Interview with Kristin Light

QUESTION 01 Can you tell us a bit about yourself, and how your disability might impact your experience, as someone who attends live in-person and virtual events?

My name is Kristin, and my personal “laundry list” includes Major Depressive Disorder, Suicidal Ideations with past history of Self-Harm, Generalized Anxiety and Panic, and now neurodivergent with Sensory Sensitivities (Overstimulation leading to extra anxiety and panic). I also deal with chronic pain from Endometriosis and lack of energy from Asthma and Iron Deficiency Anemia.

Funny enough, I used to own two event venues and host/emcee events on the regular. This is back when I lived fully masked at all times (ie “masked” as in hiding my mental and neuro disabilities to appear socially normal). Nowadays, it’s no longer possible for me to do this. My body and brain have flat-out refused, therefore my struggles are on full display and in high gear! There are two major areas I struggle with at events:

1. Food. I have a lot of food sensitivities and follow a strict diet. If I go off this plan, I WILL suffer greatly for it, and will generally have to leave said event, go home, and cry in the fetal position for up to 48 hours afterwards. So yeah, I stick to the diet. There is generally food I can eat at event spreads, but I generally don’t risk it. Why on earth don’t catering companies put little allergen warning signs on the dishes?? Even just for the biggies (milk, gluten, eggs, soy, nuts…) It sure would be nice to actually eat something while at a day-long conference without having to track down the chef during the 10min coffee break. I don’t want to be the “special case” every single time, I just want to grab a snack and get back to enjoying the conference. Little signs would make a massive difference to both my blood sugar levels AND my anxiety.
2. Overstimulating. My divergent brain canNOT handle too many competing stimulants anymore. Loud music plus an announcer on a microphone? Nope. Flashing strobe lights plus a quick-scrolling carousel? Nope. Instant anxiety and panic. I have left MANY events and just rushed home to safety simply because my brain was horribly overstimulated. A bit more attention to soundscapes and light bleed, plus some quiet spaces to recharge in, would make a massive difference. Plus, an agenda with timing (in advance) helps me plan out my spoons/energy for the day. Very important.

And honestly, why no chairs? Why can’t we sit on occasion without having to buy something first in the cafe area?

QUESTION 02 Thinking back on some of your experiences attending in-person or virtual events, what are some of the worst things speakers, trainers, and other communication experts can do to ruin your experience as an attendee?

Singling me out. HATE HATE HATE. Please do not put me, a random audience member, on the spot ever. 20 years ago, I got up to go to the bathroom during a performance at my college. The man on stage made everyone stop and look at me. I was sneaking out quietly as my chronic pain condition was flaring up, and now I had 200 people pointing and laughing. I had to put on a smile, stand up straight, all things I really COULD NOT DO in that moment. It was so awful I avoided ALL college events for the rest of my time there. A second instance happened when I was much younger (around 12) but it still haunts my brain to this day. Please don’t single me out unless I’m in on the joke.

These days, my big issue is acronyms. My brain seems to top out at only so much currently-accessible information. So even if I once knew what that acronym meant, I sure as shit can’t recall it right now. So when a corporate speaker breezes past acronym after acronym and the whole audience is nodding along with him… I’m lost. And frustrated. And excluded. And feeling unqualified to even be sitting in the room. All bad things.

QUESTION 03 Can you share some of the great things speakers, trainers, and other communication experts sometimes do that make a positive impact on your ability to fully enjoy your in-person or virtual event experiences?

Subtitles or slides that reinforce the more complex concepts; speaking clearly without lots of music or pyrotechnics; making audience participation optional, not mandatory; lots of storytelling to get ideas across (helps it stick); labelled food buffets; non-dairy milk at the coffee station; displays to read in the networking areas so I have a home base to attach to (rather than scanning the room for a ‘target’ to talk to… ew); venues within a short walk of subway stations (we don’t all have cars); I could go on forever here…

QUESTION 04 If you had one piece of advice to give speakers, trainers, and other communication experts, so their content became more inclusive of people who have disabilities, what would it be?

Learn. Keep learning. I can tell you about what helps me, and about what I’ve learned about other folks along my journey, but I can’t know everything about everyone. We must remain open to learning at every stage of our careers. At no point are we “done” thinking about inclusion.

QUESTION 05 Thank you for sharing some of your insights with us today. As we wrap up our conversation, is there anything that you’d like to add, such as another thought, another piece of advice, another perspective, etc.?

I’ve got tons!! I was an event planner for many years, so I have lots of tips to share from that end of the spectrum as well. It’s a topic near and dear to me! I’ll put a couple that pertains to my situation in particular:

• Consider your soundscape! Just as we should be considering graphic colour contrasts for visually-impaired and colour-blind attendees, sound contrasts are a make-it or break-it moment for some attendees with sensory hypersensitivity. Choose one audio element to be the feature at any given time; be it the Emcee’s voice, the DJ’d music, or in-person conversation. Expecting all three to compete for seniority in a neurodivergent brain is a recipe for a lousy time.
• Info, info, info. You can never share too much information on your event website! Map of the venue with washrooms and quiet spaces clearly indicated? Check. Full agenda with break times and detailed networking requirements? Check. Planned pyrotechnics? Refreshments served? Refund policy? Don’t make potential attendees contact you for basic accessibility; give them all the details upfront so that they can make an informed decision on whether or not to attend.