“Sensory Overload”

Artist: Carolynn Hare, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Science, Western University

Everything is a bit too loud, a bit too bright, and you feel like you have no control. Everyone at some point in their lives has experienced how overwhelming sensory information can be; however, neurodivergent individuals experience sensory overload much more often.

Depicting how this experience can feel is important to me in two ways. First, as a researcher I study sensory processing, and specifically multisensory integration, in individuals with ADHD. Multisensory integration refers to our ability to combine sensory information from multiple modalities into one perceptual experience. Generally, I want to better understand these sensory processes in ADHD but also be able to translate these findings into a medium that is more accessible. Second, as a person with ADHD who experiences sensory processing difficulties, I wanted to depict how sensory overload feels to me. Specifically, some type of disconnect between the senses when the system is overwhelmed. One way to understand sensory processes in certain groups in addition to experimental paradigms is to amplify their voices and experiences.