Sensory Trigger Warnings

Hi Anne.  If you want an autistic experience I can give you mine and source some from the community. 

Cheers, H 

Hi Heath, thank you so much for your willingness to share! It would certainly be helpful – my email address is a.hsuyin@anam.com.au if that's preferable.

Anne, hello! I’m sure others with theater/performance backgrounds may have some great ideas! I am a museum professional who just so happens to be a professional singer and percussionist and during my concerts I’ve recently been adding verbiage that informs the audience.  I personally want to let you know that I sincerely appreciate the conversation your venue is having around the subject. I feel that it’s absolutely necessary to let guest know that they can expect some loud percussive sounds.  Some of the ways that I’ve personally warned the audience is through marking the program with a symbol that means “louder or percussive.” I’ve also highlighted louder percussive songs in bright bold colors. Providing the earplugs is a perfect touch. For people who wish to participate ( not leave) -and granted this idea comes from the fact that I serve a huge population of children who live with autism- but keeping bright colorful scarves that can be gently waved along with the louder parts also helps. Some people don’t want to remove themselves so a pair of earplugs and a way to still let their body enjoy the music is through scarf waving, depending on your event. As for how you will let people know…

I believe the words “Trigger warning” can often feel alarming even though it’s necessary at times. In your case, “sensory warning” or “Sensory Advisory” may help. In my own shows I don’t put this in the advertising but I mark the programs with the songs that may feel too percussive heavy and we announce it at the beginning of the show. 

These are some of the ideas that I’ve seen success in. I hope this helps! 

Hola Anne, 

I want to lift up Shenette's advice of using "Sensory Advisory/Warning" as opposed to "Trigger Warning." I think that's brilliant. 

My own thoughts on this are that it is better to have a warning than not. We should not let fear guide us, because it seems that you are being caring and thoughtful about the audience members that do come. I mean providing earplugs and communicating that is already awesome, and in my mind, that sense of care for your public could and should be a reason why your audiences come back to engage with your organization. 

Also, I think it would be much better to provide the warning than not doing it and getting complaints about it being too loud, too surprising, or accidentally waking up someone who may have fallen asleep and wasn't expecting the loud sound. 

HA!! Love the respect for the sleeping guests!! Gotta include them!

Sharing some of the info that I sent to Anne last week in case it's of interest.

I catch up with a wide group of Autistic friends, we collborate on a few projects though mostly it's social.  We're international - North and South America, Europe, UK, Australia and Aoteroea (NZ) and all professional adults from 20-80+ yo just for demographics. I think it's important because adults exist but rarely polled.

They had this to say

I used to play in orchestras. I'd say something like "occasionally, the music includes some sudden drums, cymbals, and rapid changes in volume, pitch, and  tempo. For audience members who might find these features challenging, we offer earplugs to allow a more comfortable experience of music." 

I used to perform in a drumming group* that was very loud for the most part. The actual volume didn't bother me because I expected it and it was a nice round sound. The metal accent instruments were harder though - sharp. The only time it did bother me was when I was already stressed and tired.

Although they say they are mostly quiet, that may be subjective and it does not mean that the occasional loud bits are therefore bearable for everyone. 

If they could provide videos beforehand of a typical performance that may be a way to encourage those who they are worried will be scared away. Also anyone who does feel scared away probably has good reason to be from knowing their own responses.  

I think "trigger warning" is the wrong term. Is "sensory warning" more appropriate?

Maybe "sensory inclusiveness statement"? I feel "warning" is too strong and might set people up for more anxiety around attending than they might otherwise have.

For me it's not so much volume but feeling and flow. Discordant is hard. Unpredictable saxophone/trumpet jazz is horrible

_{* the drumming group was an 8 piece professional drum group and often use drums like the many styles of Japanese Taiko drums among others. Other percussion instruments were also featured}

For me personally an example from my last workplace with dance soundtracks at Sydney Dance have been discordant brass sections that I've had serious trouble negotiating, or some more industrial soundtracks over time, which took a lot of mental load.  We dealt with that intentionally and equitably.  I tend to be good with classical and contemporary to varying degrees. That reaction is tricky to describe but can be debilitating.  Experience differs and I'm always happy to go through the inner experience.  Coupled with other sensory and mental impinging factors my levels of ability to mitigate it get less.  If you think about each of the stressors having a volumn like a glass of water.  Their difficulty would have a certin "volumn".  My bucket to deal with that is of a certain size and will at some point over flow leading to a Executive Functioning dilema that could take a variety of forms and will take some time to clear. 

All the best,

Heath

Hi Anne,

Answering from Hampstead Theatre. We have a show on at the moment which has loud noise intermittently throughout and we have included it in the sensory section of our content warnings as 'sudden loud music throughout'. 

I have also had the problem of some members of staff worrying about content warnings 'scaring' people away. What I say to them is that it is important thing to consider that we must cater to the needs of our most vulnerable customers. If the possibility that a warning discourages someone from attending, then we have done our jobs in protecting members of the public that are sensitive to such things. That is, after all, the highest level of customer service.

We also include a line that says 'please ask a member of staff if you would like any further information on the themes and content of this show' which you could adapt to your venue.

It might be helpful to note how many decibels the loudest parts of the concert are recorded at, to give customers something measurable and comparable. 

Very best,

Chloe

Hi Shenette, Chloe, Carlos and Heath,

Thank you so much for your thoughtful replies! My apologies for leaving this thread for so long - we had a couple of urgent projects come up and had to put this conversation on hold for a bit, but I'm very glad to say we're slowly incorporating sensory information on our website (we've adapted the wording you've shared Heath, thank you!)

We decided to go with the term "Sensory Information" and we've included a line to let patrons know they can contact us for more information about the program (thanks Chloe for this advice!) It's not perfect yet, but we do hope it's a step in the right direction.

Our team did raise one more concern: as we start to provide sensory information consistently, we do worry that if we miss anything, we might be breaking our audience's trust in us. Of course, I am of the view that trying is definitely better than nothing, but what are your thoughts on this - have such situations come up for you?

This DEAI work is fragile. We are all learning as we go and sure to miss something along the way. Here in Raleigh, NC we have provided extensive details about one thing… and less about others. Only to go back to the drawing board again.  I do agree that it can send messaging to our guest that’s confusing so keeping several eyes on the shared info is awesome and helpful. You’re off to a fantastic start! 

Hi Anne, 

I think your instinct is right here-- trying is definitely better than nothing! And the fact that you're trying so thoughtfully really does matter. As Shennette says: this is fragile work. Sometimes it takes time to get things right, and sometimes what feels most right changes-- that's ok. 

Cheers,

Sheila

These are great points.  DEAI work, as with all CRM is a constant conversation, commitment and practice, rather than a destination we will end up at. We provide informaton and updates and invite feedback through a variety of means to round out the dialogue.

If you capture customer sentiment as CSIs, having a catagory that relates to this is great. Logging feedback from email, socials, customer service and House Services staff is a good way to capture what works, as is post even t surveys. Following up is a great way of building trust. 

Hey Anne,

We went one step further with this as we were worried about the same thing.

We created a 'sensory timeline' for our shows, example just below.

0 mins – loud music, transition with rolling light

1 min – loud singing

10 mins – scream

11 mins – shouting

13 mins – loud music, transition with rolling light

24 mins - transition with rolling light, music

29 mins – loud singing

30 & 38 mins - transition with rolling light, music

38 mins – flashes of bright light reflected on guitar

40 mins - shouting

45 mins – noise of high five, transition with rolling light, music

50 mins - transition with rolling light, music

55 mins – shouting

56 mins – smoking of herbal cigarette, smell of smoke

57 mins - transition with rolling light, music

67 mins – loud bang

68 mins – blackout, applause

The reason we did this is because we did a training session where someone brought up that if they see 'gunshot' on a content warning, for most of the show they are anxiously waiting for it.

We do not have these readily available on our website, but they are available should anyone ask.

These have also been helpful for our neurodiverse ushers and we take input from them and our CSMs to try and make sure they are as thorough as possible

Our shows run for 7/8 weeks so it has not been too much trouble for us, I'm not sure how long your runs are, if they are shorter this would obviously be harder.

All the best,

Chloe

Thanks for this suggestion Chloe! Our concerts (classical music performances) are usually one-off programs, but we can most definitely flag specific pieces rather than a general advisory for the whole program.