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Autism

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JK chameleon Apr 2023 10:30pm, 29 Apr 2023 17,635 posts	Quote Pin JK chameleon Finished reading now (after "winning" £99,000 on the 1% club ). Very interesting blog, and will follow now in case there are the continuing adventures of Sadie & co
Valyrian Plastic Apr 2023 6:31am, 30 Apr 2023 8,291 posts	Quote Pin Valyrian Plastic Thanks for all your support. It was probably th toughest blog I've ever written just because of how personal it was, but it's made me think I have something to offer here after all.
Raemond Apr 2023 10:36am, 30 Apr 2023 10,390 posts	Quote Pin Raemond Really great blog, VP, thanks for sharing! I've noticed that my neurodivergent friends (most likely by necessity) and colleagues* tend to be much more self aware and emotionally intelligent than the neurotypical ones, which sadly also often backfires because neurotypicals think that if we can be so insightful in some ways it's more of a failing when we miss things or make mistakes than when someone is consistently oblivious. *obviously this isn't true of all autistic people, and particularly with colleagues there's definitely an inherent bias in that only those who are able to mask pretty 'successfully' usually end up in my line of work, and masking successfully requires the ability to figure out what's going on around us. To paraphrase Ginger Rogers, if an autistic person seems to be getting on OK in a neurotypical setting it's because we can do (almost) everything the allistics do, but backwards and in high heels.
Valyrian Plastic Apr 2023 10:46am, 30 Apr 2023 8,293 posts	Quote Pin Valyrian Plastic That's exactly how I feel, Raemond. It baffles me when some of my colleagues can get away with things I'd be reprimanded for. One example is our stand-by KP, who is allowed to have his earphones in during service (personally, I think having them on during the wind-down is acceptable) just because he can barely understand a word of English. It completely misses the fact that a lot of communication isn't verbal and by cutting himself of in this way it is making it harder to reach him.
Fragile Do Not Bend Apr 2023 10:47am, 30 Apr 2023 11,072 posts	Quote Pin Fragile Do Not Bend Love that. I had to Google ‘allistic’, I’ve not heard that word before.
Valyrian Plastic Apr 2023 2:20pm, 30 Apr 2023 8,295 posts	Quote Pin Valyrian Plastic My long-winded way of saying thank you: fetcheveryone.com/blog/64255/2023/4/466665
Dave.O May 2023 1:54pm, 1 May 2023 27,322 posts	Quote Pin Dave.O Interesting, I thought I posted something on this thread, and going back I see I posted this on the 10/5/2019 A lady at work asked if I suffered from Aspergers (I do know her well not a complete stranger) due to my complete lack of sympathy. So I did a few online assessments out of curiosity, well 5 all in. 3 put me in borderline and two put me in the spectrum all highlighting sympathy/empathy and social skills, all advised seeking a proper assessment. When I jokingly mentioned it to my sister in law her response was "I'm not surprised as when I first met you, you hardly spoke to me for the first few months and everyone knows not to come to you for sympathy" And asked if I thought of getting properly assessed I did think of it but in the end, I thought I've got this far in life okay why bother there are people out there who need the help a lot more than I do. But it does kind of answer a few things about me that I never considered. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Well, I was diagnosed through work this year after getting encouragement from my team leader after getting into trouble a few times or comments made over things I've said or how I've responded to things mentioned to me and she thought it would be a good idea to get assessed. I scored extremely low in sympathy and empathy and social interaction and social awareness and I also suffer from ADD. It was recommended I wear noise-canceling headphones and I have some software on my laptop that will read e-mails/documents to me as I really struggle to concentrate on long documents. Also, It was recommended I have some 1 to 1 counseling which my team leader is looking into. I do sometimes feel like I can't win with people as unbeknown to me I can sometimes ramble and then get told to shut up or more often than not I sit there and don't say anything and get accused of being miserable which can be very frustrating. Also, it was highlighted in the meeting they had with my team leader that I sometimes start a conversation halfway through as I've already started it in my head before actually speaking and then I get awkward because they don't know what I'm on about.
Pothunter May 2023 5:57pm, 1 May 2023 7,707 posts	Quote Pin Pothunter Glad your team leader is so supportive Dave!
JK chameleon May 2023 6:07pm, 1 May 2023 17,638 posts	Quote Pin JK chameleon Can confirm that noise-cancelling headphones have been game-changers for me. I wear them everywhere I can - they cut down traffic noise, supermarket tannoys, and other general hubbub that causes stress. I used to wear them at work when focussing, but now I'm acting manager of my team it doesn't feel appropriate (fortunately I get to sit in the managers' office which is generally less disruptive than the main office). Glad to hear you're well supported, and whilst I can understand your previous reluctance to be assessed, it could protect you a little at work from (to borrow the new word learned from Rae) the allistics.
Valyrian Plastic May 2023 6:24pm, 1 May 2023 8,299 posts	Quote Pin Valyrian Plastic I haven't needed to wear ear protection for extended periods. Usually, however, there'd be someone around at school to ensure that I could avoid the triggers ahead of time (such as when a drumming troupe came to assembly). That's obviously changed since adulthood. I've already been to two gigs this year (and planning to attend more) and only had to wear earbuds for the headline act of one of them.