My autistic brain: I realize that toast with jam and cereal with yogurt are your go-to meals when you don't have the energy to cook, but have you considered that today is a low viscosity sugar day? Jam and yogurt are off the table
Me: okay, what about substituting honey for jam?
My brain: yeah, that works
You're telling me that I can't eat plain marinara sauce for lunch, even if it's my safe food? Who came up with that rule?
I don't think people without sensory sensitivities understand that what I'm asking of them is no more than I ask of myself.
I practice ways to avoid setting off both my own sensitivities and the sensitivities of others. I've taught myself to chew and swallow as quietly as possible, to scoop ice cream and stir tea without clinking the metal spoon against the side of the ceramic cup, to not smack my lips, to never clear my throat unless there is no other option and then to only do it once or twice. I repress my stim of touching my nose and upper lip when in the presence of one of my siblings because for some reason it bothers them (they don't have sensory sensitivities so I'm not sure why they dislike it, but I'll respect their preference).
I don't choose to have these. I would get rid of them if I could, but no amount of exposure and trying to stay calm has vanquished them. My sensitivities come and go as they please, and some have been with me for as long as I remember.
Yet somehow when I ask others to not set off my sensitivities, I'm told that I am overly sensitive, lazy, and just trying to annoy them.