this post was submitted on 02 Oct 2024
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I genuinely open up about this matter.

All my life, movies have usually beaten my senses whenever I watch them somehow.

Anyone could yell and it would affect me but not anyone else whether they have autism or not.

Wherever I went, a movie or show would be playing and people would make me deal with it by refusing to turn it off over other people.

Never mind the things I disagree on with each movie or show…all of them genuinely affect my senses and they always did even right now.

I am autistic myself…does anyone else with autism know how to handle this situation?

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I think I understand. It sounds like "family" movies or shows with emotional content are particularly intense for you (I don't think they "pander to your emotions" as such, just that NTs experience and regulate their emotions differently and these films are not made with the autistic experience in mind). Books and comics are likely much easier to process since it's just visual sensory input (and typically not intense input at that) without the auditory nor all the body-language cues.

One of my relatives (now deceased; he was never diagnosed but in retrospect some of the traits are obvious) always struggled with shows and movies aimed at children and families - he found them too emotional - where as crime shows, mysteries and documentaries were far more palatable. Certain scenes in films are overwhelming for me as well (emotional montages are often the most likely trigger), but usually it's the just overall volume level or if there's a lot of visual flashes/flickering that is taxing for me.

I can't be sure what will work for you, but based on my past experience, people have less familiarity with the sensory issues associated with autism than they do with individual sensory issues (e.g. flickering lights and epilepsy, or sounds and hearing/balance complications). Perhaps you could mention that you have sensitive hearing and that loud noises like shouting are painful, or rapid movement/visual flashes are very distracting. What have you tried thus far when trying to explain the issues to people around you?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

I explained to my father about the movies we grew up on: I especially told him about the films I didn't like and he understood.

We haven't really been watching most kids movies anymore, and Dad has moved on his own movies and shows as well.