Going to the Grocery Store: A Sensory-Rich Experience
Grocery shopping is an essential daily life task. Individuals travel to their local community store to buy their necessary items; however, this experience can be challenging for individuals with a sensory processing disorder. Reports have established that grocery stores are among the most common disabling sensory environments (MacLennan et al., 2023). Within the general population, 1 in 20 people have the possibility of having a sensory processing disorder, and children diagnosed with autism, ADHD, and Fragile X Syndrome have a greater chance of getting a sensory processing disorder (Miller, n.d.). Individuals with a sensory processing disorder can experience sensory overload when they go to the grocery store. Sensory overload occurs when an individual experiences too much stimulation input in an environment and expresses adverse reactions to the situation, such as confusion, frustration, and withdrawal (Doucé & Adams, 2020). An individual experiencing sensory overload in a store environment can impact their performance of the perceptual and cognitive skills needed to complete and perform the appropriate tasks (Doucé & Adams, 2020).
Grocery Store Environment
Based on individuals with sensory processing disorder and their loved ones’ reports, here are some triggers that cause them to go into sensory overload:
Visuals: Bright, fluorescent lights, aisles of products in different shapes and sizes, and people moving past you with their carts.
Auditory: The different noises (e.g., freezer hums, lights buzzing, phones ringing, music or an announcement over the intercom, chatter from customers and staff).
Olfactory: Various smells that give off a strong scent, like the fresh produce section (e.g., fruit or vegetables) and products that contain fragrances (e.g., perfumes, soaps, cleaning items).
Interoceptive: Temperature change in the environment (e.g., cold sensation from the refrigerator/freezer isles).
Tactile: Bumping into people while walking down isles or standing in line and waiting to be checked out.
(Kendall, 2022; MacLennan et al., 2023;Psychology Today, 2021)
Tips for Creating a Positive Experience
Grocery pick-up: In-person shopping can take a lot of energy out of individuals. Many stores offer curbside pick-up, where you drive to the parking lot, and employees will place groceries inside your vehicle. This can help make grocery shopping accessible and comfortable for your child. Another benefit to curbside pick-up is that it helps expose your child if it's their first time at the grocery store. It can be a short trip to experience sensory input, such as hearing people come in and out of the store with their carts and help them know what to expect when arriving at the grocery store.
Create a short food list: An ideal grocery list would consist of 5-10 items. Pictures of the items help provide visual input and reduce visual overload by focusing on what needs to be picked up at the store. Your child can also cross things off the list to indicate that they are one step closer to the shopping trip being over. Below is a visual handout that has the design for making shopping simple. There are cut-out pictures to place on the grocery shopping list boxes. There is space to also write in words what each grocery item is and a check box to mark off the items already found.
Make it a routine: Going to the grocery store once or twice a week can help your child know what to expect and what to look forward to, as it would become part of their routine to participate in.
Go during “quiet hours”: The non-busy hours to go grocery shopping are in the morning. This creates a low-stimulus environment to help maintain self-regulation, reduces your child's sensory overload, and promotes a positive yet inclusive shopping experience.
Sensory items: there are a variety of tools and items to bring with
Headphones or ear plugs: help block out noises or help listen to calming music or white noises
Jacket: helps with regulating body temperature
Sunglasses or a ball cap: help filter/block out the bright fluorescent lights.
Fidget toys: Your child can have one as they look at their grocery list to provide different sensory inputs to support self-regulation.
(Aster, 2023; Brown, 2016; Kendall, 2022, Leaf Wing Center, 2021; Lingle, n.d.; Psychology Today, 2021)
Sensory Friendly Store
Walmart has sensory-friendly hours across the U.S. from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. each day (Ziegler, 2023). These hours help make the environment calming, inclusive, and navigable when shopping for groceries or back-to-school items, as the TV walls are converted to static images, the radio is turned off, and the lights are dimmed (Ziegler, 2023).
References
Brown , S. (2016). Dealing with sensory challenges at the grocery store. Navigate Life Texas. https://www.navigatelifetexas.org/en/blog/article/dealing-with-sensory-challenges-at-the-grocery-store#:~:text=Her%20senses%20are%20on%20overload,sleep%20problems%2C%20and%20focusing%20issues.
Doucé, L., & Adams, C. (2020). Sensory overload in a shopping environment: Not every sensory modality leads to too much stimulation. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 57, 102154. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2020.102154
Kendall, K. (2022). The struggle of grocery shopping as an autistic person. Kirsty Kendall. https://kirstykendall.com/autistic-grocery-shopping/
Leaf Wing Center. (2021). Grocery shopping with your child with autism. Leaf Wing Center. https://leafwingcenter.org/grocery-shopping-with-child-autism/
MacLennan, K., Woolley, C., @21andsensory, E., Heasman, B., Starns, J., George, B., & Manning, C. (2023). “It is a big spider web of things”: Sensory experiences of autistic adults in public spaces. Autism in Adulthood, 5(4), 411–422. https://doi.org/10.1089/aut.2022.0024
Miller, L. J. (n.d.). Understanding the sensory integration process. STAR Institute. https://sensoryhealth.org/basic/understanding-sensory-integration-process
Psychology Today. (2021). How can I cope with all the stimuli in public places? Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/stroke-awareness/202102/how-can-i-cope-all-the-stimuli-in-public-places#:~:text=Noises%20coming%20from%20multiple%20sources%3B%20music%20playing%2C%20overhead,carts%2C%20and%20staff%20working%20to%20stock%20the%20shelves
Qaiyoom, A. (n.d.). Grocery store interior stock photos, images and backgrounds for free download. Vecteezy. https://www.vecteezy.com/free-photos/grocery-store-interior
Ziegler, M. (2023). Walmart adding daily “sensory-friendly” store hours. FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul. https://www.fox9.com/news/walmart-sensory-friendly-hours-daily-morning-shopping