Anyone ever been to the Burning Man????

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Sorry to be a Nelson Nuisance.

Why would anybody—especially one with sensory difficulties—go to this sort of event?

Most Autistics have selective sensory sensitivities. Not all autistics will be sensitive to the massive sensory stimulation of a festival. I don’t think I could handle Burning Man, but I have gone to crowded concerts and sporting events and the discomfort was mitigated and even overcome by the enjoyment of the even. You take the very sensory stimulating subway to work every day. Yet when the neighbors dog barks I become very irritable, it is just so grating.

When I was a kid, I had real problems with the subway; I just got used to it. Also: the trains are not nearly as loud as they used to be. Remember those black trains with the big fans?

I guess it could also be certain types of "sensory input." A high tone is much more grating than a low tone to me. Pulsating tones can be more irritating than steady tones.

In a strange way for me, going to big raves was actually great because the music was loud, the need for constant talking for social proof wasn't there, and everyone had an inspirational focus of attention - whatever stage you were at. If it was an indoor event and there were all kinds of lasers, flashing strobe lights (not epileptic thankfully), to even be backed in with 5,000 to 10,000 people was fine because it was 5,000 to 10,000 people lost in the moment by and large.

I noticed, on the converse, that I could be at an outdoor fair or something else where there's relatively little music, no alcohol or anything else flowing, and there's no buffer or distraction of other people's attention (not a very good fair in that regard) and my sensory issues would be going nuts because - IMHO - they weren't sensory issues so much as having to manually, and constantly, check up on every microscopic nuance of my body language to make sure I wasn't doing something wrong. I actually took to wearing sunglasses when I could at such events where, like driving, even if it's not bright showing my eyes to people was a liability even if I wasn't looking at them (the energy would cause reactions).

I guess that goes to show - it's a 'spectrum' for a reason.