Synaesthesia – or synesthesia, depending on where you're from – is a sensory processing condition that causes a crossover of one or more senses: in short, a single sensory input triggers more than one sensory response. Someone with synaesthesia might see sound, or experience a tactile sensation in response to tastes or smells. However, the full scope of the condition blurs those boundaries to include non-sensory inputs: synaesthesia can be as much about processing information and abstract concepts, which means it can play a key role in learning and education. 

Synaesthesia’s anomalous responses are spontaneous, involuntary and usually consistent throughout a person’s life. No two synaesthetes will necessarily experience or process the world in the same way. For some the condition exists as barely noticeable background noise; for others it can be all-encompassing or even overwhelming. And then there’s everything in between.

While considered to be a mostly benign or even positive condition, some aspects of synaesthesia can be overwhelming or even problematic. Anyone can have synaesthesia, but it has been found to be four to five times more common in people who are autistic. The condition has also been associated with a higher risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder.

Knowing about synaesthesia won’t provide an answer to everyone’s problems, but an awareness and better understanding of the condition could help to explain and contextualise certain behaviours, responses or learning differences. It also serves as a useful window into the brain and the different ways our brains function. That in turn can help to foster better acceptance of different methods of processing, understanding and, importantly, learning. Looking at synaesthesia from this perspective helps all of us to do that.