When taking a flight from London Heathrow Terminal 3, all passengers are required to walk straight through the middle of the duty free shopping area in order to get to their gates. This is unlike at other terminals at Heathrow (which make you walk along the outside of, not straight through, the duty free area).
The duty free area consists of strong smells, flashing lights, and various other things (such as visual information overload) that can present accessibility problems to passengers who are sensitive to these things (photosensitive epilepsy, autism spectrum, etc.). I'm mildly sensitive to these things, and I'm traveling with someone who is way more so.
Is there a way to skip past the duty free shopping area and walk straight to the central area once one's cleared security? I did some research and found that Birmingham Airport allows passengers who request it at the assistance desk prior to security can have a handler escort them through a special corridor that bypasses it, but is the same available at Heathrow Terminal 3?
Update: I called Heathrow and they told me I can request this at the Assistance desk at check-in. They recommend pre-booking assistance through the airline and mentioning it in the notes, but they will also accommodate someone day-of so long as they request it at the assistance desk prior to security. Whether this works is yet to be seen, so I'm not posting a self-answer yet.