Day Festival Survival Tips for Autistic Adults

For music lovers, nothing beats watching one of your favourite bands live. I love the incredible feeling of happiness that live music brings. Day festivals are a great way to see multiple bands or artists in one place, but they can also be overwhelming. Crowds, noise, heat, rain, queues, uncertainty and lots of sensory input can quickly build up throughout the day. In this post, I’m sharing my favourite day festival tips for autistic adults to help reduce overwhelm and make the experience more enjoyable.

Planning Ahead Reduces Anxiety

Plan as much as you can beforehand to try and set yourself up for a less overwhelming experience.

A lot of festivals provide decent information nowadays to help you plan your day. Where available, utilise maps, food vendor information and check re-entry policies (in case you need a complete break during the day), and try to make a rough schedule of the bands that you would like to see.

You don’t have to have every minute planned because it could actually cause the opposite of reducing overwhelm, but a rough plan can really help put your mind at ease. When I planned ahead at Slam Dunk Festival, I found that I was feeling confident heading into the day.

Have a look into accessibility options or even VIP tickets for your festival. Some festivals offer accessible quiet areas and if they don’t, a VIP add-on can offer a quieter space, if you can afford it. My friend recently went to The Mighty Hoopla festival and they had a sensory tent providing distinct areas with varying levels of stimulation, plus free sensory aids, ear defenders and stim toys. I thought that sounded amazing!

Pack for Sensory Regulation

I like to pack as many useful things with me as possible to help keep me feeling calm throughout the day. Usually festivals have a bag size restriction, so you’ve got to be savvy and prioritise your packing.

I have a really great A3 sized cross body bag that fits a lot of things in. Because it’s cross body, it’s more comfortable to wear and doesn’t cause backache throughout the day like a shoulder bag or a sweaty backpack!

Everyone will have a slightly different packing list based on their specific needs, but I’ve included a list of my favourites:

Loop Earplugs are an absolute must for me. I use Experience for watching live music, Engage for talking with a lot of background noise and Quiet when I need a sensory reset.
Sunglasses are always in my bag. I benefit from reducing brightness even when it’s not sunny.
If it’s hot, a handheld fan can help you feel more comfortable. I’ve seen that you can get ones that hang from your neck so you don’t need to hold them.
If there’s a chance of rain, bring a waterproof or poncho. There’s nothing worse than feeling miserable because you’re soaking wet.
An empty water bottle can be super helpful to stay hydrated and avoid paying for expensive bottled water. Most festivals have water re-filling stations.
Blister plasters can be handy to pack because you’ll be on your feet all day and painkillers are useful in case you get a headache or sore back.
Packing a comfort object can be really useful to help you ground yourself in moments of overwhelm. My cuddly toys are my comfort objects and I have a small Cinnamon Roll plush that can attach to my bag for snuggles when needed.

Wearing comfortable clothes is a must for me at festivals. I opt for fabrics that don’t overstimulate me. Tight clothes and fabrics with no give are a big no for me.

Build Breaks Into Your Day

Building breaks into your day is such an important part of regulating yourself in an overstimulating environment. It’s something that I never used to do. I would just push through and deal with the consequences afterwards.

If you wait until you’re already overwhelmed to take breaks then it’s much harder to feel more regulated again. I’ve pushed myself so far before that I’ve had to leave and have missed out on a band that I really wanted to see.

A good starting point is to take a leisurely walk of the festival site when you arrive. Try to find spots that feel safe and can provide cover, maybe under a tree for example or away from the noise of the stages.

Accept That You Can’t See Everything

Festivals are such a great opportunity to see as many bands or artists as possible, which is such a highlight of the day. Just remember that you don’t need to see everything. You don’t need to stick to your plan and it’s ok to miss some bands.

Try picking your top 3 artists that you want to see and set the expectation that it doesn’t matter if you don’t see any others. Setting realistic expectations can help you reduce overwhelm. A lot of festivals are chaotic. It can take a long time to move between stages, queue for food, drinks and toilets. Plus, break times are important to factor in.

Think About Food and Water Early

It’s a good idea to make a mental note early on to ensure you’re eating and drinking enough. It’s important to ensure that your basic needs are met to help you feel energised and able to last the whole day.

Try to eat before you are starving and drink before you’re dehydrated. I’ve missed the mark on this many times before and you end up feeling fatigued, anxious and overwhelmed, plus it adds to burnout the next day.

Plan for Getting Home

I find that the end of the day is the hardest for me. I’ve had a full-on day, emotional ups and downs and am very sleepy. Taking some steps to ensure that getting back to your base as easily as possible helps a lot. This could include:

Booking accommodation– rather than travelling home, could staying the night nearby help prevent burnout?
Knowing train or bus times– if you’re getting public transport, screenshot the times before you arrive so you have them ready at the end of the day. Festivals usually have terrible mobile signal, you don’t want a panic-inducing situation just before you head home.
Allowing extra time– queues leaving the festival can be worse than when entering. Do you need to see the headliner? If you don’t you could leave early to avoid this. If you have to stay to the end, make a mental note that it will take you longer to get back so you can reduce overwhelm if it happens.
Grabbing food and a drink for the way home– there’s nothing worse than being stuck in a queue or travelling and you’re thirsty or hungry with no end in sight.

Recovery Matters Too

I no longer see the festival as ending when I leave the site. Recovery time is part of my festival experience. Depending on how far I have travelled, I plan at least one day of recovery time to help me regulate myself before heading back to normal life.

It’s not only the sensory overload and fatigue that you need to think about, but also going from an emotional high can lead to a bit of an emotional slump for the next few days.

I also like having time to think over my experience. Look at the little wins that I had and positively reinforce those times for the future in my mind.

Day festivals can be incredible experiences, but they can also be exhausting when you’re autistic. Over the years I’ve learnt that enjoying them isn’t about pushing through overwhelm or trying to do everything. It’s about planning ahead, listening to my needs and giving myself permission to take breaks when I need them.

The more I’ve worked with my brain and body instead of against them, the more I’ve been able to enjoy live music and make positive memories. Hopefully some of these tips help you do the same.

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Much love,

Rachael xx

The Invisible Onion