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tips, tricks and small-(ish) accommodations

i am disabled and had to find ways to make life and existence easier. while that is a life-long process and i'm by no means an expert, i do think i've made some progress over the years. so why not try to make a list (can you tell that "making a list about it" is one of my main reactions towards everything)?

DISCLAIMER: i am just one person and my experiences are only that: mine. so if something is helpful for me, that doesn't necessarily transfer to other people and nothing in here is meant to sound generalizing. even amongst people sharing a diagnosis, the experiences are still very indivdual. couple of the tips and tricks are probably very "basic" and i don't want to imply that i came up with them or something like that, obviously i didn't. plus this is not replacement for bigger / medical / "official" accommodations, medications or similair things. i'm also aware that not everything is accessible or available for others and that my perspective is still pretty privileged.

i'll try to sort it vaguely by topics, but it'll probably be less than ideal. also the topics are not sorted themselves, so here is an overview of the categories: sensory issues, mobility and orthostatic intolerance, low energy, memory issues, food and drinks, dermatillomania / skin picking and unsorted so far.

SENSORY ISSUES

i'm autistic, have adhd and some chronic fatigue thingy, and all of those cause sensory issues for me. personally, i'm sensitive to a lot of stimuli. light, sound, textures and smells, mostly, so i do my best to reduce them.

• sunglasses: i love sunglasses. bright surroundings can range from annoying to physically painful, so i always have sunglasses on me (if they are mirrored, they are also great to avoid eye-contact). it's also fine to wear them inside btw! i have some not-as-dark ones for that.
• blue light blocking glasses: i got them for work because i spent a lot of time in front of a monitor there, but i found out they are also helpful in general. can't really put into words why tho.
• extra dim and night light for screens:
• uv-filter window foil:
• small lamps: i try to avoid using the big lights in my room, so i have a couple of smaller ones.
• headphones: great to block noise, reduce boredom and discourage people from trying to start a conversation. i wear them almost everywhere.
• ear defenders, earplugs: for when headphones are not useful, out of battery or i want to filter noise instead of blocking it out completely. i have a big pair of ear defenders which i currently don't use a lot. if i remember correctly they are for shooting ranges and not as bulky as construction ones, but probably also not as effective. when i was still able to go i wore them to demonstrations or similair events and they have the advantages that they are easy to spot. when i want to be more invisible (work, family gatherings, outings with friends, etc.) i use earplugs. here are some situations where it took me surprisingly long to realize that i could just wear earplugs:
  • in the shower. water can be loud and i heavily dislike having water in my ears.
  • while using a hairdryer. again, loud.
  • underneath over-ear headphones. i wear headphones at night so i can listen to something while waiting for my meds to do their thing, but i tend to lose them while sleeping. so having earplugs underneath is really nice because my hearing is still protected and i'm less likely to wake up from random noises. apart from that, sometimes even the quietest volume is too loud, or the noises i'm trying to block are too loud, so the extra dulling is useful then too.
• dish sponges with handles: so i don't have to touch dirty dishes nor the sponge and get less water on my hands. honestly amazing and it made doing the dishes less sensory-overwhelming.
• cleaning gloves: not just for cleaning, but for every situation that requires touching evil textures™. for me that's for example polystyrene/styrofoam, certain textiles, cotton wool, cremes (like cosmetic ones or sunscreen) and things that are damp, sticky or spongy. it can be kinda tricky to find gloves that are not awful sensory-wise themselves tho. depending on how bad the texture, how long the exposure to it is and how resiliant i feel in that moment, i don't always wear gloves (especially since i also don't like having something covering my fingertips), but it's nice to have the option.
• skin cremes:
• sunscreen:
• clothing:
• unscented or lightly scented health, care and beauty products:
• acceptable scented candles:
• bubble gum:
• avoiding smell intense places when possible:

MOBILITY AND ORTHOSTATIC INTOLERANCE

• sitting down when i need it: doesn't matter where, on what or if it's "socially acceptable" (as long as it's safe). chairs and benches, sure, but also stairs, counters, streets, all kinds of floors, small walls, boxes, stacks of things, bike racks and many more.
  • kitchen stool. i recently aquired a foldable bar for the dormitory kitchen. it's not super stable, but i can sit on it with my legs up or cross-legged while doing the dishes or cooking something on the stove and it's been immensely useful. being in the kitches is often difficult for me for several reasons, but not having to stand the whole time makes at least that part a lot easier.
  • showering sitting down.
  • isolated, foldable small sitting mat.
• sport braces: i don't have a diagnosis, so i don't have access to subsidized medical braces (and they are too expensive for me to just buy). sport braces are more easily available and affordable for me, so i just have some of those.
• (non-medical) compression socks: same issues as with the braces, so instead of "proper" ones i bought some at the drugstore. which isn't ideal and i would like to get proper ones, but for now they'll have to do.
• (foldable) cane:

LOW ENERGY

• pacing and adapting: not small, but i at least wanted to mention it.
• hygiene: can be hard, especially on low(er) energy days.
  • wet wipes.
  • face wet wipes.
  • dry shampoo.
• having important items reachable from bed: i have one of those 3-storey ikea trolleys. it containes:
  • medication. regular, plus stomach and pain meds.
  • hygiene stuff. see above for details.
  • braces and compression socks.
  • electrolyte packs, snacks and drinks.
  • tech. laptop, headphones, chargers and powerbanks.
  • other things. fidget and stim tools, notebooks, pencils and books.
• bed tray table: sometimes sitting at my desk is too exhausting, so a bed table is really nice. makes it easier to eat, write in notebooks or use my laptop in bed.
• beanie: to cover my hair when it's unwashed or causes me stress. not possible when it's too warm outside, unfortunately.

MEMORY ISSUES

my memory can be patchy and unreliable, probably due to adhd, fatigue, brain fog and dissociation.

• taking a lot of notes:
  • tiny notebook. mine is din a7 and i carry it everywhere. it contains to-do lists, reminders, notes, scraps, addresses, numbers - basically evverything i'm afraid i might forget if i don't write it down.
  • symptom trackers / logs. trying to explain symptoms to a doctor is hard enough for me, but not rememering my symptoms makes it even harder. so i fill out a form (? questionaire?) every day and when i prepare for an appointment i can look through that.¹
  • daily summary. every evening i write a short summary of my day, about what happened, what was important or just some general vibes.² while it's a lot of work, it helps me to have some records. not remembering what i did yesterday or the days before often makes me feel kinda lost and liminal if that makes sense?
• pinboards:
• sticky notes:
• symptom log and daily notes:

FOOD AND DRINKS

DERMATILLOMANIA / SKIN PICKING

UNSORTED SO FAR

• glow in the dark stickers:
• subtitles:
• avoiding visual overwhelm:
• weighted blanket: i love my weighted blanket.
• visual timers: i have an analogue one and an app for my phone. it helps me to not lose track of time if i can watch a circle decrease instead of just numbers.

FOOTNOTES

¹i use obsidian and their "daily notes" function. i created a template for these notes with all the questions and checkboxes i want, so that just gets plopped in. i quite like it, it's conveniet and i can adapt it easily, which is important so i don't feel "trapped" by my own system and disregard the entire thing. i've been using it for four months as of writing this (31.08.25) and it still works, which is quite long for me.

²i use obsidian for this too. i used to write it by hand, which to me is more satisfying, but it's easier to do continiously if i can just write it on my phone.