I know the show isn't the best representation for autism so i did a lil background research on the experience of sensory overload so I hope I did a good job - feel free to correct me and I'll change things

I get overstimulated so I have some idea of what it's like but I'm not autistic so I can't know for sure if the experiences are similar

I mean no offence to the autistic community nor any of my autistic readers 

Here is the resource I used for this: https://aimclinics.com/resources/helping-children-with-autism-avoid-overstimulation

Here are some resources based off the topic of this:

https://mycanopy.org/2020/04/over-stimulation-stress/

https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/sensory-differences/sensory-differences/all-audiences

https://childmind.org/article/autism-and-stimming/

Shaun knew today was going to be a lot for him. He knew that it was inevitable to have a day where he would have a bad time at work. It was a prospect he'd long since come to terms with. When he saw the sunlight streaming in through the curtains, he knew immediately that his day was going to be rather troublesome. The light usually didn't bother him but this time it had. It was too bright and almost blinded him in an instant. After a few blinks, it died down to much more bearable brightness but it was a warning sign that his senses would be affronted for most if not all the day. He thought about telling someone, most likely Claire, as she was always quite understanding about this and a small part of him wanted to call in sick. Eventually, he decided on neither of these ideas. Sensory overload was a part of his life and this was a prime time to put in the research he'd done on how to deal with it. He counted back from ten as he'd seen one study recommend and got about with his usual routine, only taking brief moments of pause to deal with new stimuli. To get through the day, he'd need to manage and control as much as he could. Now he had the blessing of pausing, but once inside the hospital, it would be non stop for his entire shift. A sense of dread crept up his spine but he swiftly swatted it away. He needed to save people, he needed to get a hold of himself, he needed to go to work. After taking a bite of his apple and immediately regretting it as the crunch was almost deafening, he got his things and set out into the world.

The bus ride would have been hell had it not been for his earphones and sunglasses. The first was used to block sound and the second to block light. He knew that once he was inside the hospital he would have to disregard them and leave them in his locker which he wasn't looking forward to. Still, he was prepared and that's what he needed to focus on. He walked into the hospital and made a b line for the locker room, hoping that no one would be in there. He'd arrived slightly earlier than usual today purely by luck alone but he wasn't put off by it. If anything, this was a benefit as he had a few precious moments to recollect himself from the bumpy bus journey. He opened his locker and lingered a moment before pulling out his earphones and taking off his sunglasses. He took a deep breath and counted down from ten in his head as he got used to the muffled bustling sounds surrounding him. He could hear the distant sound of a keyboard clicking, footsteps rushing around and various beeping noises coming from the machines that kept people alive. Those would be the worst today. The beeps. They were near inescapable as they carried down hallways and were in every room aside from the lounges for residents. Even then, they tended to ring in your ears and follow you home. To keep himself centred, Shaun went over a study he'd read the night before on alternative medicine therapies for those with diabetes. He went through the hypothesis then continued to the control variables and the independent variables. The method was up next and he was pleased to notice that he'd managed to tune out a lot of the noise. He kept this in mind and mentally lined up a list of studies he could do the same steps with throughout the day. "Hey, Shaun!" Claire greeted, successfully scaring the ever-loving shit out of her fellow resident. He flinched back and was about to put his hands on his ears when he paused, catching himself. Count to ten. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten. He nodded to himself upon completing the sequence. 

"Hello Claire," he responded softly. 

"Are you alright? I didn't give you too much of a fright did I?" 

"I am...fine. You were too loud," he stated. She nodded understandingly. 

"Sorry," she replied. "Just excited for the day y'know? I think it's the coffee."

"Coffee contains caffeine which shares similarities with excitement so that's plausible," he offered. She spotted the sunglasses in his locker and raised an eyebrow at him. Today hadn't been particularly sunny although it had been far too bright for him. If she wanted to question him, she didn't make it known and continued to put her things in her locker. 

"Did you stay up studying? You look tired today," she commented.

"No," he replied simply. He finished putting his things away and put on his white doctor's coat. She made an o shape with her mouth at his response although he wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean. "Was that the incorrect answer?"

"No, not at all. It was just a little short. Short usually means people aren't doing well," she explained. He nodded and saved that interaction in his mind. Correct social protocol meant medium to long sentences when answering a question followed by a statement. Short answers meant upset. Though yes or no questions must be an exception to the rule. Maybe they weren't and he'd simply been misled. Should he ask to make sure? Or should he know that by now? "Maybe you should get a coffee too before we start work."

"Consuming caffeine without a sufficient meal is inadvisable. It can also contribute to an increased sense of anxiety."

"Oh, are you anxious today?" He grew rigid at the questions. "Sorry. I want to make sure you're okay."

"My health has remained unchanged since our last interaction," he replied. She nodded and they went out to start their day.

"What's up with Murphy?" Neil asked his residents. He'd noticed that he wasn't being interrupted as much today and, despite how much his ego liked to think this was because he was being respected, he found himself missing it. Not only were there fewer interruptions but the longest anyone had gotten Shaun to talk was Claire that morning in the locker room. He'd gradually got quieter and quieter throughout the day until the only times he spoke was when diagnosing a patient. It was nerve-wracking and although everybody was allowed to have bad days, this bad day seemed so unlike the resident he knew. When they broke for lunch, Shaun didn't go to the cafeteria with the rest of the group and ignored their calls for him when he walked away. They didn't go after him but they were starting to feel like they should've. "He said he wasn't up late studying and I don't think he's eaten today since this morning he refused coffee because it's bad with an empty stomach. He mentioned it makes you more anxious but I don't know if that's a bonus fact or a hint," Claire replied.

"Who cares?" Morgan asked. "He's doing his job and everybody has quiet days except yours truly. So gifted boy isn't being especially gifted today, it's not that big a deal."

"Say that again without glancing down the hall," Alex taunted. She rolled her eyes at him and continued eating her lunch with a forced blase attitude. "His autism doesn't make him any less of a person so when one of us is feeling bad, we'd do something about it and he shouldn't be an exception to that."

"I don't care about his autism, Park," she snapped back. She refused to have that narrative but whether that's because she truly didn't care or because she didn't want a strike against her name. Proof of her discriminating against a fellow resident could block off plenty of routes she planned to go down. Yet, her defensiveness had been rather quick so the jury was still out on her true thoughts and feelings. "Point is, he's doing his job. It shouldn't matter how he feels."

"It does matter. He's a person and if he's not feeling like himself, he could miss something," Claire argued. 

"What's this about missing something?" Audrey asked as she joined them at the table. She noted Shaun was missing and there was no sign of his presence even being there. That wasn't too unusual as he didn't often sit with them but she couldn't see him anywhere in the cafeteria. 

"Murphy is acting unlike himself. We're trying to get to the bottom of it," Melendez explained. She frowned at this.

"What's the theory so far?"

"There isn't one," Alex stated. She hummed. 

"Have you tried asking him?"

"I asked this morning if he was alright but he kinda evaded the question. He said his health hadn't changed but I don't feel like he included mental health. He usually asks questions when it's an emotional issue but he's been quiet today," Claire informed her. 

"Where is he now?" They shrugged. "So you're worried about your friend and just let him go off?"

"He's an adult, not a child," Morgan defended. "He can go off and mope someplace else."

"Morgan," Claire scolded.

"Claire," she mocked back. "Come off it. You infantilise him when you act like he needs babying every five minutes. If he's got a problem, he needs to pull up his pants and deal with it."

"I agree with treating him as an adult. It would be just as bad to act like he can't do anything himself as it is to think he's incapable of surgery," Audrey offered, sending a glare to her fellow surgeon. "In saying that, he encounters issues we do not. An effort can and should be made to meet him halfway."

"So you're saying to sacrifice our lunch break to find him sulking somewhere?" Morgan huffed.

"Think of it as practice. If you can deal with Shaun, that information is transferrable to dealing with similar patients."

"I've finished my lunch anyway," Claire announced, getting up from her seat. "I'll do a quick walk around and find him. He's always on time so if I can't find him, I'm sure I'll see him when we get back to it." 

"Text me when you find him," Neil requested. She nodded and took her tray to the bin, disposing of her trash before setting off on her trek around the hospital. 

After asking a few passing nurses and other staff members, Claire began to piece together where her fellow resident had gone. When they parted ways, he'd walked past both the locker room and the resident lounge so there was no use looking there. She continued down the route he'd taken and got to a quieter part of the hospital. Not too odd considering he liked some quiet now and then. She continued to walk, expecting to head to the stairwell and up to the outside seating area but something made her pause. It was quiet in this wing of the hospital and up until now, she'd only heard the sound of her own footsteps. Yet now she could hear laboured breathing. It was muffled and had she not had her ears trained for any foreign sound, she would've walked right past it. She looked around the hall and found a door labelled "Janitors Closet" was the only place the noise could be coming from. She stalked closer to the door and pressed her ear against it to hear the sound better. Definitely laboured breathing. There was no doubt about that. She knocked lightly on the door and heard a whimper come from inside. She didn't know how and she didn't know why but she knew that whimper was from Shaun. She tried the doorknob and let out a sigh of relief finding that it hadn't been locked. Thanks to hospital protocol, it could only be locked from the outside so at least she knew he hadn't been shoved in there and locked in as some sort of cruel prank. She opened the door and peered inside. The light had been turned off but thanks to the hallway light, she could see Shaun curled up rocking back and forth. He had a distant look in his eyes and his hands were firmly placed over his ears. His whole demeanour was tense which didn't ease when she knelt to get a better look at him. "Hey, Shaun, what's up?" she asked. He didn't reply, he didn't even glance at her in acknowledgement. He looked a million miles away. "Can you tell me what's wrong?" she asked, a little louder this time. He flinched back at the raised voice and guilt swiftly took over. This was the locker room all over again. Wait. The locker room. She'd seen sunglasses in his locker despite it not being appropriate for the weather and noted a pair of earphones neatly placed beside them. Sunglasses. Earphones. Hands over his ears. Dark room. She got out her phone and let Melendez know she'd found their missing resident in a janitors closet. A message swiftly popped up: 

Lim here. Is he trying to block out senses? Hands over ears? Things like that?

She responded with a yes. 

Keep the room dark, don't talk to him, give him space and keep everything to a minimum

Confused, Claire sent back a question mark but got up all the same. Since the room was so small there wasn't enough space for the pair of them and it was best she waited outside so they didn't accidentally get locked in. "I'm gonna wait outside for you. I promise I won't go anywhere and when you're ready just pop out." She walked outside the room and closed the door behind her before slipping down the wall to sit on the floor. 

Sounds like he's been overstimulated - Glassman has supplies for it in his office we'll get it whilst you stay there

She sent a thumbs-up emoji.

Audrey relayed what she'd been told to the group and watched them glance around in confusion. "Alright team, looks like we're learning a lesson today. How to deal with an overstimulated patient. Melendez, go to Glassman's office and ask for the black rucksack. If he's not there, you should find it in the bottom right cupboard. Reznick and Park, you're with me," she ordered. She spotted Morgan opening her mouth to say something but she beat her to the punch. "Before you say anything Reznick, this is a valuable learning experience and this isn't giving special treatment. This is doing your job and it just so happens your patient is a resident. Got that?" Morgan quickly closed her mouth and nodded. "Good, we're clear on that. Let's go." They cleared the table and went their ways, all having a slightly brisk walk about them. Shaun hadn't been the favourite resident, to begin with, that much was true, but he'd grown on them now. They didn't mind his blunt way of talking and it was actually quite nice when he had that small confident smile on his face when explaining a new groundbreaking way they could help a patient. Knowing that he wasn't okay wasn't the best feeling in the world. They'd deny it if you asked them but it felt like they'd all grown into a little family. Audrey and Melendez being the parental figures, Morgan and Alex being the quarrelling older siblings, Claire being the little sister and Shaun being the little brother. Again, they'd deny this and Shaun would probably mention the lack of formal identification marking them as a family but the sentiment remained. So they walked through the halls in an accidental V formation until they found Claire sitting on the floor outside of the janitors closet. "Is he in there?" Audrey asked, keeping her voice low and steady. She nodded with a frown. 

"He didn't even acknowledge me," she said.

"Don't take it personally," she reassured the younger. 

"Come to think of it, he went silent right after we shadowed in the baby ward. Think that pushed him over?" Alex asked, matching the surgeon's low pitch. He guessed this was the best way to talk in the circumstances.

"It's plausible."

"But he's in the ER every other day with people crying and yelling. Why only now is he getting overstimulated?" Morgan asked. None of them missed the dubious tone to the question. What she wanted to ask was how do they know he's not faking it but that would get her glared out of existence. 

"Like everyone else, he has good and bad days. It's not unimaginable that he learned to manage sensory stimulation but things get on top of people. Haven't you had a day where you woke up feeling shitty and there was nothing you could do to make it better?" The question was verbally unanswered but Morgan's uncomfortable shifting was answer enough. "That's what I thought." 

"Got his things. Glassman is in a meeting until three, should we tell him what happened?" Neil announced, handing the bag over to Audrey. She nodded his head in thanks and shooed the resident's back before she opened the door. 

Throughout the time it took for everyone to gather around the door, Shaun had remained in the same position. Audrey let out a little sigh as she bent down in the doorway in front of him. He looked so young hiding away in the dark, far younger than he actually was. Collectively, they were aware of his rocky past though they didn't know much more than his family had been unaccepting of his autism and he bounced around foster homes before settling with Dr Glassman. She wondered if he'd been in this position before and that's why he chose the janitor's closet rather than somewhere else more comfortable. She slowly unzipped the bag and got out the headphones in there. Upon seeing them, Shaun blinked and focused on them. She smiled softly and offered them to him. It took a moment before he let his hands move away from his ears and slipped the headphones on. "Headphones," he whispered. She smiled and they watched as he took a few long deep breaths. He let his eyes close and he wrung his hands together. 

"As you can see, blocking out one sense can allow patients to practice self-soothing strategies. Right now, he's using a breathing technique and stimming. He can't hear me as well so keep this in mind," Audrey explained. She got up and left the bag by the doorway to continue her lesson. "Different people will have different reactions so it's all trial and error. Luckily, since I know Shaun, I know touching will be off-limits."

"Is there anything more we can do?" Claire asked.

"Not in this case no. I'm sure he can direct you to the correct resources if you ask him. There are some base rules, however. Limit sound, sight and sensations. These three can easily upset a patient in an already stressful circumstance," Audrey explained. "Autism is a spectrum so be ready to adapt these rules to new situations." They nodded and waited patiently for Shaun to show them he was going to be okay. They could see his mouth moving and Alex noted that he was mouthing numbers. Specifically, he was counting down from ten then back up to ten. The repetition of the patterns proved helpful as he slowed the rocking and managed to open his eyes. It was only then he seemed to take in where he was and who he was with. He titled his head to the side slightly, his gaze drifting before focusing back on the floor. He got up and hesitantly took off the headphones, testing his surroundings. It wasn't great but he could deal with it for the rest of the day. "Are you mad?" he asked the group as he put the headphones back in the bag.

"Not at all," Neil answered quickly. He wanted that idea dead in the water as soon as it had been voiced. 

"I missed my lunch," Morgan grumbled but Shaun didn't seem too bothered by the comment.

"I missed my breakfast and lunch. We both could experience the side effects of low blood sugar during our shift. You should be aware of it," he answered. Claire and Alex stifled their laughs. They weren't quite sure if they'd imagined the snark in the statement or not but it was funny either way. "I apologise for taking your time."

"Don't worry. You're right on time for getting back to work," Claire reassured him. "Will you be okay for the rest of the day?"

"I believe so. It is...difficult to predict." 

"Just let us know before it gets to locking yourself in the closet," Alex told him. "Bit of a health and safety issue."

"And we'd like to help next time." Shaun seemed confused by that but nodded all the same. Who knew they'd actually want to help. 

"Fun is over, let's get back to work," Neil proclaimed although he wasn't as loud as he usually was.

"I can assure you it was not a fun experience."

"Figure of speech Murphy."

Shaun got through the day with relative ease but he would be lying if he said he wasn't looking forward to the peace of his apartment. He got out his earphones from his locker when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He tensed at the sensation and whipped around to find Morgan. "Hello Morgan," he greeted.

"Hello, Shaun. I don't want this to be misinterpreted as me actually caring but I thought I better see how you're doing for the sake of Claire since she went home early," she told him.

"I am fine. Mental exhaustion is to be expected from work combined with a sensory overload," he answered simply. She nodded and he thought the conversation was over so he continued to gather his things.

"Does...does it hurt? Sensory overload?" He paused and turned back to her.

"That is an ambiguous question. It is more akin to an overwhelming sensation that requires constant patience to control." She nodded and mulled over her next sentence.

"Dr Lim suggested we ask you for resources on the subject. Of course, I can find the information myself but I'd rather take the easy route if it's available," she said. 

"I can send you an email," he offered.

"Get on it ASAP," she stated before leaving him to collect his things. He didn't think much of the interaction but when mentioned to the other residents, it seemed the conversation had been an admission of care on Morgan's part. Interesting.