Sensory Tips and Tricks for Everyday Life

Please let me introduce you to MyNoise.net - a lifesaver on all aspects.

Mynoise provides an incredible index of noise machine generators with personalizing sliders to suit your every taste.

Missing the sound of a lively coffee shop during the pandemic? They have that. That specific, calming noise of a public park in a peaceful afternoon? they have that. Rain sounds? City sounds? Want to fuck around and listen to some uninterrupted Gregorian chants? They have that also!

According to the website:

"myNoise generators cover the whole audible frequency range, from 20Hz to 20kHz, over 10 color-coded sliders. Through a simple but accurate calibration process, all myNoise generators can be shaped to your personal hearing thresholds and compensate for your audio equipment and listening environment deficiencies, including the presence and nature of background noise. Calibration is unique to this website, and makes calibrated noise machines stand out from regular white noise machines. During the calibration process, we are able to measure your personal hearing levels, and adapt our noises accordingly. If you are suffering from age-related hearing, you'll be surprised to hear frequencies you thought were lost."

And that's not all. When I say 'incredible' I really mean it; I've found myself using the website on multiple occasions, for work, creative and stress-related issues, and the variety of machines provided cannot be overstated. You've got animal noises, nature soundscapes, street sounds, meditation aids, melody-based lullabies, magical soundscapes, medieval ambiance, situation specific sounds, white noise generators-- and a lot more!!! They even have noise to block out IRL sounds you don't want to hear.

Just take a brief look at what the index page provides:

There's something for EVERYONE. And it's all for free! It's been for free for years, and it is the creator's wish that it remains accessible to everyone who might need this kind of aid in life. I am using it to write this post right now. Though if you read some of the above index, you may have noticed that the support for the website has been very low lately.

Which brings me to the reason I'm making this post. Mynoise is curated and maintained by a single person:

CW: discussion of murder, police brutality, racism, and ableism.

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When I stim, I risk a few things. More minor things, like being stared at or laughed at, are small but build up over time. They hurt, but are possible to ignore.

Other things, like being called names, being bullied, being isolated, being infantisised, being underestimated, can be difficult to cope with.

But whilst I've felt self conscious, embarrassed, worried, and anxious whilst stimming in public, I have never feared for my life.

Black autistic people do not have this luxury. If a Black autistic person stims in public, even completely non-harmful stimming, they are in danger of having others feel 'uncomfortable' and calling the police on them. They are in danger, not because their stimming is self-injurious, but because others might assault or kill them for it.

Black autistic people are unable to be themselves in public for fear of retribution from those supposed to protect others.

We cannot have autism acceptance without first making it safe for Black autistic people to exist as themselves. If you promote autism acceptance or neurodiversity and (like myself) are white, you also need to promote acceptance of Black autistic people. Black lives matter, and Black autistic lives matter too.

If someone says something that you only partially understand:

DON’T ask for clarification with a generic “What?” or “I’m sorry?” (In my experience, people will repeat the phrase the exact same way without helping you to understand).

Example: Them: “Hey, do you like pahganabasa?” Autistic Person: “What?” Them: “Do you like pahganabasa?” Autistic Person: “I’m sorry, what?” Them (annoyed): “Do you like pahganabasa?”

Instead, DO repeat the part that you did understand, and substitute a “What?” for the unintelligable part.

Well I’m on a roll, so here’s the template I use for if I have a medical emergency.  If relevant to you, you should carry this with you AT ALL TIMES!  I would also highly recommend getting a medical alert bracelet.  

You can find the google doc here with my comments.

Here’s a pic preview of the doc.