Abstract
Some of the sensory issues in Autism are highlighted in this chapter. These include auditory, tactile, and visual challenges that many individuals on the autism spectrum experience. Many children and adults on the spectrum have difficulty organizing, interpreting, and appropriately responding to sensory information. As a result, they have sensory systems that either overreact or underreact. Their sensory challenges may make them respond poorly to loud sounds, touch, and the texture of fabric and seams. Overhead projectors, fluorescent light bulbs, and the smell, color, and texture of food may also be intolerable. Visually, individuals with ASD may have an atypical eye gaze and an inability to detect emotions from the visual data they perceive from faces. They may avert their gaze and find it difficult to look a person in the eyes, and they may not attend to different visual cues that occur at the same time. An awareness of these challenges is necessary in order to increase the comfort, safety, and cooperation of an individual on the autism spectrum.
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Ennis-Cole, D. (2019). Sensory Systems and Autism. In: Seeing Autism through Parents’ Feedback, Sketchnotes, Technology, and Evidence-based Practices. Educational Communications and Technology: Issues and Innovations. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15374-8_5
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