Both my children as autistic so we have an abundance of sensory issues in our house. I’m 99.9% sure I am also autistic, I’ve always felt different but going through the diagnostic process with my kids, I relate to everything.
I would say my worst sensory issue is with sound, for example, I struggle massively when out in a restaurant. I can hear everything, the music, the food prep in the kitchen, other customers conversations, their cutlery scraping on their plates. I can sometimes block it out but it’s exhausting. Other times I just cannot focus on what my dh or kids are saying because of all the outside interference. It is very difficult. I sometimes bite my tongue as a distraction which is painful but it works as awful as that sounds.
I also struggle in a car when everyone is talking and the radio is on, it has to be one or the other as I cannot focus when it’s both, there’s too much stimulation.
Food texture and appearance is also a biggy for me, there’s many things I will not even try because of what they look like, I know their texture will make me gip. I’m 33 and have never tried quiche as it just looks vile to me.
I’ve always been classed as a fussy eater but it’s more in depth than that. I will eat an abundance of what I class as my safe foods, as will my children. My dd will have no ‘wet’ foods or sauces of any kind, my ds will have a few select sauces - gravy and ketchup. They know if different brands have been used within the first bite. We have the same few meals on repeat. Food cannot be touching each other, and must be identifiable as what it is. So a bolognese is a no as it’s many ingredients mixed together but a roast dinner with a meat portion, veg and yorkshire puds all not touching is fine - for the kids not me, I will eat mixed dishes.
I have eaten a wider range of foods as I have got older, maybe they will too?
One thing I CANNOT do is eat a sandwich that I have seen someone make, I can eat and love sandwiches so I can eat one say if I got a Tesco meal deal, no issue but if I see someone make a sandwich and then serve me it, I would find it hard not to gip, very odd and I cannot explain it at all.
Clothing is a major one for the kids, all labels are removed from clothing, it’s all soft materials, jeans are a no for both of them. As soon as we get home, they are straight back into pjs.
My kids will both have to touch things of certain textures too, so if a wall looks appealing they would spend a good deal of time touching it. My dd mouths a lot too and licks many things including people bless her. We have to keep her very close as it doesn’t matter if it’s a stranger!