Design a Neuro-Friendly Streaming Setup: Tools to Tame Sensory Input

Every autistic person's relationship with sensory overload is different. I struggle to go grocery shopping due to the bright fluorescent lights and loud overhead music. I mitigate this by wearing noise-cancelling headphones playing peaceful music or nature sounds (usually thunderstorms).

When streaming, I have a sensory-friendy alcove with everything I need to stay comfortable. I have sound absorbing panels on my walls, soft LED key lights, another pair of noise-cancelling headphones, and a desk with more than enough space that I keep somewhat organized.

Below are some of the strategies that I've been using since I began streaming. I'm always on the lookout for better options to manage uncomfortable sensory inputs, so if you have any to share, the comments were built for you.

And, I often write my blog posts while live on Twitch. You could share your tips during a live stream. Check the schedule here.

Lighting

Lighting plays a critical role in making your camera look good. If you're not streaming with a camera, I have previously said that "Your Camera is What Creates You," in my post on unmasking and authenticity. If you still decide not to use a camera, lighting won't be as important—though you should still make sure you don't have bad lighting that interferes with your stream, such as direct sunlight, bright overhead lights, or lamps in your peripheral vision.

For everyone else who is using a camera, whether that be a Logitech C270 or a Sony A6700, lighting is everything. Almost. Audio is pretty important too—arguably the most important. But I want to emphasize lighting in this section.

Diffused Light

There are many options out there for stream lighting, but the consensus has always been soft, diffused light is best. This can be as simple as a sheet of paper over a work lamp from Home Depot, or it can be an advanced option light an Elgato Key Light. You can also get studio-style softboxes, though they are huge and difficult to manage in a small space.

I use an Elgato Key Light and an Elgato Key Light Air. I understand Neewer has caught up to Elgato in the quality and functionality of its key lights, but the price is far less. I cannot speak to the longevity of Neewer products, but I've had my Elgato lights for years now and they are still going strong.

I prefer lighting solutions that include adjustable warmth settings. I typically use 3500K, though sometimes I want to shift that to 5700K to help me stay awake. I tried to find some research to show how different temperature lights assist with different tasks. What boosts productivity? What boosts alertness? What relaxes you? And there's lots of information out there, but none of what I found cites valid research. Most of my search results came back with websites that sell lights, and this isn't something that I need to cite, so I'm giving up here on finding a source to back that up.

Monitors

I have a three-monitor setup, so there's a lot of secondary light around me when streaming. I keep my main monitor bright because I'm gaming on it, but I typically dim my left and right monitors so I don't have bright monitor light from all angles. My main monitor sits around 70 brightness, while the left and right are between 30 and 40 each.

Minimalism

Also in my authenticity and unmasking post, I mentioned minimalist overlay designs, avoiding flashing or loud alerts. My follow alert on Twitch is a recording of my own voice saying "Welcome," and a pop-up of me drinking from my OzMug that happens off my main screen. I don't get a lot of bits of subscriptions yet, so I haven't had an opportunity to customize those alerts. But one of the things I'm always on the lookout for is ways to make alerts less intrusive while keeping them entertaining for myself and viewers.

In gaming streams, my overlay is simply the game plus my camera—using a green screen to minimize the impact on the game scene. In writing streams, I have Pages, Lofi Sessions, and my camera. Very simple, nothing fancy.

Audio

Audio applies to the sound the creator hears as well as the sound the stream hears. Audio is the actual most important element to a good stream. Every sound, from your voice to your gameplay and alerts needs to be perfect. Bad audio will lose you more viewers than any other problem with streaming.

For you, audio problems could be alerts that cause jump scares, misleading sound effects (from something like Sound Alerts or Blerp), or a new Alert Box that you've just set up but didn't realize the sounds were different and when someone followed you it scared the hell out of you. That may have happened to me once or twice.. or more.

Active Noise Cancellation (ANC)

Since my autism diagnosis, one of the greatest tools I've found was active noise cancellation. When I go out, I always have my Sony XM4s with me, and when gaming or streaming, it's the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless. Although the ANC on the Nova Pro Wireless isn't nearly as good as that of the XM4, because I'm at home, I can control many more elements of my environment, so it's enough.

Sidetone

I cannot stand the feeling of speaking with headphones on and being unable to properly hear myself. Sidetone is when the microphone in your headset feeds itself back through the speakers so you can better hear what you're saying. It prevents that phenomenon where people raise their voice because they're wearing headphones. It does interfere with ANC a little, because the microphone is feeding sound back through, but it's far less troubling than no sidetone at all. Most headsets with ANC should have a way to control this.

Volume Control & Balance

One of the most challenging settings I've dealt with is advanced audio properties in OBS. Finding the perfect volume for my game, my music, my voice, and my alerts has been an ongoing mission since I started. And your perfect settings may be vastly different from mine.

My Xbox gameplay input is set to -7.0 dB, while my alerts are -11.0 dB. My gameplay also features sidechain compression (also known as audio ducking). I do this so that the game volume can be sufficiently loud when I'm not speaking, but when I speak, the game volume drops to let my voice be clear and easily heard. This also makes it less jarring for viewers when ads play, as the volume is close to the ad volume—unlike streamers who set game audio to 50% and then ads blast your ears.

Beyond the balance for your stream, you need to find the right balance for yourself. Elgato's Wave Link software can be a good option for this, as it includes independent volume controls for each input and separate controls for monitoring and stream output. This can be great when playing music, as you can have it quieter for yourself and louder for your stream, or vice versa.

Alerts and Extensions

Alerts are an exciting element to streaming and they can be a lot of fun. However, they can also be distracting or overstimulating. I am in the process of adjusting my alerts to be recordings of my own voice, but the process takes time as it needs to be something I don't mind hearing a lot of.

Twitch offers a lot of fun extensions that can make your stream more interactive or more chaotic. Some offer additional information for games like Dead by Daylight, Destiny 2, or Apex Legends. Others, like Sound Alerts and Blerp, allow viewers to spend channel points or bits on sounds and/or videos to play over your stream. I've seen people set up jump scares specifically to give their viewers an opportunity to scare them. This is great—for the people who want it. I've tested it, of course, and immediately realized it's not for me. Give me my minimalist setup every day, and leave those other features to the people who find them fun to use.

Microphone Filters

Your microphone allows you to speak directly into your viewer's ear. With the right filters or plugins, you can slide right up beside them and whisper into their ear. I use VST3s through the Wave Link software to adjust the sound of my Shure SM7B.

The VSTs I use are Renegate, RoughRider3, T-De-Esser 2, and TDR Nova, and I'll show my settings in a gallery beside this paragraph. Settings will be different for every voice and every microphone, so this will be a labour-intensive task for any streamer. In addition to the VSTs I use, I also use Elgato's Voice Focus feature—now (just this week) offered as a standalone VST and not tied to an Elgato audio product. Elgato W there.

Within OBS, many filters exist if you don't have access to VSTs—noise suppression, compressor, noise gate, and limiter. Even with all my filters in Wave Link, I still keep a limiter filter in OBS to make sure my microphone never peaks.

With an Nvidia GPU, you may also have access to Nvidia Broadcast, which offers audio processing like Studio Mode, Noise Suppression, Room Echo Removal, and other features. I used this when I was streaming on my PC—but now that I've moved to my Mac, I've switched to Elgato Voice Focus. However, even before moving to a Mac, I preferred Voice Focus's performance over Nvidia Broadcast.

Physical Space

The space you occupy needs to be conducive to your focus and success. For many, a messy workspace causes distractions, frustration, and the feeling of being lost in the clutter. But there's nothing worse than cleaning your desk before you do some creative work.

Clean Your Desk

If cleaning your desk is a task you'd rather avoid, do it the day before you plan to work. Do it on the weekend. Do it during scheduled cleaning time when you know that you don't need to accomplish anything else for at least an hour after. Listen to music, put on a podcast. Whatever it takes, you'll feel better once you sit down to a clean, uncluttered desk.

Consider your Background

Content creators who show their face have many background options available today. A physical green screen and proper lighting can be set above your gameplay, offering minimal distractions from the gameplay and making you the focus of attention, rather than a Sailor Moon plushie in the background. But maybe Sailor Moon is your vibe, and you want to showcase your collection of Sailor Moon Live Action DVDs—did you know they made a live action Sailor Moon show?

If you aren't using a green screen, your background needs to be deliberate and carefully staged. If behind you is just a messy room, clothes strewn about, mismatching couch cushions, or a pile of dirty dishes, consider the message that background sends your viewers.

Today, there's not always a need for a physical green screen. Again, with an RTX GPU, you have access to Nvidia Broadcast and its virtual green screen option, which works surprisingly well in its current version. It does take resources away from your GPU, so your stream could be impacted if you are trying to play games on the same PC you stream on.

The Importance of Comfort

A few things can make or break your comfort. Your chair, your clothes, your accessories, even things like room moisture.

Gaming chairs are the biggest scam to gamers since the Atari Jaguar. They're often manufactured with the cheapest parts and offer poor to middling lumbar and neck support. A good quality ergonomic chair rarely costs more than a branded gaming chair, but will vastly outperform it. When you go chair shopping, skip the Gaming Chair section and go to Office Chairs—your back, your legs, and your neck will thank you later.

The clothes you wear need to be comfortable. I struggle with polyester and I can't even touch most microfibre—luckily microfibre isn't really used in clothes. Most of the time, when streaming, I'm wearing one of my ten grey cotton t-shirts, though recently they've gone from 100% cotton to a cotton-poly blend so I'm on the lookout for a new brand. I also wear my Noisy Grass Hoodie, which is also a blend, but it's 85% cotton instead of the 60% of my t-shirt.

Since I stream with a controller, I don't typically have idle hands. Sometimes when waiting for a match to start, I might put the controller down, and I like to have something I can manipulate with my fingers—a fidget toy, if you will. I don't have any actual fidget tools, though. I have a small pair of scissors, a screwdriver, a few pens.. anything I can spin or do some repetitive action on—so snip snip the scissors or twirl the screwdriver or pens. Many stores sell fidget tools now, so it should be easier than ever to get a stress ball, one of those popping plastic toys—they even make a bracelet popper now.

The controller you use matters too—does it have comfortable grips? Clicky buttons? Good vibration? I've used a variety of controllers, but my favourite so far has been the Gamesir G7 Pro. My only complaint is it doesn't support wireless on Xbox—though I guess that's coming in a new controller later this year.

Similarly, your keyboard and mouse should be comfortable. I like clicky keys, but not too clicky. Since moving to a Mac, I'm using a Magic Keyboard, which is a little light on the clicks, but still satisfying enough. On Windows, I was using a Corsair K100, which definitely won in the clicky category, but was also super bulky and the pads on the bottom of the wrist guard melted off in the Toronto summer heat. At over $300, that's pretty frustrating. And the glue residue all over my desk that would sometimes rub onto my wrists. Let's just say I'm very happy I moved to Mac.

Distractions

Finally, in your physical space, where does your cell phone live? Is it on silent, or is it going to buzz and play Dua Lipa's Levitating when you get a call? If your cellphone is likely to cause distractions, how are you going to handle that? If you have a family who needs to be able to reach you, you may not be able to. But how do you avoid those necessary calls or texts from derailing you and getting you back on task?

Being too hot or too cold can be their own distractions. How do you handle fluctuating temperatures during a long session? Generally, I stream with my window open in the winter, or a fan in the summer, to make sure I'm as cool as I can handle.. it's easier to put on a sweater than to take one off on camera. Especially a pullover where I'm too stubborn to take my headphones off.

Software

I have found software issues to be my number one cause of shortened stream durations or loss of focus during creative time. In fact, the moment I began this section, my Stream Deck software crashed, and because my Stream Deck manages my audio, it stopped my music from playing and froze MacOS's entire audio settings section in System Settings. The computer held me hostage, as it wouldn't restart, and since Stream Deck runs in the taskbar, I couldn't Force Quit it with Command + Option + Escape.

Anyway, now that I'm back.. your software is going to break, crash, or fail, and you need to be prepared for it. You're going to get a blue screen, you're going to accidentally close OBS while live. Something will go wrong, and it's important to be able to bounce back when that happens, and not fall into a pit of despair.

OBS has a testing feature integrated with Twitch that will allow you to verify that your settings are correct. It's not great, as it won't show you your stream, but it at least lets you verify that you can go live. Combined with tools like TwitchTest and Twitch Inspector, you can hopefully troubleshoot any minor issues before you have enough experience to troubleshoot on the fly.

If you're working with a fresh OBS install, whether capture card or streaming on your gaming PC, you may be capturing all Desktop Audio by default. This means every Discord message, every email, and any sound that plays in your browser is going to go through to the stream. The first thing I do on a fresh OBS install is mute Desktop Audio and manually add any audio sources I do want to capture.

I don't use desktop notifications, but if you do, and you capture your entire screen, those will also pop up. When your favourite creator on OnlyFans sends you the custom video you paid for, well.. oops. Also, like updates or emails with your real name that could be shown.

Tools like the Stream Deck can be valuable. I use my stream deck to control audio sources, capture my replay buffer, run ads, and monitor my CPU load. I also have some setup buttons to automatically open my browsers to the stream monitoring services I use, and a button to use as a welcome message—though I need to change that one.

Beyond that, you can use a Stream Deck to mute your microphone, change scenes, play sounds, videos, or even change the lighting in your background (with the right tools/setup).

Finally, there are some big advances in audio software. Elgato has Wave Link, though it's locked behind owning one of Elgato's audio products—a microphone or a Wave XLR. Wave Link lets you install VSTs directly onto your microphone and it can be used to route every audio source you use, with separate volume controls for you and for the stream. SteelSeries also offers Sonar, but the two times I installed Sonar on Windows, as soon as I restarted I had no audio on any source until I uninstalled Sonar. I'm sure it was a user error, but since I have a Wave XLR, it made sense for me to just use Elgato's solution.

That's a Wrap, Folks

These are the few thoughts I had on this topic. If you've found some ways to mitigate overstimulation and avoid sensory problems, please do comment below and share them with other readers.