![]() Modify or create a fragrance-free workplace policy.Provide scent-free meeting rooms and restrooms.Discontinue the use of fragranced products.See the common accommodations ideas listed below that might be effective: ![]() It is easy to see why accommodations in the workplace may be essential for individuals with sensory processing disorders to thrive in their environments. A busy call center with the constant ringing of telephones and background chatter may be troublesome as well. We hear the continuous roll of trucks, horns blaring, and the sirens of emergency vehicles. The portion of the street that runs in front of our building is also a state route. Our JAN offices are located on a main artery through town. Working in areas of extreme temperatures may also cause problems. Some employers require their employees to wear uniforms, hats, or specific footwear that workers may find difficult or impossible to tolerate. Retail areas where merchandise such as bath and body products or tires are sold may be problematic. Working in a restaurant or in an adjacent office space might cause a problem because of the pervasive smell of food cooking. Think about your work environment and the things that might be problematic for individuals with sensory issues: Let’s look at this on a practical level and imagine how it might play out in the workplace. ![]() Individuals with SPD may not be able to acquire socially appropriate responses and tools as easily or effortlessly as those without sensory processing difficulties who begin learning how to integrate sensory information from birth. Yet someone else might under-respond with little to no reaction to stimulation, even to pain or extreme hot and cold. Individuals may over-respond to sensation and be unable to tolerate clothing, physical contact, light, sound, food, or other sensory input. Individuals may only be affected by one sense – for example just touch, sight, or movement, or they may be affected by multiple senses. Issues with touch, sight, sound, smell, texture, balance and movement, body position, and body awareness can all cause adverse, or uncomfortable responses. While most individuals have occasional difficulties processing sensory information, those with SPD may have chronic difficulties that disrupt everyday life. Symptoms of SPD, like those of most disorders, occur within a broad range of severity. This creates challenges in performing numerous tasks daily. A person with SPD will find it difficult to process and act upon information received through the senses. Imagine a neurological traffic jam that prevents certain parts of the brain from receiving the information needed to interpret sensory information accurately. ![]() Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) is a condition that exists when sensory signals don’t get organized into appropriate responses. When someone walks or swims, eats ice cream, or listens to music, completion of the activity requires processing the sensation. Sensory processing refers to the way the nervous system receives messages from the senses and turns them into appropriate motor and behavior responses. From the desk of Melanie Whetzel, M.A., CBIS, Principal Consultant, Team Lead
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