“My struggles are largely sensory processing:” The sensory world of autistic people

ABSTRACT

This article delved into the sensory experiences of autistic adults, drawing on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in British Columbia, Canada. Thematic analysis of qualitative data revealed how unusual perceptual sensitivities impact the emotional well-being of autistic people, complicating their social interactions and relationships and contributing to social isolation. However, autistic individuals adopt diverse sensory and social coping strategies, and constantly adapt their previous sensory and social experiences to particular social and physical environments. This enables them to deal with their sensory challenges while interacting and socializing with others and engaging in social relationships. These ongoing adaptative processes also produce distinctive sociability patterns and perceptions among autistic people, reflecting both the stress associated with social interaction and the intense desire for it. Accordingly, this study highlighted the need for greater awareness of sensory phenomena and of social and physical environments to understand the daily and life experiences of autistics individuals.

KEYWORDS:

• Autism
• sensory
• sociability
• adults
• social relationships

Acknowledgments

I would like to express my gratitude to all the participants who contributed to this study. Special thanks to Dr. William H. McKellin for his exceptional supervision during my PhD research, which greatly enhanced my understanding of the complex sensory experiences of autistic individuals.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethics approval

The study was approved by Behavioural Research Ethics Board in the University of British Columbia. Application number H18–02689.

Additional information

Funding

This paper received no funding or grant from any funding agency.