Through My Eyes: An Autistic Journey into the Supermarket

In a quiet forest, the world opens up in a liberating way—alive with the sounds of rustling leaves, earthy fragrances, and dancing light. Here, amidst nature’s subtleties, every detail feels vibrant and soothing. By contrast, in a crowded supermarket, where the air is thick with overwhelming noise, bright lights, and strong smells, the inability to filter these stimuli can feel like drowning in chaos, amplifying anxiety and a sense of overload.

For many of us as neurodivergents, we experience the world through a heightened sensory lens, creating a connection to our surroundings that is both profound and unique. This hypersensitivity can bring either frustration or beauty, depending on the environment.

The current supermarket experience

Let's examine the common scenario in our bustling supermarkets looking at each sense in turn:

• Sight: Bright lights from the strip fluorescent overhead lighting, colourful packaging, and chaotic visuals can be overwhelming.

• Sound: The background noise—music, chatter, announcements, self-checkout bleeps and the hum of refrigerators. Generally, the "easy-listening" music from the 1980s has disappeared - thankfully!

• Smell: Strong food smells from bread, fish, perfumes, cleaning products.

• Touch: The tactile experience of pushing a cart, handling products, or brushing past people.

From my own perspective the hypersensitivity to stimuli is exasperated by a number of further factors associated with neurodivergence including social interactions, rigidity to change and executive function:

• Navigating Social Interactions: This often involves the usual interaction with the cashier, followed by the typical anxiety over small talk—especially when a stranger stands there, fully aware of your weekly shop. Emotionally, I find myself torn between my autistic tendencies and the ingrained desire to fit in and "be like everyone else." The cashier seems to have amazing, effortless conversations with the person ahead of me, but when it's my turn, armed with carefully rehearsed anecdotes, I’m met with a simple "hello" before they get down to scanning the items. I'm left feeling relieved, yet also as though I’ve failed in some way.

  
  

  Another social challenge is the possibility of bumping into people I know. While I’m comfortable with friends, the unpredictability of running into acquaintances can throw me off completely. I often struggle to remember their name as they enthusiastically ask after the wellbeing of my entire family, naming them all individually!

  
  

  Other unavoidable situations arise whilst at the checkout such as people standing too close in the queue or seemingly start offloading their trolley before you've finished!

  
  

• Rigidity to Change: Using the same supermarket each week can offer great stability and routine experience. The challenge comes when the shop has decided to re-arrange the store, suddenly familiar products are not in the same place.

Greater stress can arise from a variety of changing in routine, for example needing to use a different supermarket; even the same chain can throw-up a variety of differences in the layout and location of the store's items. More subtle changes such as the day or time I shop or a store's stock levels can create a different sense of anxiety.

With an already increased anxiety from the external environment this can lead to a desire just to leave and deal with the need for food later.

• Executive Function: Too many choices with the overwhelming number of brands, sizes, and product options can lead to decision fatigue or paralysis. I can spend minutes staring at the number of tinned/jar/box tomatoes: whole peeled tomatoes, diced and petite diced tomatoes, stewed tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, tomato puree, tomato sauce, tomato paste - what's the difference with passata? Different varieties with plum or cherry? Do you want herbs or spices in?

  
  

  The pressure to make quick decisions with sense of being rushed or blocking an aisle can add to the stress. Often this is couple with the feeling of injustice and the need to follow rules. For example, waiting patiently at the aisle junction to cross the main thoroughfare to get to the other side - whilst others just push through with no regards to the supermarket laws.

How can we improve the experience?

Part of the solution is already being put in place by supermarkets with "quiet hour"[1.] during the midweek, for example Morrison's has adapted it's environment with the following measures:

• Operate lower levels of lighting

• Turn music and radio off

• Avoid making tannoy announcements

• Reduce movement of trolleys and baskets

• Turn checkout beeps and other electrical noises down

• Place a poster outside to tell customers it’s Quieter Hour

Morrison’s initiated their trial in 2020, and since then, many other supermarkets—such as Aldi, Asda, Lidl, and Tesco—have followed suit[2.]. One reviewer[3.] highlighted the politeness of staff during the quiet hour, noting their respectful treatment of customers, though I’d hope such courtesy extends to all opening hours. If the quiet hour is not an option then off-peak can offer a similar experience.

On a more personal level, some customers opt to wear stimuli-reducing items like headphones, sunglasses, gloves, or hoodies to cope with the sensory environment. Unfortunately, these choices can sometimes provoke unfair judgment from store security, especially when viewed through the lens of intersectionality[4.]. Black individuals, for example, often face compounded discrimination based on both neurodivergence and race, leading to even greater inequities.

Neurodivergent accommodations - dimmed lights, sunglasses, headphones, hat and meal planner

Other ways to alleviate stress is to have a predefined routines such as shopping list, meal planners, buddy with another friend, use the self-scanner, self-checkout or shop online - if you feel comfortable with someone delivering to your house.

Conclusion

While quiet hours and sensory-friendly adjustments have been positive steps, they are just the beginning of what is needed to make supermarkets truly inclusive for neurodivergent people. The implementation of these measures highlights the potential for environments to become more accessible, but what if these changes were expanded to benefit everyone, all the time?

Much like the way drop curbs, originally designed for physical accessibility, now serve the broader public such as prams, sensory-friendly adaptations in supermarkets could follow a similar path. Imagine quieter, calmer stores as the norm, not just during designated hours. Lower lighting, reduced noise, and better spatial design could create an environment where people of all neurotypes feel more comfortable and less rushed.

Beyond supermarkets, these adaptations could extend to other commercial spaces like clothing stores, pharmacies, and shopping malls. Retailers might consider offering sensory-friendly zones, adaptive checkouts, and clearer layouts to reduce stress for all customers. As more shops adopt such features, the future of shopping could become more inclusive, where everyone has equal access to a calm and organised environment.

Finally, to bridge this class divide in mental health, more systemic support is necessary—such as government incentives for businesses to adopt inclusive practices and greater awareness of the intersectionality of neurodivergence, race, and other identities. A world where these adaptations are for everyone is not just possible but achievable, if we continue to push for thoughtful, inclusive changes.

Bonus Extra - My way of coping in supermarkets

For many years, we primarily shopped online for major items, supplementing with purchases from the local corner store. While this created a sense of stability, it also left us feeling uninspired, trapped within our own predictable routine. As a fully neurodivergent family of four, we were already navigating the complexities of a restricted diet.

In a lifestyle shift, we decided to return to the traditional weekly shop. We carefully crafted a monthly meal plan, with a few staple meals repeated each week, complemented by a rotating selection of personal favorites. For me, it’s the fiery Goan chicken and prawn curry; for my children, spaghetti with meatballs or salmon linguine; and for my wife, the classic Sunday roast.

Living in the beautiful Georgian city of Bath, with its six million visitors a year, we've learned to arrive early. Sundays are our day of choice—typically quieter and well-stocked. Arriving just before opening, we park near the car park’s exit, where it's less crowded, and head to the rear entrance of the supermarket. My wife grabs the self-scan device while I load our perfectly sized square shopping bags into the largest trolley. We follow a predefined route through the aisles, even if our meal plan doesn’t require certain sections—familiarity and routine offer us comfort.

We work seamlessly as a team, each knowing who is responsible for picking up specific items. As we pass the confectionery aisle, I routinely ask, “Any birthdays coming up?”—I'm terrible with dates, while my wife is excellent at remembering them but often forgets to buy the cards. With the self-scan, we breeze through to the self-checkout, where I pay using our preloaded food-only debit card.

With just a small amount of heightened stress, we load the shopping into the car and head off for a peaceful walk around Bath, followed by coffee at my favourite café.

Bonus Bonus Extra linguine al salmone con salsa alla crema

Salmon Linguine

Ingredients

Fillet of salmon (fresh)

3 tbsp of lemon juice

Chicken stock with 500ml of boiled water

25g of butter, chop into 4 pieces

2 (very) heaped tbsp plain flour

1 tsp of English mustard

3 tbsp double cream

Pecorino cheese grated

Parmesan cheese grated

Linguine - if fresh then you can put into bowl first to judge the correct quantity, for dry then use the pasta sizing device (metal plate with different size holes in it); when cooked you can put it in the bowl to get the correct quantity you want to eat

Olive oil

Salt and Pepper

Parsley shredded (optional)

Utensils

Kettle

Cheese grater

Frying pan (small) with lid

saucepan (middle sized)

Large pasta pan

Spatula

Pasta server spoon

Colander

Serving bowl

Fork and spoon

Instructions (based on induction hob from 1 to 9 maximum)

1. Fill kettle to line with water and boil

2. Put frying pan on hob and select 11

3. Add tbsp of olive oil to the pan, after 30s add the salmon fillet (skin side down), pour lemon juice on top of the salmon, grind pepper on top and add lid to the frying pan

4. Melt butter in saucepan until liquid

5. Add flour and whisk until smooth roux, let bubble for 30 seconds

6. Add ¼ of the chicken stock direct into the roux and stir until thick

7. Add the tsp of mustard and stir in

8. keep adding the stock until it is all mixed together

9. Turn heat down to 6 

10. Add cream and stir in

11. Pour boiled water from the kettle into the large pasta pan on the hob, add pinch of salt and tbsp of olive oil

12. Turn the hob to P to bring to the boil. 

13. Add linguine to the boiling water and use pasta server spoon to make sure all pasta is covered by the water

14. Turn heat down to 13. Set timer: 4 minutes for fresh pasta and 9 minutes for dry pasta

15. When the timer has 1 minute left, remove the salmon from the frying pan and flake with a fork on a breadboard. 

16. Add the salmon to the sauce and stir.

17. When timer goes off, drain the pasta using the colander in the sink

18. Add the drained pasta to the sauce in the frying pan and mix together

19. Pour into bowl, add grated cheese and grind 5 turns of the pepper mill

20. Sprinkle parsley on top as an option

References

1. https://www.morrisons-corporate.com/media-centre/corporate-news/morrisons-introduces-new-afternoon-quiet-hour-to-help-shoppers/

2. https://www.thesun.co.uk/money/28512978/supermarkets-quiet-hours-tesco-asda-sainsburys-lidl/

3. https://jamesellaby.medium.com/uk-supermarket-autism-friendly-quiet-hours-reviewed-5f2af1a7c7c5

4. Davis A, Solomon M, Belcher H. Examination of Race and Autism Intersectionality Among African American/Black Young Adults. Autism Adulthood. 2022 Dec 1;4(4):306-314. doi: 10.1089/aut.2021.0091. Epub 2022 Dec 13. PMID: 36777378; PMCID: PMC9908282.

5. https://www.fodors.com/world/europe/england/experiences/news/is-overtourism-in-bath-england-ruining-the-ancient-city