CONWAY, ARKANSAS — Every day at 4:00 PM, the music slowly gets louder, the lights flash more brightly, employees begin shouting, and even the smells from the shelves seem to intensify. This is no accident. It’s part of a new initiative designed to meet the sensory needs of people with ADHD in public spaces—an initiative that has been labeled the “Super-Stimulation Hour.”
“The minds of people with ADHD work differently from neurotypical brains,” explains developmental psychologist Dr. Samuel Brown. “They need constant stimulation and distraction. Otherwise, their brains will feel underwhelmed and shut off. In the clinical literature, this is referred to as a freezedown. Exposing people with ADHD to a quiet and non-obnoxious environment for more than a few minutes constitutes severe psychological violence. So I’m happy to see that more and more supermarkets are opting to provide them with a sensory landscape that is appropriate for their needs.”
During the Super-Stimulation Hour, the volume of background music is increased to the maximum, with advertisements playing simultaneously, and employees instructed to communicate only by shouting. The intensity of the lighting is also turned up to full brightness, and some supermarkets even provide colorful strobe lights to create an even more dizzying and overwhelming experience.
“It’s wonderful. Great,” says shopper Daniel Keaton, who was diagnosed with ADHD at age 7. “Just like ‘t home. They should do this all the time. I love it. Oh, look at that, I gotta go!”
Jessica Xu
Jessica Xu received a degree in behavioral management at the University of Freudenberg. She works as a family therapist and has her own practice. In her free time, she likes to read and take long walks with her two dogs.
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