Reflections from practice: exploring sound and sensory experience

During 2025, I’ve been working closely with practitioners who support individuals and groups with a wide range of sensory experiences. This work has involved exploring how sound is noticed, responded to, and worked with in everyday practice — particularly in contexts where sensory sensitivity is more pronounced.

Supported by a Business Innovation Grant from Invest NI, this exploration has been grounded in real-world application rather than theory alone. Practitioners were introduced to different sound ideas and approaches, which they then explored within their own settings. Rather than measuring outcomes, the focus was on open observation — noticing comfort, response, engagement, and how sound was experienced moment to moment.

Learning through observation

Throughout this process, practitioners shared honest reflections on what they noticed — both in themselves and in the people they support. These reflections weren’t about what sound should do, but about how different sounds were encountered, tolerated, enjoyed, or avoided depending on context and individual preference.

Listening to this feedback helped deepen my understanding of how varied and personal sound experience can be. It also reinforced the importance of offering sound as something to explore, rather than something intended to achieve a specific result.

Looking ahead

This work continues to shape how I think about sound, awareness, and choice. The ideas emerging from these observations are now informing the early development of a digital sound space, currently in progress, that invites people to engage with sound on their own terms.

As this exploration evolves, further reflections will be shared in time.