Hi! I'm hoping for help with an art project exploring autism and 'barriers' (sensory, social, structural) that lead to overwhelm, shutdown, meltdown, exclusion... (Either via masking or directly). I'm starting by compiling a list of things - my own include stuff like being interrupted whilst focussed on a thing, crisp bag rustling, body spray, unnecessary 'chit chat' group emails, arbitrary changes... Any more that any of you would like to share would be much appreciated. Each 'barrier' will be written out within the artwork #actuallyautistic#actuallyaudhd@actuallyautistic@actuallyaudhd
@actuallyautistic@actuallyaudhd Thanks all of you for replying and sorry for disappearing when yous very kindly did. Asking a thing meant people replied to the thing (thankyou) but then my mind created a demand to respond and so I just didn't open the app. Ugghh! Anyway an update/some context - I'm doing an art course and for our final show I have a mini-installation including a painting and drawings exploring masking, a painting exploring stimming, a painting thinking about flow and I'm currently making a 'barrier' that is covered in handwritten text. One strand includes the text from the community on this thread which i then overwrote with @pathfinder 's words about 'being disbelieved and contradicted and denied my own awareness' Thanks again all!
It clouds all the information for me vs smaller groups of people.
Sometimes familiar people, unless it’s the perfect spoon day.
For me it’s all relative.
Also what most don’t understand outside and even sometimes even in our community many of these things are regarded fluid in nature, including many things but some are to needs and support a meeting those needs as well. So not having music or something to focus on can make everything feel like it’s on volume 150% and my headphones if I max them out only go to 100, so it’s has to be some measure of neuro- relativity and tipping points being crossed in my embodied system. I guess perhaps.
@gri@actuallyautistic@actuallyaudhd
Lights that are too bright.
Hot and stuffy rooms.
Itchy tags in clothing.
Too much going on at once.
Loud people that I can't drown out with headphones.
Too much traffic.
Someone behind me is tailgating me, especially if they have bright lights.
Too many people are around.
@krafty@gri@actuallyautistic@actuallyaudhd Some of that's sensory processing disorder (lights, hot/stuffy rooms, itchy tags, loudness and very #autistic...however, some's traffic, and I bet that's a universal PITA to everybody ND or NT.
High pitched performative conversations in public places, such as a queue at an airport where you don’t have an option to walk away.
Visual overload such as stickers, sale labels etc. A particular pharmacy chain uses 100s of fluoro labels in its shelves. It’s like the shelves are screaming at me.
@actuallyautistic@actuallyaudhd thankyou so much for all of your responses so far. I'll respond to you all later once I've read everything. I just wanted to add that my plan is to credit the actuallyautistic and actuallyaudhd communities for the words, does that sound okay? Also any thoughts as to whether 'barriers' is the right word? Ta, all, you're brilliant!
@gri@actuallyautistic@actuallyaudhd
Overwhelming sounds of man. Leaf blowers, construction, too many people talking, too many competing sound sources,traffic, crowds.
Being told how I'm feeling, when I'm not. Just from the way I look, seem. And then being disbelieved and contradicted and denied my own awareness.
@actuallyaudhd@actuallyautistic@gri Noisy crowds in enclosed spaces, places with layers of sound (like electronic shops with all the TVs, fans, computers, lights switched on), concerts or venues with the volume up too loud, shouting, loud unexpected booms, crying babies (to a point), argumentative people.