Sensory processing differences: what they are and how they show up

Page summary

Sensory processing differences mean sound, light or touch feel much stronger or weaker than for other people. Many people use the name sensory processing disorder, or SPD, but it isn’t a formal diagnosis. These differences are common in autistic people, and they can come with ADHD as well. Overload, when too much sensory input arrives at once, can often be eased by small changes. Adults who want a clear answer can have an autism assessment online at AuDHD Psychiatry.

You may have spent years being told you’re making a fuss about noise, light, food or clothes. Meanwhile, a ticking clock or a scratchy seam can feel impossible to shut out. By the end of the day, the effort of coping wears you down. Having words for sensory differences can help you explain them to other people and plan your days around them.

At a glance

• What they are: senses that register far more strongly, or far more weakly, than they do for most people.
• Who has them: they’re common in autism, and many people with ADHD describe them too.
• What helps: learning your triggers and making small changes to your surroundings.

What are sensory processing differences?

Sensory processing differences mean your brain handles sensory input differently to most people’s [1]. They aren’t a problem with your eyes, ears, nose or skin, because sensory processing happens in the brain [1]. A busy café might feel painfully loud to you while the friend beside you barely notices the noise. Autistic people can be much more sensitive to sensory experiences than non-autistic people, or much less [1].

Sensory processing disorder, or SPD, is a widely used name, but it isn’t a formal diagnosis [1]. There’s no agreed framework for diagnosing it, according to a 2012 policy statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics [2]. Its advice was that sensory processing disorder generally shouldn’t be diagnosed [2]. None of that makes your experiences any less real, even though the label itself is informal.

The eight senses, including interoception

Sensory differences can affect the five senses you know and three that get far less attention [1]. Sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch are the main five. The other three work quietly in the background:

• Vestibular sense: your sense of balance and movement.
• Proprioception: knowing where your body and limbs are in space.
• Interoception: noticing what’s going on inside your body, such as hunger, thirst, temperature, needing the toilet, illness or injury [1].

You might not realise you’re hungry or cold until the feeling is suddenly intense. Interoception differs in autistic people, a 2016 research review found, though the direction isn’t clear yet [3]. Its authors saw a slight lean towards noticing internal signals less, rather than more [3].

What does sensory overload feel like?

Sensory overload is taking in more sensory information than you can process [1]. It isn’t a clinical term: autistic people use it for the point where strong sensitivity and triggers add up to overwhelm [1]. Picture a supermarket with bright lights, music, beeping tills and a crowd, all arriving at once. Even so, one sense on its own, such as smell or sight, can be enough [1].

Overload does pass, and spotting the early signs gives you a chance to step away sooner. Signs autistic people describe include going quiet, closing off, finding it hard to focus, stimming, pacing or rocking [1]. Some people also have strong physical or emotional reactions, such as crying or needing to escape [1]. Our guide to autistic meltdowns covers what can happen when overwhelm goes further.

Sensory seeking and sensory avoiding

Autistic people can seek out sounds, lights, smells, tastes and textures, avoid them, or be overwhelmed by them [1]. Sensory avoiding might look like cutting the labels out of clothes or leaving a busy shop early. Being very sensitive, or not sensitive at all, to light, sound or texture is one sign of autism in adults [4].

Sensory seeking works the other way round. Autistic children may actively look for sensations that feel calming or enjoyable, such as movement, pressure, sounds and textures [5]. You might keep going back to one favourite fabric, or play music loud to feel settled. Having both at once is common: someone might love loud music at a gig yet find a sudden bang alarming [1].

Sensory differences in autism and in ADHD

Sensory differences feature in both, but the evidence is much stronger for autism. The diagnostic criteria for autism include being over- or under-reactive to sensory input [6]. An unusual interest in sensory parts of the environment also counts [6]. In other words, sensory differences sit inside the description of autism itself.

In one UK study, more than 9 in 10 autistic children had sensory differences, across several senses [7]. The same study found them in autistic adults too [7]. The picture for ADHD is less settled. Adults with ADHD in a Dutch study reported more over- and under-sensitivity than expected, whatever their autistic traits [8].

If you’re autistic and have ADHD, you may recognise yourself in both sets of findings. Sensory difficulties also turn up in other conditions, such as developmental coordination disorder and childhood anxiety [2].

What helps day to day

Start by learning your triggers, then adjust what’s around you. A sensory diary can help you spot triggers, low-energy times, and what helps during and after overload [1]. Tolerance often drops when you’re tired, stressed, at the end of a day or week, or after masking for too long [1]. Planning quieter tasks for those times can take some of the pressure off.

Things autistic people have found helpful include:

• Ear defenders or noise-cancelling headphones, though heavy use may raise your sensitivity over time.
• Sunglasses or tinted glasses.
• Fidget toys and wobble cushions [1].

Weighted blankets are widely sold, but the Royal College of Occupational Therapists recommends an occupational therapist assesses their use first [1]. At work, a quieter desk or a planned break can make a long day easier to get through. If sensory differences are constant and affecting daily life, ask about occupational therapy. An occupational therapist can carry out a sensory assessment [1].

Could sensory differences point to autism?

Sensory differences point to autism only alongside other signs. Adult autism assessments should cover over- and under-sensitivity, according to NICE [9].

An assessment may help if:

• You’ve struggled with people, change or routine since you were a child.
• Sensory differences get in the way at work, in study or at home.
• You’ve wondered for a long time whether autism or ADHD explains them.

It might not be right today if:

• you need urgent help now. Call NHS 111 and choose the mental health option, or in Northern Ireland call Lifeline free on 0808 808 8000, any time. In an emergency, call 999 or go to A&E [10].
• It’s for a child: our child assessment covers 6 to 17, and a parent can be present.

At AuDHD Psychiatry, we assess adults for autism in two online appointments. One is with you, the other an interview with someone who knows you well. If nobody can join, we can still assess you. The free autism test is a first step that screens rather than diagnoses.

Questions people ask

Is sensory processing disorder a real diagnosis?

The experiences are real, but a US paediatric body says there’s no agreed framework for diagnosing sensory processing disorder [2]. So the name is widely used, but it doesn’t describe one agreed condition. An occupational therapist can still assess your sensory needs, whatever name is used for them [1].

Is sensory overload a sign of autism?

Sensory overload can be part of autism, because over- or under-reactivity to sensory input is in its diagnostic criteria [6]. Sensory difficulties also happen with ADHD and several other conditions, so overload by itself can’t tell you which one applies [2]. NICE says adult autism assessments should ask about over- and under-sensitivity [9].

What is interoception?

Interoception is your sense of what’s happening inside your body, such as hunger, thirst, temperature or needing the toilet [1]. It often works differently in autistic people, a research review found, though the pattern isn’t clear yet [3]. In daily life, that can mean missing early signals, like thirst or a headache coming on, until they’re hard to ignore.

Can people with ADHD have sensory overload?

Yes, some adults with ADHD report strong sensory sensitivity, though studies have measured sensitivity rather than overload itself [8]. In one Dutch study, women reported it more often than men, about 43 in 100 women against 22 in 100 men [8]. Those figures come from one study, so they’re a guide rather than a settled answer. In children, sensory problems were more common in ADHD across a review of 11 studies, though the area isn’t well studied [11].

Is ARFID linked to autism?

Yes, ARFID is more common in autistic people than in other people [12]. ARFID, or avoidant restrictive food intake disorder, means avoiding certain foods, eating very little, or both [13]. A 2025 review pooled three studies and found about 11 in 100 autistic people had ARFID [12]. The true figure is still uncertain [12]. Being very sensitive to the taste, texture or smell of food is one common reason [13]. If eating is very limited, talk to your GP.

Do sensory differences change with age?

Sensory differences often carry on into adulthood: a UK study found them in autistic adults as well as children [7]. Some sensory features shifted with age in that study [7]. Many adults also learn, over time, which places and situations drain them, and they plan their week around those known triggers.

Can you be over-sensitive and under-sensitive at the same time?

Yes: many autistic people are more sensitive in some senses and less sensitive in others, or both within one sense [1]. A lot also depends on the day, including how tired or stressed you are. So a sound you barely noticed yesterday might feel far too much today, and that shift doesn’t mean you’re imagining it.

In short

Living with sensory differences day after day can be exhausting. “Sensory processing disorder” is a widely used name, yet it’s an informal label rather than a formal diagnosis. Differences in how you sense the world are part of the way autism is described. Many people with ADHD report them as well. Getting to know your triggers, and changing small things around you, can make daily life lighter. If these experiences have been with you since childhood, AuDHD Psychiatry can look at the whole picture with you.

Related

More from AuDHD Psychiatry:

• child autism assessment
• what the autism levels mean
• adult ADHD assessment

Sources

1. National Autistic Society, Autism and sensory processing, https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/sensory-differences/sensory-differences/all-audiences (read 30/09/2026)
2. American Academy of Pediatrics, Section on Complementary and Integrative Medicine and Council on Children with Disabilities; Zimmer M, Desch L, Sensory integration therapies for children with developmental and behavioral disorders, Pediatrics, June 2012, 129(6):1186-1189, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22641765/ (read 30/09/2026)
3. DuBois D, Ameis SH, Lai MC, Casanova MF, Desarkar P, Interoception in Autism Spectrum Disorder: A review, International Journal of Developmental Neuroscience, August 2016, 52:104-111, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27269967/ (read 30/09/2026)
4. NHS, Signs of autism in adults, page last reviewed 6 May 2026, https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/autism/signs-in-adults/ (read 30/09/2026)
5. NHS, Signs of autism in children, page last reviewed 6 May 2026, https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/autism/signs-in-children/ (read 30/09/2026)
6. Hodges H, Fealko C, Soares N, Autism spectrum disorder: definition, epidemiology, causes, and clinical evaluation, Translational Pediatrics, February 2020, 9(Suppl 1):S55-S65, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7082249/ (read 30/09/2026)
7. Leekam SR, Nieto C, Libby SJ, Wing L, Gould J, Describing the sensory abnormalities of children and adults with autism, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, May 2007, 37(5):894-910, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17016677/ (read 30/09/2026)
8. Bijlenga D, Tjon-Ka-Jie JYM, Schuijers F, Kooij JJS, Atypical sensory profiles as core features of adult ADHD, irrespective of autistic symptoms, European Psychiatry, June 2017, 43:51-57, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28371743/ (read 30/09/2026)
9. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), guideline CG142, Autism spectrum disorder in adults: diagnosis and management, published 27 June 2012, last updated 14 June 2021, https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg142/chapter/Recommendations (read 30/09/2026)
10. nidirect, Mental health emergency: if you’re in crisis or despair, https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/mental-health-emergency-if-youre-crisis-or-despair (read 29/09/2026)
11. Ghanizadeh A, Sensory processing problems in children with ADHD, a systematic review, Psychiatry Investigation, June 2011, 8(2):89-94, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3149116/ (read 30/09/2026)
12. Sader M, Weston A, Buchan K, Kerr-Gaffney J, Gillespie-Smith K, Sharpe H, Duffy F, The Co-Occurrence of Autism and Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID): A Prevalence-Based Meta-Analysis, International Journal of Eating Disorders, March 2025, 58(3):473-488, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39760303/ (abstract read 01/10/2026)
13. Beat, ARFID: Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder, https://www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk/get-information-and-support/about-eating-disorders/types/arfid/ (read 01/10/2026)

About AuDHD Psychiatry

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Last updated: 13 October 2026