Does anyone have experience supporting someone with Tourette Syndrome (TS) in a lab setting? Or supporting someone who needs noise-cancelling headphones? How did you manage this while maintaining safety for the individual and others working in the lab? Asking for a colleague. #Neurodiversity #Lab - ThreadSky

edicaucus.bsky.social • 22 days ago

Does anyone have experience supporting someone with Tourette Syndrome (TS) in a lab setting? Or supporting someone who needs noise-cancelling headphones? How did you manage this while maintaining safety for the individual and others working in the lab?
Asking for a colleague.
#Neurodiversity #Lab

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petraboynton.bsky.social•22 days ago

Dr Katherine Deane works on more accessible labs so their teaching and research may be worth consulting https://www.uea.ac.uk/stories/dr-katherine-deane

Best support examples I've heard of are individual(s) needing access having needs and risks evaluated with/by Disability Services/Office and Occupational Health.

petraboynton.bsky.social•22 days ago

Per your follow-up Tourettes Action may be able to help https://www.tourettes-action.org.uk as may the HSE https://www.hse.gov.uk/disability/index.htm (you can message or call them for advice, also).

edicaucus.bsky.social•22 days ago

In this particular lab there're dangerous chemicals, gases, & robotic arms moving about. The tic is vocal every minute or 2. It's the request for noise-cancelling headphones thats causing conflict with health & safety.
#TouretteSyndrome #TS @danielpjones.bsky.social
We're crowdsourcing solutions!

danielpjones.bsky.social•22 days ago

What is the specific conflict RE needing to hear everything? I wonder whether there are visual cues that could be added for any alarms, bright stickers to add to robotic arms, etc? I’m not super familiar with a lab setting, but happy to chat and offer some ideas!

kizzythechemist.bsky.social•22 days ago

Also if noise cancelling headphones are apparently such a safety risk, then this lab couldn't (currently) safely accommodate a D/deaf researcher.

edicaucus.bsky.social•22 days ago

You're right. And so far, this research centre hasn't played host to a deaf person, though the campus hosts a centre of excellence in deaf studies and BSL. Deaf participants have told EDICa how hard it's been to get fire alarms to be visual. That's in their own offices.

kizzythechemist.bsky.social•22 days ago

I've got a pretty good idea which uni this is - I have a pal who's on their MA Linguistics and Interpreting degree.

If I'm not going mad, I thought modern buildings now had to have dual-coded fire alarms? So it's not like they don't exist.

edicaucus.bsky.social•22 days ago

Not sure of the fine print, but some had been given a secondary device, but they were linked to the entire system's fire alarms. So it alerted them to alarms in other buildings. Or due to lack of wifi/4G connection, it alerted them too late, not at the same time as the sound alarm.

supersciencegrl.co.uk•21 days ago

Not that I agree with them - just saying some potential challenges
Mostly you want to be able to hear "oh fuck it's on fire" - surprising how quietly people can say that 😩 fume hoods mean fire is invisible to others unless huge
There may also be radio communication out of hours when fewer ppl around

kadusey.bsky.social•22 days ago

Some noise cancelling solutions have options for, like, conversation pass-through, so it just cancels out background sounds but lets people’s voices through.

kadusey.bsky.social•22 days ago

I don’t know if those are only available as in-ear solutions or if there are over-ear options that can do that also.

danielpjones.bsky.social•22 days ago

I use headphone (over ear) that are noise cancelling but also have a pass through option! Might be a good shout!

edicaucus.bsky.social•22 days ago

Thanks. And maybe that's the experiment to do. To allow the noice-cancelling headphones but forbid the music, then test to see if they hear the "watch out!", the moving robotic arm that may catch the student, and the fire and gas alarms. The claim was that they needed to hear those cautions.

kizzythechemist.bsky.social•22 days ago

ooh, if it's just to knock the edge off background noise - they may find the Loop Engage's really useful. I've worn these for a friends wedding - doesn't distort your speech, and speech will come through clearly - and by extension you'd hear the fire alarm.

supersciencegrl.co.uk•21 days ago

The arm doesn't have a light curtain? Is it supposed to? I think that's more effective (for anyone) than just having to listen and dodge it 😂 but realize it might not be possible on all models. If it's moving gently enough to not need a light curtain perhaps it's not a safety issue after all...

zombiefood.bsky.social•22 days ago

I have noise cancelling headphones that I use in the lab and office to help with ADHD. The main safety concerns we had to address were fire alarms - though upon testing it was still clearly audible.

kaneclements11.bsky.social•22 days ago

It is possible to access a proper assessment via https://gov.uk/access-to-work.

The person has, as I recall, to make the application themselves.

There is or was some financial support from the government.

Hope that helped.

As a manager of somebody needing an assessment I found it an easy process.

edicaucus.bsky.social•21 days ago

Thanks. In this case it's a student, who doesn't have access to this programme, but there are other disability student-support services (which EDICa research participants claim is superior to what staff get) who have offered to purchase headphones. Colleague's off to test some!

edicaucus.bsky.social•21 days ago

Another gap in ATW is volunteers. Today EDICa researchers visited National Museums of Scotland collections centre, to speak with staff. They've many (often retired and skilled) volunteers, who also wouldn't be covered by this funding.

kaneclements11.bsky.social•21 days ago

I get really frustrated at the limitations govt. places on support.

My experience is that even modest in house or external assistance goes such a long way.

Grr!

kaneclements11.bsky.social•21 days ago

Hi Curses.

😕

supersciencegrl.co.uk•21 days ago

Re: noise cancelling headphones, try and find some that are ...noise-cancelling... not sound-cancelling! They pass through sound, just without the horrible background hum
A subtler alternative that may suit (the person may have to get used to it) is noise-reducing earplugs like soft silicone Flares

dgater1.bsky.social•21 days ago

In addition to what others have written, one question I have seen regarding headphones (from institution that did allow use) was to ask if over-ear rather than in-ear headphones could be used to minimise chance of in-ear contamination…

edicaucus.bsky.social•21 days ago

Hi Deborah. Can you clarify what you mean by contamination? Do you mean chemical/biological contamination from having earbuds lying around a lab and then sticking them into the body? Or did you mean the way sound is heard between earbuds and over-ears?

dgater1.bsky.social•21 days ago

The former - I think is about potentially transferring unpleasant materials into ear canals - but risk of this will obviously be specific to what is in that lab.

edicaucus.bsky.social•21 days ago

Thanks for this. Makes sense now that you say it. I'll pass this on and we'll include in our training on disability inclusion we're consolidating.

geologyjohnson.bsky.social•22 days ago

Noise cancelling headphones don't cause total silence. I can still hear people talking and moving, alarms, that kind of thing.

kizzythechemist.bsky.social•22 days ago

My massive concern with my Bose QCIIs was that I'd be oblivious to everything.

The fire alarm comes through crystal clear. If I add music, that's when I'm in a world of my own.

dpdormouse.bsky.social•22 days ago

Can’t speak to supporting someone with Tourette’s in a lab setting, but I was (am!) someone with Tourette’s who did a lab-based PhD / regularly is in a lab still

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