Autism and walmart?

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30 May 2011, 12:11 pm

The layout of Walmart is set up intentionally to be confusing. They want to coerce people into looking at other items they didn't intend to buy. So they design the store's interior so that you get lost wading through other items just to get to the one you went there for in the first place.

The layout's design is just plain sadistic to anyone with sensory/directional issues. I rarely ever go to Walmart since the nearest one is miles away and I must take an hour long bus ride to get there. If I'm just hankering for an item from Walmart like clothing or shoes, I just save a days worth of frustration.....and order it online.

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MotownDangerPants
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30 May 2011, 12:29 pm

nirrti_rachelle wrote:

YOU ARE SO RIGHT. I never thought about that but I do hate Walmart for those reasons, and because of the garish lighting and horrible merchandising.

IME, Target takes the opposite approach. Very easy to navigate, a very consistent and calming theme throghout the store, VERY good merchandising and nice lighting with the right music.

BillyJoe
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06 Jun 2011, 2:57 am

I'm glad im not the only one, I realy hate spending too much time at the wal mart. It seems the longer i stay in the store the worse it gets, to the point were by the time i get the the register and i have to say hi to the cashier I will be sweating like crazy, fast heartbeat, and completely disoriented, unable to focus on anything. just today i made a fool of myself at the register, i was so out of it i just didn't know what to do. I notice that it wont be quite as bad if someone else is with me because i can assume he will talk to the cashier at least most of the time. I also like to check out in the garden section if i can because being outside calms me down, and there's less going on.

what i really really hate is going to an unfamiliar wal mart that i don't know the layout at. I'll walk around for so long sometimes i'll just get too freaked out and leave. i start to pass the same people 3 or 4 times as i circle around and go in and out of every isle. then i start to think the other people may think im dumb for not asking for help... it realy sucks.

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06 Jun 2011, 6:23 am

If the parking lot is nearly empty it is safe to go inside.

I've found that stores are usually quietest when they first open--though I never go shopping when they have those special Christmas sales.

bridgete2010
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06 Jun 2011, 7:56 am

I enjoy shopping there sometimes (just to dawdle) but I do agree that there is sensory overload

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babybuggy32
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06 Jun 2011, 4:13 pm

i hate walmart because of all the filthy derilects it has nothing to do with the noises :lol:

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06 Jun 2011, 4:27 pm

I avoid Wally World like the plague. I hate going in there, hate the loud speakers, the drone of too many people shopping, the narrow aisles clogged with people & shopping carts, the long lines, kids running willy nilly with no parental supervision, etc. Walmart...blech.

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06 Jun 2011, 5:40 pm

I don't have that many issues with Wal-Mart, outside of it getting too crowded for me at most hours.

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06 Jun 2011, 6:10 pm

Walmart is one of these places where I walk several times faster than usual. I do it so I can go in, buy the stuff, and get out as fast as possible. It's like limiting your radiation exposure at Fukushima.

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06 Jun 2011, 6:19 pm

The flickering flourescent lighting of Walmart doesn't bother me too much but what really drives me crazy is the flicker of those old fashioned analog televisions. Some people tell me I am not the only one with this problem.

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06 Jun 2011, 10:25 pm

Verdandi wrote:

wavefreak58 wrote:

MathGirl wrote:

mybigmouth wrote:

Yep for me it's sensory overload too, the people the low humming noise of their conversations and movments, their constant bombardment of my personal space, the noise too that invades my personal space, it's like an assault on my senses.

Same. Whenever I'm there, I sort of get into this shutdown mode where I only focus on one particular object and start looking at it/touching it for a long time until someone else redirects me. I become distracted easily there and often get left behind.

I focus on exactly what it is I came to get. Get out of my way. Coming through!! Get in. Get out. Done. It makes my wife crazy.

This is how I am in stores, but especially Costco and Wal-Mart.

Yesterday, I walked under one of the loudspeakers right when there were multiple announcements in a row (I couldn't count after the third) and I just closed my eyes, couldn't think, couldn't move, until it was over. I actually forgot where I was and why I was there for a bit. So much overload, and something like that happens whenever I go somewhere. It's no wonder I'd walk out of so many stores in my 20s without buying anything.

I do that too! when the loud speakers come on when I am close to one.... I close my eyes and become stationary.. close my ears and wait... embarrassing :oops:

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