Broadly defined as a state in which individuals are exposed to so many sensory stimuli, or to stimuli at such high intensities, that they become unable to deal with them. For instance, they may become very stressed and/or become unresponsive to sensory input. In autism, hypersensitivity to sensory stimuli means that a person may experience overload even for moderate levels of stimulation that would not be disagreeable for a person without autism.