This is the second article on neurodiversity, sensations, and sensory profiles. In the first article, which you can read here, you can explore how you sensitive your different senses are.  In this second article we explore how you respond to and regulate these sensations.

How Do You Regulate Sensory Input?

In the first article, you worked out if you're mostly hyposensitive or hypersensitive to sensory stimulus. In the diagram below, the person's level of sensitivity is shown on the y axis. The 'H' at the top is for high sensitivity (hypersensitivity) and the 'L' at the bottom is for low sensitivity (hyposensitivity).

Now we're going to look at how you cope with the incoming information. On the diagram, this is the x axis.

You may be active in your self-regulation if you crave stimuli, desire a lot of input and interactions with your body. For example, using weighted blankets or massages, doing combat sports, or wearing specific types of fabrics such as fur or velvet. Or you may take steps to avoid certain stimuli such as cutting all labels out of clothes, or avoid wearing perfumes, or changing the types of lightbulbs in your home. 

If you’re more passive in how you process input, then you may not eat even when you’re hungry, or feel uncomfortably hot wearing a coat in warm weather but not connect that sensation with needing to take off your coat. Or you may find you need longer to answer people’s questions or requests, and others are confused by your silence or apparent lack of response. 

Let’s put these two factors together. Take a moment to locate yourself and reflect on the diagram below. This diagram is a general one for Dunn’s model not specific for sex. (Personally, I’d replace “Registration” with “Resignation” and “Sensitivity” with “Overwhelm”.)

What's Your Sensory Processing Style?

It’s worth mentioning that we each tend to have a “home” quadrant but we can move along the axes depending on our mood, energy levels, company etc. Generally, I’m very sensory seeking, until I’ve run out of spoons and then I can be so drained that even the smell of looking at electric lights makes me gag.

The aim of this article is to offer a frame of reference to help you locate and recognise yourself. For some people, just seeing this and working out where they’re located can be revelatory. 

There is no shame in having a completely different experience and inner world to other people, whatever you may have internalised or been told in the past from the dominant neurotypical society.

What's This Got To Do With Sex And Intimacy?

Intimacy is one area where our different sensory profiles can be especially tricky to manage and to not take personally. 

A lot of my work with neurodivergent couples is around exploring their, often contrasting, sensory profiles, and finding ways to talk about this constructively together. This is why I created the Neurodivergent Me Course, which you can access for free.

If this is something you would like help with, why not check out the course or book in for an initial consultation?

Neurodivergent Me Course

Are you a neurodivergent adult looking to better understand your sensory preferences and needs?
Join us for Neurodivergent Me, a transformative 4-week online course designed to help you explore and articulate your unique sensory experiences. Best of all, this course is entirely free and can be taken at your own pace! Sign up here.