Having Autism, Hating Loud Noises and Being the Loudest Kid I Knew

Does your child hate loud noises but is also the loudest child you know?

If so you may be able to relate very well to my own personal story of growing up on the autism spectrum.

As a kid due to my sensory issues I would have issues with different sensations and bright lights. The one issue though that topped them all was noise. Growing up in a big city in the tri-state area, noises would always send me into sensory overload.

It could be anything. A car horn. An ambulance siren. Someone talking loudly outside. It didn’t matter.

And when those times would come, especially around the time I was diagnosed with autism at 4, I would scream as loud as I possibly could as a way to cope. Most of the time when I screamed I thought that would make all the noises around me stop. It wouldn’t be until a few years later though that an occupational therapist would help me learn to control my screams and my anger.

Later, when I started school I’d also have a title of being “the loudest kid in school” because of my inability to understand the difference between inside and outside voices. Whispering was a foreign language to me. My whispering was talking normally and me talking normally was speaking with an elevated pitch that would echo around the classroom.

One of my saving graces when I couldn’t understand this was my love of entertainment. Being able to watch films where people were talking softly at one time and loudly at another gave me the opportunity to mirror that behavior. I turned that into a great love for the theater. Roleplaying different scenes helped me find that balance in my own voice. By the time I started doing plays when I was 10 it became second nature.

My transformation from being one of the loudest people I knew to who I am today was created through the supports I was given thanks to my parents and my therapists. I know many children and even adults on the spectrum who still struggle with sensory issues and understanding pitch and tone.

If this is something you or a loved on struggles with, I’d love to suggest theater or music therapy to help. Also consider supports to help someone cope with their sensory issues. This can be anything from social stories to help with transitioning to noise cancelling headphones to help with sounds.

At the end of the day, progress should be our #1 goal. I can project when I need to but am mostly a quiet kid from Jersey today who loves concerts and blasting my music whenever I can with minimal sensory issues.

A version of this blog appeared on KerryMagro.com.

Image via Thinkstock.