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Sensory Street

Universities of Oxford and Reading

We are a research project exploring how public spaces can be disabling sensory environments for autistic people with sensory processing differences and how these places can become more inclusive.

About the Project | Get Involved

Within our event we had the chance for people to enter the Sensory Supermarket in two different states. One of these was designed to highlight some of the challenges people described to us in our focus groups. The second time around we made some very simple changes to the space to explore changes that businesses could do to make spaces more inclusive. Interested in learning more? Visit our website to read more including our booklet from the event. “I just focused on my shopping list and missed so many things the sounds were so distracting… When the environment was adjusted it’s like everything came into focus - the aisle names, products and other people.” While we were creating our event in Dagenham, we heard the news that our research paper all about the project has been accepted by the journal Autism in Adulthood! We can’t wait to share what we have learnt and are excited to see it in print soon Thank you to our research team such as @theanxiousscientist, @thecommunicat and @21andsensoryfor bringing such a range of different expertise and experiences to our project. We were lucky to have the chance to bring their skills together in our event to create something in collaboration with the autistic community. Visit our website to learn more about our team and our findings Want to learn more about our research? You can now watch a presentation from our research team at Autistica’s Research Festival 2022 on YouTube at: https://buff.ly/3qlGT6l After months of designing and planning, it was incredible to see the Sensory Supermarket come to life at PEARL in Dagenham. Almost all the food that you can see in this image is real and was donated to a local food bank after the event finished to reduce waste. At our event people left so many interesting words to describe how the experience made them feel and what they thought of the project. We’re excited to explore your feedback more over the next few weeks and learn more about how we could make future events better. Even for us it was easy to forget that our Sensory Supermarket was in fact an installation at PEARL rather than inside a real supermarket. We love seeing these backstage shots where you can see the rest of the building hiding around the edges… Our aim at the Sensory Supermarket event was to highlight why public places need to change to support autistic people and others with sensory processing differences. When designing and creating spaces, it is vital to consider accessibility as more than just physical needs, but other hidden disabilities to make them accessible for all.

Contact

Please get in touch with us at
sensorystreet@psy.ox.ac.uk
Or follow us on social media to learn more about the project

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