Articulating Sensory Sensitivity: From Bodies with Autism to Autistic Bodies

Belek, Ben

doi:10.1080/01459740.2018.1460750

Cited by 42 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…Although similar to meltdowns, shutdowns present as more internal experiences, where the individual withdraws from their surroundings and is accompanied by emotional pain (Belek, 2018). The degree to which one can function during a shutdown ranges from mild (e.g., being able to walk around and talk) to severe (e.g., feeling detached from your limbs and going into a fetal position) (Belek, 2018).…”

Section: Shutdownmentioning

confidence: 99%

What I Wish You Knew: Insights on Burnout, Inertia, Meltdown, and Shutdown From Autistic Youth

et al. 2021

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Introduction: Burnout, inertia, meltdown, and shutdown (BIMS) have been identified as important parts of some autistic people’s lives. This study builds on our previous work that offered early academic descriptions of these phenomena, based on the perspectives of autistic adults.Objectives: This study aimed to explore the unique knowledge and insights of eight autistic children and youth to extend and refine our earlier description of burnout, inertia, and meltdown, with additional exploration of shutdown. We also aimed to explore how these youth cope with these phenomena and what others around them do that make things better or worse, with a hope to glean knowledge to design better supports.Methods: One-to-one interviews were conducted with eight children and youth, who shared their experience with BIMS. To match individual communication strengths of children and youth, we took a flexible approach to interviews, allowing for augmentative communication systems and use of visual images to support verbal interviews, as needed. We conducted a reflexive, inductive thematic analysis, using an iterative process of coding, collating, reviewing, and mapping themes.Findings: Our analysis has identified that these youth describe BIMS as a multi-faceted experience involving emotional, cognitive and physical components. Moreover, these multifaceted experiences are often misunderstood by neurotypical adults, which contributes to inadequate support in managing BIMS. Of the four experiences, these youth identified meltdowns as most common.Conclusion: By gaining first-hand perspectives, we have identified novel insights into BIMS and developed a more holistic understanding of these phenomena. These youths’ descriptions of supportive strategies for BIMS stress the importance of compassion and collaboration from trusted adults. This new knowledge will provide a foundation for how to better support autistic children and youth. Further research is required to develop an understanding of BIMS, especially with respect to how it is experienced by children and youth. Future research should leverage the insights and experiential knowledge of autistic children and youth to co-design support tool(s) for BIMS.

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Section: Shutdownmentioning

confidence: 99%

What I Wish You Knew: Insights on Burnout, Inertia, Meltdown, and Shutdown From Autistic Youth

et al. 2021

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“…[22] note that autistic people can sometimes cease outward behavioural responding to sensory stimuli in their environment, which an observer might interpret as a reflection of hyposensitivity. However, this shutdown of behavioural responses can be due to hypersensitivity: a person who is overwhelmed by the sensory information around them might retreat into themselves (see also [28]). Thus, as Grandin and Panek (p. 83) [22] conclude, there may be a "difference between what sensory problems look like and what they feel like" [emphasis in original].…”

Section: Heterogeneity In Autistic Sensory Processingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Defining Clusters of Young Autistic and Typically-Developing Children Based on Loudness-Dependent Auditory Electrophysiological Responses

Dwyer

Wang

Meo-Monteil

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Background: Autistic individuals exhibit atypical patterns of sensory processing that are known to be related to quality of life, but which are also highly heterogeneous. Previous investigations of this heterogeneity have ordinarily used questionnaires and have rarely investigated sensory processing in Typical Development (TD) alongside Autism Spectrum Development (ASD). Methods: The present study used hierarchical clustering in a large sample to identify subgroups of young autistic and typically-developing children based the normalized global field power (GFP) of their event-related potentials (ERPs) to auditory stimuli of four different loudness intensities (50, 60, 70, 80 dB SPL): that is, based on an index of the relative strengths of their neural responses across these loudness conditions. Results: Four clusters of participants were defined. Normalized GFP responses to sounds of different intensities differed strongly across clusters. There was considerable overlap in cluster assignments of autistic and typically-developing participants, but autistic participants were more likely to display a pattern of relatively linear increases in response strength accompanied by a disproportionately strong response to 70 dB stimuli. Autistic participants displaying this pattern trended towards obtaining higher scores on assessments of cognitive abilities. There was also a trend for typically-developing participants to disproportionately fall into a cluster characterized by disproportionately/nonlinearly strong 60 dB responses. Greater auditory distractibility was reported among autistic participants in a cluster characterized by disproportionately strong responses to the loudest (80 dB) sounds, and furthermore, relatively strong responses to loud sounds were correlated with both auditory distractibility and noise distress. This appears to provide evidence of coinciding behavioural and neural sensory atypicalities. Limitations : Replication may be needed to verify exploratory results. This analysis may ignore some variability related to classical ERP latencies and topographies. The sensory questionnaire employed was not specifically designed for use in autism. Variability in sensory responses unrelated to loudness is ignored, leaving much room for additional research. Conclusions: Taken together, these data demonstrate the broader benefits of using electrophysiology to explore individual differences. They illuminate different neural response patterns and suggest relationships between sensory neural responses and sensory behaviours, cognitive abilities, and autism diagnostic status.

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“…My brain interprets facial expressions, other than a smile, as hostile, making long sessions in front of large groups of students overwhelming. Sensory sensitivity is also a principal attribute of autism (Belek, 2019), with sensory and social overload being the main stimuli for my regular migraines. At work I minimise sensory discomfort by relocating when the office gets too loud, bright or busy, or when small talk is too uncomfortable.…”

Section: Chris's Reflectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Considering COVID-19: Autoethnographic Reflections on Working Practices in a Time of Crisis by Two Disabled UK Academics

Hannam-Swain

Bailey

2020

SSRN Journal

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Articulating Sensory Sensitivity: From Bodies with Autism to Autistic Bodies

Cited by 42 publications

References 47 publications

What I Wish You Knew: Insights on Burnout, Inertia, Meltdown, and Shutdown From Autistic Youth

What I Wish You Knew: Insights on Burnout, Inertia, Meltdown, and Shutdown From Autistic Youth

Defining Clusters of Young Autistic and Typically-Developing Children Based on Loudness-Dependent Auditory Electrophysiological Responses

Considering COVID-19: Autoethnographic Reflections on Working Practices in a Time of Crisis by Two Disabled UK Academics

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