a video because I take in information better through reading than through listening.

Why is this the case?

Senses

Let’s start by focusing on the role of the senses.

In general, senses produce consistent information, even if it is blurred, bits are missing, or it is distorted in some way. When information from a sense is not consistent, the autistic individual will tend to rely on other senses. This information from the senses is connected to the real world. Due to this ‘requirement’ to connect the senses to real world experiences, further conclusions will therefore still be connected to the real world, or rather, the autistic person’s experience of it.

Lucy Blackman has severe visual sensory issues: she uses peripheral vision; shadows can cause her to panic because of a lack of depth perception: she can’t make sense of the scene. But despite this, Lucy still learned to read by herself. She read her sister’s school books without anyone realising she could read. She reads extremely quickly, which suggests she has no processing issues regarding vision nor verbal processing. Lucy also understands what people say around her, despite severe auditory difficulties. It is the consistency of her sensory perception that has enabled her to learn to read, assimilate information, and understand those around her.

Certain kinds of changes can be extremely difficult for autistic people whose sensory information is processed as a whole. When this affects vision, the autistic individual will perceive any given scene as a whole and can be very distressed at a tiny change within that scene - a change so small that most people don’t notice. This can lead to them becoming very upset because the scene, to them, is completely different. Later as they learn to recognise the change, they will correct what is ‘wrong’. When this affects sound, utterances will be taken as a whole. This leads to echoalia (involuntary or voluntary repetition of words, phrases or sounds spoken by others) and scripting (the repetition of phrases, conversations, or lines from, say, TV show or films). The autistic person may even insist that those around them follow a script precisely.

The senses help us process raw information. Even if this information is incomplete or distorted, autistic people can and do learn to make sense of it when it is familiar. This information can be totally different to what those around them obtain from their senses.

Processing

Further processing of information from the senses seems to involve incorporating a separate step, using different areas of the brain. This can also not work as efficiently as it should.

Further processing means:

• Processing for the deeper meaning behind what has been said or written. This means processing beyond the literal meaning for implied emotion and the emotional impact on you. For example, if someone tells you their car has been stolen, then it is reasonable to assume that they are upset about this and that they expect you to comfort them. This is ‘processing for personal affect’. There may be hints and other hidden meanings within what has been said. Many autistic people do not manage to process this in real time, although some who have, delayed processing, process this later.

• Integrating information from different senses to work out what is going around you. This can be important; to not, for example, step in front of a bus when trying to cross the road when someone is talking to you.

• Paying attention to and processing where you are going in an unfamiliar place so you don’t get lost.

• Understanding situations and being able to make decisions off the back of them. For example, avoiding someone who is acting strangely.

• Being able to process an unexpected change or situation and decide on a way forward.

All of these can be difficult, to a greater or lesser extent, for people with processing issues,

Discussion

As mentioned above, the autism some people experience is caused primarily by sensory issues; while the autism others experience is caused primarily by processing issues. The presentations of these broad types of autism can vary widely, but when issues are severe, both types historically were (mis-) labeled as mentally retarded and unable to learn.

Of course, you also get autistic people who have a combination of sensory and processing issues in various ways and to varying degrees of severity.

It should be noted that sensory and processing issues, by themselves do not explain the autism of every autistic individual. There are other factors as well, such as focus and switching focus, emotion processing, executive functioning, and forms of reasoning that are based on ‘wholes’ in some way.

What are your thoughts on this topic? If you’re an autistic person reading this, do you have sensory issues but no processing difficulties - or vice versa? Or perhaps you know or care for someone who is autistic and have noticed issues with one or the other: sensory or processing. Leave a comment below to let me know your experience…

Further reading:

Looking to read around the subject? Learn more about the following:

Sensory

We recommend Olga Bogdashina’s sensory framework for a better understanding of sensory issues in autism. You can also head to Olga Bogdashina’s YouTube channel and take a look at her book, ‘Sensory Perceptual Issues in Autism and Asperger Syndrome’

ProcessingThe following blog posts may be of interest:

Slow Processing

Delayed Processing

Fragmented Processing

What is mono processing?

Anxiety and Processing

Why Do Some Autistic People Feel Like Everyone is Watching Them?

Understanding Autism: Beyond Processes and Routine