I have chosen to research into sensory precessing disorder because of how it relates to my chosen theme of safe spaces but also because it is something that I experience and something that I am passionate about taking into my work, to help others who also struggle living with it.
Sensory processing disorder is a trait often found in adults and children who have autism and/or ADHD/ADD. It is a disorder in which the brain cannot properly synthesise multi-sensory information. To put simply, too much stimulation to the mind and body cannot be processed in the same that it is processed in neurotypical people. It either causes hypersensitivity (over-responsiveness to stimuli) or hyposensitivity (under-responsiveness to stimuli). This can be distressing and cause great discomfort or overwhelm for the person experiencing it, sending them into sensory overload.
People affected by Sensory Processing Disorder (also called Sensory Integration Dysfunction) will be so severely affected by their sensory preferences that it interferes with their normal, everyday functioning. It means that they have to make adaptions to their lifestyle and the way they approach different tasks and environments.
Living with SPD can be hard. Parents of children with SPD can feel alone. They may avoid taking their child out in public to avoid sensory overload. Parents may also feel like they need to make excuses for their child’s behaviour.
Adults who have SPD may feel isolated, too. Sensory overload can prevent them from leaving the house. This can make it difficult to go to the store or even to work.
The reason I believe this relates to Safe Spaces is because for those who experience sensory processing disorder, their idea of a safe space can be completely unique depending on how they process sensory information. It makes creating a safe space for them very difficult because all five senses need to be managed separately for them to feel safe and comfortable.
I have experienced sensory processing disorder my entire life and the sensory receivers I most struggle with are sound and touch. I have the hypersensitivity type of sensory processing disorder, meaning that I am oversensitive to things in my environment.
The variables that have affected my struggle have changed and developed from childhood into adulthood. I have made progress with how I am able to manage and understand it. But I would not say it has gotten easier to process sensory information. My bodies physical and mental response has not differed much at all, and I experience sensory overload the same way.
As a toddler, I hated to be picked up, coddled or given any kind of physical affection from anyone who was not my parent. It made me scream, cry and hide in the comfort of my mothers arms, or out of sight hidden behind her legs. In an environment where there were too many different sounds overlapping, such as in a supermarket (trolleys being pushed, chatter, the intercom, bleeping etc.), would send me into fits of crying and I would eventually be exhausted from it, falling asleep. I also struggled with intense smells and anything that provided too much stimulus, such as the smell of a strong detergent or brussel sprouts, would make me gag and sometimes even throw up. I have a prominent memory of being in a cooking class when I was six years old, making vegetable soup, and I was very soon sent home after throwing up because of all the smells surrounding me.
As an adult, I do still struggle a lot, and in the same ways that I did as a child. I am not comfortable with unwanted or unexpected touching. A hug or a squeeze can still be comforting and feel normal, as long as I am aware before it happens and/or I have formed trust and a feeling of safety around the person engaging with me. If someone is to brush up against me on a train, however, or I am grabbed or hugged by somebody I am not comfortable with, this can make me freeze up or at worse be quite distressing and send me into a panic.
Other touch stimulants such as labels on my clothes brushing against my skin or hair on my neck when i'm sleeping can also bring me great discomfort. I have to wear socks at all time, even to bed because I can't handle the feeling of my feet feeling bare and not secure.