Ask an Occupational Therapist: Making Sense of Sensory Processing

Neurodiversity in Business (NiB) volunteer and occupational therapist Nicola McMullen-Klein specializes in working with neurodivergent (ND) clients, including supporting her clients to improve their workplace environment. The information Nicola provides in this article is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Should you, a colleague or employee need assessment, support or reasonable adjustments, we encourage you to speak to your occupational health department or general practitioner.?

If you would like to submit a question or your own content, you can contact [email protected].??

Introduction

As humans, we all experience the world through our senses. We all have a unique sensory profile. We each are neutral, prefer or love certain sensory input and dislike or are unable to tolerate other sensory input.?

Neurodivergent individuals often have a much more or much less intense sensory experience in their daily lives. These experiences can be absolutely wonderful and take us to a real place of joy – for example, loving the scent of a rose or the feel of soft velvet material. However, some sensory input can cause anxiety and even pain, such as the sound of a hand dryer or feel of a clothes label on the skin.??

We all have 8 senses. Broadly speaking, the first 5 are how we sense the external world and are the senses most people are familiar with. The last 3 are how we sense our internal world, within our bodies.?

Sensory processing impacts every part of our day, including at work. The right sensory environment can be the catalyst for a productive and happy neurodivergent employee. An environment that’s in conflict with an employee’s sensory needs might require reasonable adjustments.?

1 - Auditory

This is our sense of hearing, including sounds and frequencies. Due to differences in sensory processing, a sound that’s a minor annoyance for a neurotypical employee can be a major distraction for a neurodivergent person.?

Examples of sound-related sensory challenges in the workplace:?

• A noisy photocopier next to the desk?
• The low, constant hum of electricity from a computer(s) or lightbulbs?
• Colleagues sniffing or tapping their pen on the desk?

Examples of reasonable adjustments:?

• The person can wear noise cancelling ear/headphones?
• Colleagues can be made aware and so can be understanding of the person’s difficulty with certain sounds?
• The person’s desk can be relocated, if possible?
• The photocopier can be relocated, if possible?

2 - Visual

This is our sense of sight. This can include input such as print/text, light, patterns, colours and movement of people and objects.?

Examples of visual sensory challenges in the workplace:?

• Lights too bright for a person in the office, causing nausea and/or pain?
• Fast-moving images on videos, causing nausea, dizziness, distraction and more?

Examples of reasonable adjustments:?

• Allow the person to wear tinted sunglasses?
• Consider changing lightbulbs to dimmer ones?
• Consider lamps instead of glaring, overhead light bulbs?
• Colleagues can be made aware and so can be understanding of the person’s difficulty with certain light?
• Reduce amount of fast-moving images and/or exposure the person has to them?

3 - Gustatory

This is our sense of taste and includes flavours and food textures. Work-related social events that include food as well as daily meals in the canteen can prove challenging.?

Examples of gustatory challenges in the workplace:?

• A person might be unable to tolerate certain tastes/foods, making them nauseous or anxious if they had to eat them?

Examples of reasonable adjustments:?

• Colleagues can be made aware and so can be understanding of the person’s difficulty with certain foods?
• Allow the person to bring on their own food and not be expected to eat staff canteen or party food brought in by colleagues?

4 - Tactile?

This is our sense of touch. This includes our sense of temperature on the skin, pressure, skin being touched, pain and vibration. Implications for the workplace are wide ranging – from work location to difficulty with uniforms.?

Examples of tactile challenges in the workplace:?

• Working in a crowded office space or crowded break times and being frequently bumped into?
• Disliking touching sticky, messy or wet objects?
• Unable to wear and tolerate certain materials as part of a uniform?

Examples of reasonable adjustments:?

• Allow the person to have more space around them, in a less crowded environment?
• Colleagues can be made aware of and so can therefore be understanding of the person’s difficulty with certain tactile input?
• Allow the person to avoid touching any substances/textures they have a strong aversion to?
• Be flexible in the clothes and material the person is allowed to wear, and be open to alternatives which are close to the expected uniform?

5 - Olfactory

This is our sense of smell. Some people might be aware of smells that others are not.?

Examples of olfactory challenges in the workplace:?

• A person might become distracted, anxious, nauseous, or distressed with certain smells in the workplace (e.g., strong fish smells, paint, perfume)?

Examples of reasonable adjustments:?

• Colleagues can be made aware of and so can therefore be understanding of the person’s difficulty with and intolerances of certain smells?
• Colleagues should be considerate of what they eat and scents they wear?
• Allow the person to have a separate space to go to avoid any smells, when needed.?

6 - Proprioception?

This is our sense of where our body is in space, our awareness of how much force to use when holding, moving and placing objects. Activating our proprioceptors, which are in our joints and muscles, help to calm us and aid concentration and focus.?

Examples of proprioception challenges in the workplace:?

• The need to chew items (not just food)?
• Having the need to move around a lot?
• Having the need to ‘stim’, which refers to repetitive movements that feel nice and/or help the person to feel calm?

Examples of reasonable adjustments:?

• Allowing the person to chew food or a special chewy object?
• Allowing the person to feel comfortable to stim when they want to?
• Colleagues can be made aware of and so can therefore be understanding of the person’s need to stim, chew, etc.?
• Allow the person to have movement breaks whenever they need to?

7 - Vestibular?

This is the sense responsible for balance, eye movements, spatial awareness, postural control, muscle tone and alertness.?

Examples of vestibular challenges in the workplace:?

• Motion sickness?
• Bumping into things?
• Poor posture at a desk?
• Losing balance?

Examples of reasonable adjustments:?

• Colleagues can be made aware of and so can therefore be understanding of the person’s difficulty with certain movements?
• Reduce the amount of travel, lifts or escalators the person has to do and use?
• Ensure the workplace is as clutter-free as possible?
• Ensure their workspace is set up to provide as much postural support as possible?

8 - Interoception?

This is our sense of being aware of our internal body organs and receptors. It’s the feedback we get which helps us to know whether we are hungry, thirsty, need the toilet, tired, anxious, in pain and others.?

Examples of interoception challenges in the workplace:?

• Person might become irritable/anxious when hungry/thirsty but may not be aware of their hunger or thirst?
• Person might not be aware they have hurt themselves?
• Person might not notice they are becoming too hot in an office??

Examples of reasonable adjustments:?

• Discuss with the person a plan to help with prompts to eat/drink regularly, such as using alerts or alarms?
• If there are potential hazards in the workplace, work together with the person to provide a support plan to prevent and check for injuries?
• Colleagues can be made aware that the person might need support if the weather is hotter/colder than usual to adjust clothing and/or the office accordingly?

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Conclusion

The way we feel and are able to function and participate in all our daily tasks is directly affected by how we process external and internal sensory.?

In our working environment, we all need to have as few negative sensory inputs as possible, and enhance the positive ones. This way, employees’ mental health, well-being and productivity is improved – a win-win for everybody!?

It’s so important for employees to be aware of their own sensory profile, and for employers to listen and be responsive to their employees’ needs, do they can collaborate and support them.?