Color coded dial for sensory issue reviews intensity ratings.

Sensory Avoidant or Sensory Seeking Autism: The Sensometer

ByRose Ernst

I look for hidden clues when reading traveler reviews of hotels, restaurants, activities, and tours. Clues about the sensory experiences an autistic traveler might experience, from blaring music and lights to chemical odors.

But it’s more complex than that: sensory avoidant and sensory seeking autism is not a contradiction. And quite honestly, I don’t buy the idea that we have a sensory processing “disorder.”

That’s why I have an extremely high heat tolerance in showers and saunas, but shutdown when I spend an hour at a sunny beach.

That’s why I love extremely loud music (that I choose) but have an intolerance of soft background noise that doesn’t bother others.

Every autistic person has different sensory thresholds, which makes reviews even more complicated.

Enter a solution: sensometer reviews.

Measuring the Intensity of Sensory Experiences

Person wrapped in puffy winter jacket and scarf sitting in front of a fire.
Permet, Albania is cold in February! © Rose Ernst 2023.

Because we seek and avoid sensory experiences, the best way to review an experience or place is to tell you how intense it is.

I use a dial to indicate the level of intensity of sound at a stadium concert with 50,000 people:

Or, on the other end of the sensometer, a meditation room at a sauna complex:

My reviews on the autistic traveler will include the most salient sensory experiences.

For example, a hotel review might include the following:

  • tactile or touch intensity: fabric and texture issues, heat of shower water, heating
  • sound intensity: noise in the room, the hotel, and outside
  • visual intensity: clutter, colors, patterns, lights
  • smell intensity: odors and air flow

A restaurant review might be similar, but I’d swap out tactile intensity for taste, including things like texture and food sensitivities. A ferry or cruise would include vestibular sensory experiences. You get the idea.

English vegetarian breakfast for sensory seeking autism. Scrambled eggs, toast, potatoes, tomatoes, omelette, apples, and mushrooms.
Fat Apples Cafe, Cornwall. Such a fantastic sensory seeking autism experience! © Rose Ernst 2023.

Beyond this, I may also include ratings related to social interactions: Are signs clear? Does this experience produce massive anxiety because I have no idea what to expect?

For example, a bus ride with marked signs, helpful drivers, and different payment methods is a different experience than one without these features.

For a neurotypical person, this might sound like “nice to have” options. But for many autistic people, they determine whether we set foot outside the door in the first place.

Why Sensory Issue Reviews?

Just as a physically ‘disabled’ person would review the physical accessibility of a theme park, the sensometer engages a similar logic.

Reviews of travel experiences are a dime a dozen, but it’s hard to find reviews that consider sensory sensitivities. As an autistic traveler, these seemingly small details can determine not only whether I enjoy the experience, but also whether I’ll have any energy (or spoons) left to do anything else during the trip.

As you peruse the reviews on the Autistic Traveler, you’ll see how I use the sensometer to review places, activities, and experiences. If you have any feedback on adding any senses, I’d love to hear from you.