Abstract
Although previous research has investigated altered sensory reactivity in autistic individuals, there has been no specific focus on visual sensory experiences, particularly in adults. Using qualitative methods, this study aimed to characterize autistic visual sensory symptoms, contextualize their impact and document any associated coping strategies. A total of 18 autistic adults took part in four focus groups which involved questions around visual experiences, the impact of these on daily life, and strategies for their reduction. Transcripts of each session were thematically analyzed allocating six key themes. Participants described a range of visual hypersensitivities, including to light, motion, patterns and particular colors, which contributed to distraction and were frequently part of a wider multisensory issue. Such experiences had significant negative impacts on personal wellbeing and daily life with participants describing fatigue, stress and hindrances on day-to-day activities (e.g., travel and social activities). However, the degree of understanding that participants had about their visual experiences influenced their emotional response, with greater understanding reducing concern. Participants employed a variety of coping strategies to overcome visual sensory experiences but with varied success. Discussions also highlighted that there may be a poor public understanding of sensory issues in autism affecting how well autistic individuals are able manage their sensory symptoms. In summary, autistic adults expressed significant concern about their visual experiences and there is a need to improve understanding of visual experiences on a personal and public level as well as for developing potential support.
Highlights
In addition to social interaction and communication difficulties, altered sensory reactivity, such as excessive or dampened sensitivity to stimuli, forms part of the autism diagnostic criteria (DSM-5: American Psychiatric Association, 2013; ICD-11: World Health Organization., 2019)
Visual Hypersensitivities Participants described a variety of issues, relating to visual hypersensitivity, which refers to an increased sensory sensitivity rather than threshold detection sensitivity
A total of 18 autistic adults, without learning disabilities, attended a focus group meeting at The University of Manchester. The opinions of these participants were elicited to gain a holistic understanding of the visual experiences of the autistic adult population. It builds on previous work which has briefly documented visual issues in the context of a broader study on altered sensory reactivity (Jones et al, 2003; Robertson, 2012; Robledo et al, 2012; Smith and Sharp, 2013; Robertson and Simmons, 2015), and highlights significant concerns amongst autistic adults regarding their vision, visual sensory experiences and the impacts these have
Summary
In addition to social interaction and communication difficulties, altered sensory reactivity, such as excessive (hyper-) or dampened (hypo-) sensitivity to stimuli, forms part of the autism diagnostic criteria (DSM-5: American Psychiatric Association, 2013; ICD-11: World Health Organization., 2019). Altered sensory reactivity is experienced by the majority of autistic people (Kientz and Dunn, 1997; Green et al, 2016). These experiences can be enjoyable or distressing (Smith and Sharp, 2013; Robertson and Simmons, 2015), and their magnitude has been found to be positively correlated with the number of autistic traits one may have (Robertson and Simmons, 2013). It remains throughout life (Crane et al, 2009) and affects each modality (Cléry et al, 2013; Baum et al, 2015) as well as multisensory processing (Marco et al, 2011; Beker et al, 2018)
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