Sensory sensitivities

Sight

Situated in the retina of the eye and activated by light, our sight helps us to define objects, people, colours, contrast and spatial boundaries. People with an ASD may experience the following differences.

Hypo (under-sensitive)

Objects appear quite dark, or lose some of their features.
Central vision is blurred but peripheral vision quite sharp.
A central object is magnified but things on the periphery are blurred.
Poor depth perception – problems with throwing and catching; clumsiness.

Hyper (over-sensitive)

Distorted vision:
objects and bright lights can appear to jump around.
Images may fragment.
Easier and more pleasurable to focus on a detail rather than the whole object.
Example....She was Mrs Marek, a face upon which light danced maniacally, turning her into more of a cartoon than a human being. Welcome to Toon town…I'd like you to enter this torture chamber I call my kitchen and meet my wife who is a 3D cartoon. Gillingham, G. (1995), page 51