Sensory/information overload, please help!

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Please can anyone advise me on how I should deal with this:
Basically I transferred university courses and I am now studying Biosciences which involves some laboratory work. Today was my first practical session in the lab and I really struggled, in fact I'm still struggling 4 hours after the session ended. The reason for this is that it is so busy and noisy, so stressful, basically a sensory/information overload. It's a really difficult environment to be in anyway but then to be trying to learn and follow and carry out the practical on top.. it's hard to stay in the room, let alone learn and perform well.

I have an appointment with the disability team next week anyway to discuss my learning support plan but if I try to speak to them about my troubles with the lab sessions, I don't know what they can suggest and they're bound to ask what I think can be done to improve things. The lab sessions are obviously compulsory and there are no other smaller groups to switch to. Any ideas?

Would it be against the rules to wear sunglasses and maybe some type of earplug in the class? You could mention that to the advisor and maybe they will make accommodations. I don't know if this would help either but maybe get a large hoodie and wear it to class and if you get overwhelmed, put your hood up so you at least FEEL like you have a bit more privacy.

Thanks for your reply honestnerd98. Unfortunately we have to wear lab coats and sunglasses would not be allowed. I am definitely wearing my 'Earpeace' earplugs next session which reduce the level of noise without reducing the quality of sound. I'm considering wearing my baseball cap too. I am also looking into getting a lab assistant through my disabled student allowance which I think might help with managing being in class and following/keeping up with the class.

Thanks, I did not know about these.

I used wax earplugs when I worked in a photocopy center, mainly for the loud paper punching machine. I can still hear things including conversations. They help me feel a little far away. And not so raw and exposed.

I also kept wax ear plugs in my pocket in my job as cashier at *MegaMart (not real name!) in the hour before the big 6pm "Black Friday" sale as the crowd was growing and buzzing. Maybe I just wore them for a little over an hour, but that hour helped me conserve my energy. Plus, just having them in my pocket helped me feel me in control.

I always used to have my music headphones with me but obviously some situations I'm not supposed /allowed to wear them. So I originally used a sort of soft rubber/silicone pair, then found silicone ones you could mould to fit your ear. They sounded a better idea than they are but they work to some extent but my Earpeace ones are definitely the best ones I've had. You get 2 different level filters with them too.

Honestly, I don't know what to tell you. I can only tell you how I dealt with my issues with sensory overload, which was perhaps a bit cowardly.

I dropped out of school when I was sixteen because I couldn't deal with being packed into a building with 1200 people in classes with 30 to 40 immature idiots who would often pick on me because they could see I was different.

I tried many jobs (all low paying due to my lack of education) and some I dealt with better than others, but because of various social faux pas on my part which I blame squarely on my aspergers, I was frequently fired.

I became frustrated and taught myself how to be a computer technician at home over several years. I am still unemployed right now but I have worked successfully as a technician doing an unpaid internship at a shop for a few months and I feel like this is a career I can deal with when I get my feet under me again.

No matter what you do, it may not be possible for you to do certain things, at least not comfortably. I was so stressed at some jobs and at schools that I developed some minor heart problems which I still have 15 years later.

I have settled on the computer technician thing because even if I'm working in a shop, it's just me and the computer(s) I'm fixing and that's it. It's quiet, simple, low energy, low stimuli, and I can deal with it.

I think I like working with computers because I can totally zone out of everything that's going on around me and just focus on the computer screen or the computer itself.

I spend 10+ hours per day at home in front of my outrageously overpowered computer and I really enjoy it. I can play a game and get absorbed into it and forget that anything exists outside of the screen. It's very therapeutic.

Something else I have found that calms me down after encountering stress is asmr videos on youtube. You should give them a shot. I like FinngamerASMR and SpringbokASMR and MassageASMR channels on Youtube. I would try it if I were you. You have nothing to lose. I suggest listening to these with quality headphones if you have them.

When I started my apprenticeship at this computer shop I would panic before my shift started so I'd sit in the donut shop next door for an hour before my shift listening to ASMR on my phone with earbuds and it would put me in a different state of mind.

There are also EXTREMELY (and I do mean extremely) relaxation CDs (you won't find them online) from a guy named Eli Bay that are very helpful in relaxing, and you can rip the CD to your phone and listen to it in class if it comes down to it.

I just had my first practical exam, too, and I had the exact same problem OP noted. I was a step behind everyone because it was noisy and I was distracted, and then once it became obvious that I was a step behind people noticed and not-so-subtle about showing their annoyance. It just made the whole thing worse. I know I didn't do as well as I could have, but for the simple fact that I was on overload. I've been wondering, too, what to do about this. As people say, "The struggle is real."

The earplugs and hooded sweatshirt may help, I'll have to try. I'm also going to see if it would be possible to do it separate from the class next time. I go to a small school, so it might be possible.

For us on the spectrum, I really think there's an inverse relationship between "easy" jobs and "hard" jobs.

Entry-level quote "easy" jobs have multi-tasking, chaotic environments, sensory issues and are no more "easy" than helping to run the front desk of a hospital emergency room! Plus, they more commonly have disengaged, absentee managers and a potential bullying environment.

Whereas hard "jobs," as long as you have the particular skill, are more likely to have a sane environment, more likely to active, task-oriented managers and employees (although by no means a hundred percent guarantee of this).