Autism Sensory Overload at the Grocery Store

I’ll be completely honest, I’ve come really close to tears while shopping before.  First it was just a rough week, second I really dislike shopping (any kind of shopping, if I had a wish, I’d wish for a personal shopper), and third after shopping for about an hour and half and with groceries for home and groceries for my class I had half of my stuff on the conveyor belt and realized I didn’t have my wallet.  AAAAHHHH!!! That’s what I wanted to scream, and I kind of wanted to lay on the ground and scream (until I thought about the floors at the store, and then I really didn’t want to touch them.)

For some kids with autism or other developmental disabilities or really any kid (or adult), shopping is not a pleasant experience.  I’ll focus on ways to help enhance the experience in another post, but for today I want to focus on why grocery stores can cause sensory overload.   Just a list of things to think about, it won’t apply to all kids, but you’ll know if it applies to your kid.

• Grocery Carts
  • Cold
  • Hard
  • Uncomfortable
  • Child is facing the wrong direction (if child is sensitive to movement, this could cause issues)
• Visual Stimuli
  • Fluorescent Lights
    • Some kids are very sensitive to the flickering of these kind of lights
  • Stuff everywhere
    • Visual overload can equal chaos
    • Things out of order-for the orderly child = problem
    • Lots of fun stuff…that he/she can NOT have…but he/she WANTS!
    • Depending on the floors, there may be lines that need to be followed, or patterns that should be followed.  You know, the rules they know, but we don’t.
  • People everywhere-and sometimes they come and get in the child’s face to say how cute they are, or they pat them on the head.
• Smell
  • Think of the mixture of smells in this place
    • Foods
    • Perfumes
    • Odors
• Auditory
  • Lights buzzing
  • Freezers humming
  • Footsteps from every direction
  • Phones ringing
  • Adults talking on phones
  • Children crying
  • Cash registers beeping
  • Conveyor belts going and stopping
  • The butcher’s machines slicing
  • Squeaky grocery cart wheels
• Time
  • Sometimes the amount of time required in a grocery store is just too long!  That’s how I feel anyway.
  • Waiting in lines
    • Boring
    • Lots of temptations around that you’re not supposed to touch
    • People standing too close
• Attention
  • Parents attention is not focused on the child, but on the shopping (so it can get done as quickly as possible.)