Confusion because of (seemingly) overlapping characteristics
In recent years, the sensory issues in autism, in particular the hyperreactivity to stimuli, have been in the spotlights. So much, that other elements defining autism are at risk of being ignored or overlooked. Autism has not changed, but its popular interpretation has: many people now see autism as primarily hypersensitivity, with high sensitivity to all kind of stimuli, uncluding social ones such as emotions. However, this is unwarranted inflation of the concept of autism, confusing autism with high sensitivity.
Clarification
To clarify this, Séverine Van De Voorde (Belgian expert in ADHD and high sensitivity), Esther Bergsma (high sensitivity expert from the Netherlands) and I have written a communiqué.
In this communiqué, you can read:
- what autism actually is,
- what the definition of high sensitivity is,
- why both an autistic and a highly sensitive person can have the same experiences, yet
- why high sensitivity and autism are very different conditions,
- and what the core differences are between the two.