Highly sensitivity can be separate from autism, but there is significant overlap…many autistic people are also highly sensitive due to their heightened sensory awareness.
Not all autistic individuals are highly sensitive though (as sensitivity varies on the spectrum,) but I’d say many if not most do experience heightened sensitivity to sensory stimuli.
Also, not all highly sensitive individuals are autistic—sensitivity can manifest in various ways across different personality types and conditions, including ADHD.
So yes, there is a relationship between high sensitivity and autism, they are distinct concepts that can coexist.
Upwards of 20% of the population is estimated to be highly sensitive. That is a significant percentage!
This matters and is important. To teach kids at a young age that they are not alone with their feelings of “this world is too much, too intense, too overwhelming.” We can teach coping skills and ways for them to manage this sensitivity in an overstimulating fast paced and not always “sensory friendly” world.
The sensitive kids are the kids that throw up at school, who pick up on others energy and emotions easily, who startle, get overwhelmed by noisy or busy environments, who appear to overreact to things or have emotional outbursts.
#sensoryprocessing #highlysensitivepeople #sensory #adhd #autism #autistic #autismspectrum #OT #sensorysensitive
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