I get this, I didn't know other people didn't! It's not bad, it's usually only there if my eyes unfocus.
I wonder if it's a noise processing issue. I know that autistic folks are more likely to hear background sounds that are usually filtered by neurotypicals.

I usually only get snow the day before a migraine or when I am having a visual migraine. #ActuallyAutistic#Migraine

yes i have very aggressive visual snow lmao. I sometimes can't tell if it's raining outside or not bc my visual snow can make it always look like it's raining very lightly. 😅

Learned this year that my (probably autistic) dad also has visual snow, and he didn't know that not everyone has that until i told him LOL. He's 62! Walkin around assuming everyone just has visual snow haha. 😆 I found out not everyone has it when I was in my teens i think

I had to squint at the visual snow example gif because the effect was obscured by my visual snow 😅

The article mentions Tinnitus. I have that.
@actuallyautistic

Yesss, I have it all the time but most noticeably against darker colours. It's multicoloured and constant, worse in the dark. I thought it was maybe linked to my having migraine and light sensitivity - it'd be interesting if it's common amongst autistic people!

yeah we do too

-- clem shark 🧡

Yes, I do. I can especially see it when the room is dimly lit. I called them "balloons" when I was little (anything that was circle shaped was a balloon to me then).

I might have this, but I usually only notice it in low light or when I'm looking for it. It's like flickering noise in a video taken in the dark.

yes, always!

Yep, also tinnitus.
It's only noticeable against dark backgrounds, but I think it's there all the time

Yup I have jpeg vision. afterimages and floaters too

only mildly, usually only Notice it on any sort of plain background (most noticeable on walls in the dark (which is where we first noticed it), and blue sky.) It doesn't get in the way of my vision at all.

I don’t have it but it is one of my son’s long covid symptoms

I have visual snow and I've had it in my earliest memories. Don't know if related to autism.

yep, i've had visual snow and floaters all my life! i used to complain about it when i was very young (3-4?) and my parents couldn't understand what i was talking about at all. i've also wondered if it's something everyone "has", as in, we all receive the same visual noise with our eyes, but most people filter it out of their conscious awareness.

Yes, definitely, I've experienced it for as long as I can remember. It's nice to have a name to put to it and a way to describe it that makes sense to other people. On not knowing that everyone experiences it, how would one know? This is the first time I've ever heard/seen anyone mention it.

It was the same with the constant sounds in my ears. It's been there for as long as I can remember. When I came across information on #tinnitus, it was nice to have a name to put to it. And, nice to know that not everyone experiences it.

I only see this when looking up at a clear blue sky.

I occasionally see what looks an awful lot like the kinds of things you can see through a microscope. Not normally, but like, if I look at a blurry light at an appropriate distance. :/

I get lots of clear little things moving around in my vision when I am looking at a very bright, white, or blue background… I don’t notice it the rest of the time.

I can see slight snow that becomes more visible and multicolored when I close my eyes and I have eye floaters. I can also slightly hear auditory static that I thought everyone was also hearing. I haven't been diagnosed with synesthesia and I've never had a migraine before.

@AJosslyn how is this my exact story lol

I didn’t know that this is unusual. I thought everyone had this 🤯

I don't experience this, but in case it's relevant, I have aphantasia.

@cyvern fortunately I only have this at night...

apparently I do have visual snow. didn't think mine counted because I only notice it when it's darkish, and it doesn't get in the way of anything. interesting. I always just thought it's similar to the effects cameras have when taking photos in low light.

I don't think I'm autistic (maybe? I haven't explored it) but I do experience this!

I get black spots and they remind me of fruit flies. Is that the same thing? I have never associated with my autism, I just thought it was a problem with my eyes 🤦🏽‍♀️

Fascinating, never heard about it before (don't have it). Isn't this super annoying, like a visual tinnitus? Or doesn't it matter because you don't know it any other way?

V/interesting question! I thought of Scheerer's phenomenon immediately, which I have only observed twice or so in my life, whereas floaters have been a constant since childhood. Tinnitus is a near-constant.Something for neurology to tease out!

@itsmeholland is that what that is? I have the same problem looking out the window for rain.

I don't notice it much otherwise with my eyes open. Doesn't everyone get it with eyes closed?