wearing lanyards and stuff to communicate needs

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I do have a lanyard for when I have to wear my giant ear guards at Walmart. (They look like headphones, but they're not. Just noise canceling.) It's essentially to let people know I'm not ignoring them, basically has a card saying I'm not ignoring you just noise sensitive.

I was really apprehensive about the lanyard at first tbh. Felt like I had a giant neon sign on myself or something. I'm more accustomed to it now.

Ooooooo, I love it!! Very educational and vulnerable. How has it been received so far if you can tell?

I wear small ear plugs with a cord that is neon green so obvious that way. I've only had folks ask a few times about it. At the airport the officer asked what they were and I said "ear plugs" - I was too panicked to say "for noise sensitivity" (after all he didn't ask what they were for). He asked for me to take them out and hold them in my hand for the security scan. In public I am generally less panicked and have said for noise sensitivity.

My mom wears headphones and listens to music to deal with sensitivities and for social avoidance (for her, easier to avoid than face differences). She's undiagnosed and unaware, so most everybody concludes she's anti-social and selfish. I'm starting to advocate for her with relatives.

I've got one of these. It's from the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower organisation. You can customise them to your own needs. Mine says 'I am autistic. I may need more space and time in certain situations. Please be patient.' I've also got a simple, discreet green sunflower badge, which indicates I have a hidden disability without saying what it is.

(Disclaimer: I don't work for them, nor am I promoting their products for either profit or attention. I just think it's a good idea. It annoys me slightly that they're a private company, but I hope the initiative continues to gain traction.)

What inspired me to get one: during the pandemic, I would feel very uneasy around people who weren't wearing masks. In the UK there was an initiative to get people who couldn't wear masks for medical reasons (including many autistic people) to wear a badge or lanyard saying so. It was reassuring to see one of these on someone, and know that they weren't wearing a mask for an honest reason.

I think those things are a very good idea.