As we move closer to Christmas, we see so many venues and community places that have extra decorative displays, foods, stands and people that can be a potential sensory nightmare for people who have sensitivities to noise, smells, overload of visual information as well as many other responses.

For some people, these ‘extras’ can impact on their ability to function at their best and most often it becomes a case of avoiding these spaces as much as possible.

In most situations, this would be the option that people would choose, however there will be situations where there will be the need to shop for food, buy clothes and visit other places.

It might be worth planning to go to these places at a different time of the day – late at night or very early in the morning when there are less people likely to be there.

Unfortunately, the decorative displays and extra wall and ceiling decorations are unavoidable but again if planned well, you can organise to only go to these venues when absolutely necessary ie, write a food shopping list and double or triple the quantities of the usual purchases so that the items last you twice as long.

Obviously the less that you expose yourself to these situations, the better you’ll manage this hectic time of year. It’s about thinking, planning and scheduling in the important tasks and events in advance, to ensure self preservation.