Autism and Shopping

Greetings Earthlings! 🙂

Leading on from my previous post about autism friendly shopping, this week I’d like to elaborate a little bit more on the subject. 

Shopping can be quite an overwhelming experience for an autist- the hustle and bustle, bright lighting, loud noises, overwhelming choices, strong smells etc. It can be a real sensory assault. Personally, I HATE shopping (although I’m surprisingly good at it- I even buy my Christmas and birthday presents for friends and family months in advance!).  It’s never been my thing, I’ve hated it for as long as I can remember; could never explain it. I did everything to avoid it growing up, so much so that when I was 16, I couldn’t figure out how to work the coin slot on the trolley! 🙈 But as time has gone on, I’ve had to adapt and get used to the process 🙂 

While shopping can be troublesome for an autist, there are many alternative options to help you navigate the experience more smoothly. 

Here are some of my top tips for making the shopping process a little easier:

• Make lists- if you find that you get overwhelmed by the choices on offer in the shops, I find it very useful to write out a list to bring with me to keep me from getting distracted and to ensure that I hit all my targets as quickly as possible. Pro- tip, try writing the items you’re seeking in the order you would encounter them in the shops e.g fruit and veg first, meats and cold items, frozen foods etc. This way you can get in and out as quickly as possible without forgetting anything important.
• Shop online-the joys of modern technology! In the last year, the online retail industry has exploded, so now you don’t even have to leave your house to get your shopping done. There’s websites for everything, and in most cases, the shipping costs are fairly low, so if you’re really anxious, just pull up your laptop and let your shopping come to you.
• Avail of autism friendly shopping times- as I previously discussed in my linked post, most supermarkets have regular autism friendly shopping hours where the atmosphere is adjusted to be more sensory friendly. Even busy shopping centres have dedicated autism times to allow autists to pass through and browse the shops without fear of getting overwhelmed. 
• Set spending limits– if you have impulsivity issues surrounding shopping, try to set a spending limit to keep you from going overboard. Many financial apps can do this for you. You can even remove the tap feature on your debit card to discourage you from impulsively tapping your funds away. 
• Keep it short and sweet– to prevent a meltdown, keep your shopping visits nice and short until you feel more comfortable with longer shopping periods. You can slowly build up your tolerance over time.
• Make use of sensory tools– as discussed in many of my previous blogs, using such sensory tools as noise reducing or cancelling headphones, sunglasses/tinted lenses, weighted clothing or even an item in your pocket to stim with can help to reduce some of the sensory impact of your surroundings.

Shopping can be a scary sensory experience, but if you follow some of the above tips, you’ll find the experience so much easier 🙂 

Hope you enjoyed this post dear Earthlings! 

Enjoy your weekend!

Aoife