As many people in the autistic community know, sensory overload is a common experience for those on the spectrum. Sensory overload can be described as an overwhelming experience where sensory information is processed by the brain in a way that is difficult to handle. This can be caused by a variety of different sensory stimuli, such as sounds, lights, smells, textures, and more.

A while ago on TikTok a joke popped up in the autism community. The joke was we all started referring to ourselves as “Neurospicy” or as having “spicy autism” I didn’t get it at first, until I realized it was in response to how some people refer to autistics with lower support needs as having “mild autism” and so the neuro spice meter was invented. Because, at the end of the day, saying mild or severe autism is the same as applying functional labels.