Frequently asked questions

General

General questions

What is SensoryShore?

SensoryShore is a free website for adults in the UK who are autistic, or who think they may be autistic. It is made especially for people waiting for an NHS (National Health Service) autism assessment. It has:

NeuroProfile: A free questionnaire with up to 129 questions in up to 9 sections, and results that describe your own patterns in plain words
CalmCompanion: An AI (artificial intelligence) companion that is in development and not yet available

Our family built SensoryShore and runs it. It is not a company. We made it calm and predictable, with plain words that say exactly what they mean.

Read who we are and why we built it

Who is SensoryShore for?

SensoryShore is for:

Autistic adults (18 and over) in the UK
Adults who think they may be autistic, whether or not they are waiting for an NHS autism assessment
Family members and friends can read the For family page. The questionnaire is for the adult themselves to answer

SensoryShore is not for anyone under 18. It is not a crisis service or a support service. It has no helpline and no one to talk to.

Is SensoryShore a diagnostic tool?

No. SensoryShore is not a diagnostic tool and does not diagnose autism or any other condition.

The NeuroProfile questions are adapted from questionnaires published in peer-reviewed autism research. Peer-reviewed means other researchers checked the work before it was published.

Your results can give you clearer words for your experiences. They cannot replace an autism assessment. Only a formal autism assessment by qualified health professionals can give a diagnosis.

Your results page, your report, and your letter for your GP (general practitioner, your family doctor) all say this clearly.

How long does it take to complete the NeuroProfile questionnaire?

The NeuroProfile questionnaire takes around 20–35 minutes to complete. It has up to 129 questions, plus 3 short questions about you at the start, such as whether you already have an autism diagnosis. The questions are in up to 9 sections. If you already have a formal autism diagnosis, you see 122 questions in 8 sections.

You do not have to do it all at once:

You can pause and resume at any time
There's no time limit per question
Your progress is automatically saved

Take it at your own pace. There's no pressure to complete it in one sitting.

How much does SensoryShore cost?

Nothing. SensoryShore is free. If we can keep it that way, we will.

You need a free account to take the NeuroProfile questionnaire. The account asks for your first name, your email address, and a password. It does not ask for payment details.

These are all free:

Your account
The NeuroProfile questionnaire
Your results page
Your report, to download as a PDF (a type of file you can save and print)
A letter for your GP (general practitioner, your family doctor), which you prepare and download yourself

If the cost of SensoryShore ever changes, we will say so on this website first. Results you already have will stay available to you.

CalmCompanion is in development and not yet available. This answer covers only what you can use today.

NeuroProfile

NeuroProfile questions

What is the NeuroProfile questionnaire?

The NeuroProfile questionnaire has up to 129 questions, plus 3 short questions about you at the start, such as whether you already have an autism diagnosis. It helps you understand your own patterns, such as how you react to noise or how much effort you put into fitting in. If you already have a formal autism diagnosis, you see 122 questions in 8 sections. The questions are in up to 9 sections:

Social communication and interaction — How you navigate conversation, connection, and social expectations
Routine, flexibility and special interests — How routine, change, and deep interests shape your day-to-day life
Sensory processing — How you respond to what your senses pick up: sound, sight, touch, smell and taste together, balance and movement, and body awareness
Masking and camouflaging — Masking (also called camouflaging) means hiding or changing how you naturally act, so that you fit in. This section asks how much effort that takes, and what it costs you
Executive function — Executive function means the mental skills you use to plan, start, and organise tasks. This section asks how these work for you
Emotional regulation — How you experience strong feelings, and how you manage them
Communication preferences — How you prefer to communicate, and at what pace. This section is not scored
Burnout and wellbeing indicators — Signs of long-lasting strain and exhaustion, and of being able to do less than usual
Identity and late-diagnosis context — Questions about realising as an adult that you may be autistic. This section is not scored. You only see it if you say at the start that you do not have a formal autism diagnosis

The questions are adapted from questionnaires published in peer-reviewed autism research. We grouped them into these 9 sections, and each section covers one area.

What will I receive after completing the questionnaire?

When you finish the NeuroProfile questionnaire, you get a results page and a report to download as a PDF. You can also prepare a letter for your GP. Your results include:

Sensory profile: How you respond in 6 areas: sound, sight, touch, smell and taste together, balance and movement, and body awareness (sensing where your body is without looking)
Masking: Hiding or changing how you naturally act, so that you fit in with other people. Your results show masking in three parts:
- Compensation: actively working out social rules
- Masking: hiding autistic responses (this part means only the hiding)
- Assimilation: forcing yourself through situations that do not fit you
Signs of burnout: Autistic burnout is deep, long-lasting exhaustion. Your answers in section 8, about burnout and wellbeing, are placed in one of four bands: low, moderate, high, or severe. Your masking answers can also add a separate note that burnout may be worth reading about
Other areas: Social communication, routine and flexibility, executive function (planning, starting, and organising tasks), emotional regulation (how you manage strong feelings), and communication preferences
Written explanations: Clear, literal explanations of your results in plain English
A letter for your GP: You prepare and download it yourself, and it gives your GP or assessment team context for a conversation

This report is for your self-understanding. It is not a diagnosis.

Can I share my NeuroProfile results with my GP or assessment team?

Yes. You can prepare a letter for your GP and download it. The letter summarises your results. It gives your GP or assessment team context about your sensory profile, masking, and day-to-day challenges. You can also download your report as a PDF and share that. The letter is a starting point for a conversation. It is not evidence that you should be referred for an assessment.

The letter says clearly that SensoryShore is not a diagnostic tool. Only a formal autism assessment can give a diagnosis.

How accurate is the NeuroProfile questionnaire?

The questions are adapted from questionnaires published in peer-reviewed autism research. Peer-reviewed means other researchers checked the work before it was published.

Each score is calculated from your answers by fixed rules. No AI is involved in scoring. The results page shows how each score was worked out.

Each score falls into a band, such as low, moderate, or high. A band is a fixed range of scores. It shows how much of that pattern you reported. It does not compare you with other people.

The bands are provisional, which means they may change. Clinicians (health professionals such as doctors and psychologists) have not yet checked them. No formal study of their accuracy has been run yet.

We do not provide a diagnosis. The questionnaire helps you understand your own patterns. Only a formal autism assessment by qualified health professionals can give a diagnosis.

What if I disagree with my NeuroProfile results?

Your NeuroProfile results are based on your responses to the questionnaire. If you feel the results don't reflect your experience, that's valid feedback. You know your own experience better than anyone.

The questionnaire is a tool for self-reflection, not a definitive statement about who you are. If you disagree with specific results, we encourage you to:

Think about whether tiredness, or masking (hiding how you naturally act), changed how you answered some questions
Think about whether something at the time affected your answers, such as stress, where you were, or something that happened recently
Use the results as a starting point for further self-exploration, not an endpoint
Discuss with trusted people in your life who know you well

You can always retake the questionnaire after a period of reflection.

CalmCompanion

CalmCompanion questions

CalmCompanion is in development and not yet available. The answers below describe what we are building.

What is CalmCompanion?

CalmCompanion is an AI companion we are building. An AI companion is a computer program you write messages to, and it writes back. CalmCompanion uses your NeuroProfile results to adapt how it writes to you, how fast it goes, and what it talks about.

CalmCompanion receives a summary of your NeuroProfile results. Your results page shows what this summary contains:

Your sensory triggers (things around you that overwhelm your senses): the sensory areas where your answers were in the high or severe band
Whether you prefer written or spoken communication, and the pace you prefer in conversation
Your masking band, and which part of masking is most prominent for you
Your burnout band
Whether you have deep interests (special interests)
Your routine and flexibility band, and your emotional regulation band

CalmCompanion uses this to write to you in a way that suits you.

How does CalmCompanion adapt to my profile?

CalmCompanion adapts in several ways based on your NeuroProfile results:

Pace: If you prefer a slower pace in conversation, CalmCompanion gives you time and does not rush you
Sensory awareness: If you are very sensitive to sound, CalmCompanion avoids words that describe loud noises and does not change topic suddenly
Masking awareness: If your results show you put a lot of effort into working out social rules, CalmCompanion suggests a rest when what you write suggests you are pushing yourself too hard
Energy: If your results show signs of burnout, CalmCompanion suggests shorter conversations and times to rest

Is CalmCompanion safe? What about crisis situations?

CalmCompanion's safety rules are a separate layer from the AI. They are fixed rules in the website's own code, so they do not depend on the AI following instructions. CalmCompanion will not be made available until its safety rules have been tested. The rules are:

Crisis detection: If you write about thoughts of self-harm, hopelessness, or crisis, CalmCompanion shows you the contact details of crisis services straight away
Fixed messages: In a crisis, the AI is not used at all, and you see a message that a person wrote in advance
Three levels of concern: Yellow (some concern), amber (more concern), and red (crisis)
At the red level: The AI stops, and a message that a person wrote in advance gives you the contact details of crisis services
No personal details added: CalmCompanion does not add your name or email address to what it sends the AI. Anything you type in a message is sent as you wrote it
Crisis details written in advance: Crisis phone numbers and links are written and stored in advance, never created by the AI

CalmCompanion does not provide clinical advice or replace professional support. In a crisis, CalmCompanion shows you the contact details of crisis services. These services are not part of SensoryShore.

Does CalmCompanion pressure me to use it every day?

No. CalmCompanion does not pressure you:

No streaks
No daily reminders to use it
No badges or rewards
No guilt for not using it
No notifications designed to make you feel you are missing out

You use CalmCompanion when you want to. You do not have to use it at all.

Can CalmCompanion replace therapy or professional support?

No. CalmCompanion is not a therapy service and cannot replace professional support. CalmCompanion is:

A companion for self-understanding and reflection
A tool for recognising patterns in your experience
A tool that does not judge you

CalmCompanion is not:

A replacement for therapy or counselling
A medical treatment
A crisis service
A source of medical or psychiatric advice

Privacy and data

Privacy & data questions

Where is my data stored?

Your account and your answers are stored on a server in London, in the UK. Encrypted backups (copies kept in case something goes wrong) are also kept in London. We aim to handle your personal data in line with UK data protection law. This includes the UK GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation).

This answer covers what you can use today. CalmCompanion is not available yet, and it works differently. The answer to "Is my data sent to the AI?" below explains how.

Do you sell my data?

No. We do not sell your data to anyone. Ever. For any reason.

We do not sell data to advertisers, to researchers, or to any other company or organisation. Your data is yours.

What are my rights over my data?

Under UK data protection law, you have these rights:

Right to access: You can request a copy of all your data
Right to have data corrected: You can ask us to correct data that is wrong
Right to have data deleted: You can ask us to delete your data (sometimes called the right to be forgotten)
Right to take your data elsewhere: You can ask for your data in a common file format that another service can read
Right to limit use: You can ask us to limit how we use your data
Right to object: You can object when we use your data for a reason of our own, which the law calls legitimate interests

To exercise these rights, contact us at hey@sensoryshore.com.

Can I delete my data?

Yes. You can request deletion of your data at any time. This includes:

Your account details
Your NeuroProfile questionnaire responses
Your NeuroProfile report
Any other personal data we hold

Email hey@sensoryshore.com to ask for deletion. We will deal with your request within one month, as data protection law requires.

Is my data sent to the AI?

CalmCompanion is in development and not yet available. When CalmCompanion is ready, it will use an AI service run by a company called Anthropic, which processes data outside the UK. CalmCompanion sends that service a summary of your NeuroProfile results that does not include your name or email address. It does not send your full list of answers. Most of the summary is worked out from groups of answers. Three items each come from your answer to one question: how you prefer to communicate, the pace you prefer in conversation, and whether you have deep interests. Your results page shows what this summary contains. When you write to CalmCompanion, what you write is sent to that service too, along with the summary of your results. CalmCompanion does not add your name or email address itself. Anything you type is sent as you wrote it.

Today, nothing you enter on SensoryShore is sent to any AI. Your scores are calculated from your answers by fixed rules.

Urgent help, contact, and technical questions

What if I'm in crisis?

If you feel unsafe, or you are in crisis, please contact one of these services:

If you or someone else is in danger now, call 999
For urgent help that is not an emergency, call NHS 111
To talk to someone at any time, call Samaritans free on 116 123
If you would rather text than call, text SHOUT to 85258 (Shout is a free text service)

These services are not run by SensoryShore. SensoryShore is not a crisis service. It has no helpline, no support service, and no one to talk to.

Read the safety page

How do I contact SensoryShore?

You can reach us at:

Email: hey@sensoryshore.com

We aim to reply within two working days. This address is for questions about the website. It is not a support service, and it is not for urgent help.

What devices and browsers does SensoryShore support?

SensoryShore works on any modern web browser including:

Chrome (recommended)
Firefox
Safari
Edge

SensoryShore works on desktop computers, tablets, and mobile phones. We recommend using the latest version of your browser for the best experience.

Is SensoryShore accessible?

We have designed SensoryShore to be accessible, which means easy to use whatever your needs. We are still testing it. This is what we do:

We aim to meet level AA, the middle of three levels, of version 2.1 of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), a widely used accessibility standard
We aim for every page to work with a keyboard alone, without a mouse
All images include a short text description (called alt text) for people who cannot see them
We aim to work with screen readers (software that reads the page aloud)
The design is calm and plain, to keep things easy on the senses
We avoid autoplay videos and sudden movements
We provide clear, literal language

Some pages may still need more testing with keyboards and screen readers. If something on the site is hard for you to use, please tell us at hey@sensoryshore.com so we can try to fix it.

Can I use SensoryShore if I'm under 18?

No. SensoryShore is for adults (18+) only. It is not for children or adolescents.

If you're under 18 and think you might be autistic, we encourage you to speak with a trusted adult about your concerns. That could be a parent, teacher, school counsellor, or GP. They can help you get support, and an assessment if you need one.

Still have questions?

If your question is not answered on this page, you can email us.

Email us at:
hey@sensoryshore.com

Write in whatever way is easiest for you. Short messages are fine.