Experiences of sensory overload and communication barriers by autistic adults in health care settings

Autistic adults reported more discomfort with background sound and felt more misunderstood by providers --- in the setting a runbook tells you to contact.

Strömberg, M., Liman, L., Bang, P. & Igelström, K. (2022). Experiences of sensory overload and communication barriers by autistic adults in health care settings. Autism in Adulthood, 4(1), 66–75.

Type

Journal article

Find it

doi.org/10.1089/aut.2020.0074

Checked

Against the abstract, 16 September 2026

Why it is on the list

An anonymous online questionnaire completed by 98 Swedish adults, 62 autistic and 36 non-autistic, on sensory experiences and communication in health care settings, with the associations between autism diagnosis and reported discomfort quantified and the free-text answers analysed qualitatively. Compared with non-autistic participants, autistic participants reported greater discomfort with background sound levels in those settings and felt more misunderstood by providers. The cohort was well educated and its autistic participants had been diagnosed late, at a median age of 36.

Week 7 uses this when planning how to seek help: the plan may need to account for sensory and communication barriers in the service itself. The findings concern health care in Sweden, not lecture theatres.