Sensory overload

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Sensory overload (sometimes abbreviated to SO) is a condition where one or more of the senses are strained and it becomes difficult to focus on the task at hand. The term is commonly (but not exclusively) used in the context of autism/autism spectrum disorders. It may appear in otherwise healthy children. It may be necessary for only one sense to be bombarded by stimuli to affect that sense as well as the other senses and the thinking process. The most common type occurs when more than one sense is stimulated. For example, a person might be watching television when someone comes in and asks a question; the watcher might fail to respond because he or she simply does not register it, or realizes the question has been asked but gets confused and doesn't know whether to answer the question or concentrate on the television.

Sensory overload sessions can be practiced to intentionally increase coordination. Characteristics of such sessions would include any number of combinations of the following:

• Reading
• Speaking/singing/whistling
• Listening to music/speech/sound (possibly two different sounds, one for each ear)
• Any amount of touch or feel points/areas

There have been cases where people overload their senses intentionally. Sensory overload sessions can come in many forms that vary in duration, number of different senses overloaded, number of agents overloading a single sense, and intensity among other factors.

See also

• Sensory integration dysfunction
• Sensory adaptation
• Sensory deprivation
• Highly sensitive person