The experience is so stressful that I quickly forget what I came to the store for. But small changes can obtain a large differenceIt feels like about 50 different sensations are crashing in on me at once from all directions. Fluorescent light. People with large shopping carts. Edison Lighthouse’s Love Grows Where My Rosemary Goes blasting on one of those grocery-store-specific radio stations dedicated to playing songs everyone knows but no one particularly likes.
The experience is so stressful that I quickly forget what I came to the store for. I’m 26 years old and I’m autistic. That means a lot of things near naturally to me that don’t near as naturally to other people: obscure historical trivia,the date and director of a film, Simpsons quotes from when the reveal was goo. But it also means a lot of things that near naturally to other people are a harder sell for me. The intense, or overwhelming sensory experience that is a heavily-trafficked public space is one of those things.
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Source: theguardian.com