Academic Journal Article (Autism and Sensory Experience).

After exploring sensory accessibility in public spaces and travel environments, I wanted to understand autistic sensory experiences in greater depth.

I chose this paper because it centres the experiences of autistic adults and allows participants to describe sensory differences in their own words. The study involved 49 autistic adults and explored hypersensitivity, hyposensitivity and sensory-seeking behaviour.

Although this paper is not specifically about tourism, it helps explain some of the experiences that may lie behind travel barriers, such as overwhelm, uncertainty, and difficulty communicating support needs.

Initial Reflections

One of the first things that stood out was that autistic sensory experience is much broader than simply being sensitive to loud noises or bright lights.

The paper identifies three forms of sensory experience:

• Hyperreactivity – experiencing sensory input very intensely.
• Hyporeactivity – having reduced awareness of sensations such as pain, temperature or hunger.
• Sensory seeking – actively seeking sensory input for enjoyment or regulation.

This made me realise that sensory accessibility should not only focus on reducing stimulation. Autistic people may also rely on particular sounds, textures, movement or pressure to feel calm and regulated.

Emerging Themes

Sensory experience is highly individual. The same sensory input could be enjoyable for one participant and distressing for another. This means that a universal guide to autistic sensory needs would be difficult to create. A more useful approach may involve allowing autistic travellers to communicate their own preferences, triggers and coping strategies.

Control and predictability affect sensory experience. Participants found sensory experiences more manageable when they could control:

• When the sensory input happened
• How intense it was
• How long did it last
• whether they could leave

This connects strongly with international travel, where people often have limited control over noise, crowds, delays and unfamiliar environments. The problem may therefore not only be the sensory environment itself, but the inability to predict or control it.

Participants explained that stress, tiredness and mood affected how much sensory input they could manage.

This is particularly relevant to travel because journeys can involve disrupted sleep, long periods of concentration, unfamiliar routines and repeated transitions. A traveller’s support needs may therefore change throughout the journey rather than remaining fixed. Some participants relied on partners or family members to help recognise physical discomfort or signs of overwhelm.

However, other people could also misunderstand withdrawal, avoidance or sensory-regulating behaviour. This connects with my developing interest in carers and supporters. A possible barrier may occur when the autistic person’s experience is not recognised or is interpreted incorrectly by someone else.

Connections to My Project

This paper has helped me understand that sensory barriers are not only about the environment.

They may also involve:

• recognising what is happening
• communicating an individual's need
• being understood by another person
• having control over how support is provided

This connects directly with Ben’s suggestion to explore experience, expression and empathy.

A possible design direction could involve helping autistic travellers communicate their individual sensory needs to carers, companions or supporters. However, the design should remain under the autistic person's control rather than speak on their behalf. The paper does not prove that carers should become my main audience, but it provides a reason to explore this through my primary research.

Key Terminology

• Sensory Hyperreactivity – Experiencing sensory input intensely or painfully.
• Sensory Hyporeactivity – Reduced or delayed awareness of sensory input.
• Sensory Seeking – Seeking particular sensations for enjoyment or regulation.
• Sensory Regulation – Strategies used to manage sensory and emotional states.
• Interoception – Awareness of internal signals such as hunger, pain and tiredness.
• Predictability – Knowing what is likely to happen within an experience.

Emerging Questions

• What happens when spoken communication becomes difficult?
• How do carers currently recognise signs of overwhelm?
• How can design provide support without reducing independence?