Advocating with a Sensory Processing Disorder
So, I have a sensory processing disorder (SPD), and it makes me really sensitive to touch and sound. Sometimes, this greatly affects what kinds of advocacy actions I can and can’t do, so I wanted to talk a little bit about what having sensory issues means for my experience with advocacy. Like, this school event? (photo is pre-covid) No. absolutely not. Even if we’re not in a pandemic, you will not see me in a crowd like this. [A cheering crowd forming Ws with their fingers runs onto an indoor basketball court, celebrating a win. Signs in the background say "Bomber Territory"- our school's mascot is, unfortunately, a bomber plane.] First, a little explanation if you’re not familiar with my SPD: loud noises, unexpected noises, and certain types of sounds put me in a fight-or-flight state. So does physical contact with other people. Sometimes, I get sensory overloads when it’s all super overwhelming, and my brain feels so scrambled I can’t recognize what’s happening around m