Emma White (Chair of Disability Society) and Megan Cornes (Health and Society Officer)
“It’s like hearing everything all at once, all the conversations, all the typing, all the chewing, and you can’t stop any of it.”
Understanding Neurodivergence and Sound
Neurodivergence refers to natural differences in the way people think, process information and experience the world. It includes, but is not limited to, autistic people, individuals with ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia and other neurological variations. In educational settings, neurodivergent students bring valuable perspectives and strengths but may also experience environments very differently from their neurotypical peers.
Sound is one key area where this difference is felt.
Sound relates to neurodiversity primarily through differences in sensory processing. Many neurodivergent individuals, especially those with autism or ADHD, experience differences in how auditory stimuli are processed. These differences include hypersensitivity, which 50 to 70% of autistic people experience.
Hypersensitivity means having a lower tolerance for sound and can often cause physical discomfort or pain from noises that others would find normal. While neurotypical brains can often filter out background noise, neurodivergent brains may process sounds equally. This can make it difficult to distinguish speech in noisy environments and can lead to sensory overload.
Student Perspective
“Because like sometimes noise is a good thing, you need the input and when there’s no noise it’s underwhelming, but then when there’s too many background noises or loud sounds it gets too much and you can’t concentrate on anything, even if a person is stood right in front of you talking. You can hear their voice but can’t compute what they are actually saying.”
Bringing Sensory Overload to Life
To bring the realities of sensory overwhelm to life, we created a light-hearted but meaningful Instagram reel featuring our CEO, Ed, attempting to play the classic game Operation.
What started as a simple challenge quickly turned chaotic as we introduced unexpected distractions. First came a loud bingo call, complete with the clattering wheel, followed by a surprise confetti cannon that caught both Ed and Megan off guard.
The noise and unpredictability continued to build. Kieran (who many will know from Atmosphere) struggled to fill a blender with ice, then switched it on, spraying water across the table and onto Ed. After that, the atmosphere became even more hectic as Megan began singing karaoke (she will never be able to listen to Unwritten again), and Emma crinkled a packet of crisps beside his ear before it burst over his head.
The whole scene was full of laughter, which made the reel fun to watch and kept the energy playful.
At the end, we brought the focus back to the purpose behind the chaos. Although the filming was fun for us, the experience reflected the kind of sensory overload that many neurodivergent students face on campus when multiple sounds or stimuli compete at once.
By presenting the message through humour, we were able to capture attention and encourage engagement with an important topic that might otherwise be overlooked.
From Ed Moloney, CEO of Salford SU
“Taking part in this made me realise how difficult it is to concentrate with lots of background noises and how it must be so triggering for neurodiverse students. We need to all be more aware and work together to ensure neurodiverse students are fully supported in order to reach their full potential and succeed.”
This article is part of a wider series exploring accessibility on campus and in practice. To learn more and find out how you can support those around you, keep an eye out for the next video in this series - https://www.instagram.com/reel/DW4EkqtDSeI/?igsh=MWZpdjFnb2hwaGR6Yg==