About Thinking Aloud

This website is intended primarily for teachers, teaching support staff and SEN professionals, to serve as an accessible introduction to synaesthesia and how a child with the condition might present in a classroom setting. It is perhaps geared more towards early years and primary school age groups, but many of the observations and manifestations of the condition would be just as valid in a secondary education setting or beyond. 

However, while this site has been produced with education professionals in mind, the information and insight could prove equally useful to parents, and it isn’t intended in any way to exclude them from the conversation. Many – if not all – of the manifestations of synaesthesia that may be observed in the classroom could also be seen in the home, where hopefully an awareness and better understanding of synaesthesia, along with its association with the autistic condition, will prove useful.

Our goal is to make the information as accessible and jargon-free as possible. Synaesthesia has been the subject of considerable scientific scrutiny and research in recent years, and many of the findings have provided valuable insights into general neurological understanding, particularly in the fields of sensory processing, brain connectivity and cognitive development. 

The intention here, however, is to not dig too into the neurology behind synaesthesia. Instead the focus is on the user experience, how the condition manifests, its co-occurrence with autism and how a better understanding of the conditions can help to capitalise on their advantages and mitigate any of the downsides. Brains are like computers: most of us don’t really know how they work – and we don’t need to. We just need to know what they can do and how to use them. Likewise, we want to explore what the synaesthetic – and autistic – brain can be used for and how to get the best out of it.