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autism course I don't 100% agree with

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Double Retired
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24 Oct 2023, 3:52 pm

ToughDiamond wrote:
Double Retired wrote:
Would Autism have been less of a problem for someone a long time ago?

For instance, before electricity, before cities got so big and common, etc.

I suspect you may be onto something there. Small is beautiful for many ASDers.
Also, judging by Victorian literature, they wrote a lot more clearly in the 1900s. They explained things past the point, just like I do. :heart:

And when people rush me I screw up, so the slower pace of the old days would certainly have helped me. Rigid social rules - a tad stuffy, but less confusing once you'd read a good book on etiquette. Give me a time machine and a huge bag of Victorian cash, and I'll check it out.
And I think it likely a larger percentage of the population lived in isolated farms (or camps, or whatever).

I think I would make a wonderful recluse!

I'd love to live in a small town where life was slower and where I wasn't in continuous involuntary contact with a bunch of other people...but had good stores, medical care, and library.


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I finally knew why people were strange.


colliegrace
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31 Oct 2023, 10:29 pm

I do consider my autism a disability. Of course, it depends on a lot of factors. In an ideal or more quiet and less chaotic environment? I just appear a little quirky, at most. I mean, it took 30 years to get to that level of social adaption, but hey.

Sensory issues are definitely the most disabling thing for me. In visiting Washington DC, a huge and very chaotic and noisy place, I got overwhelmed. A whole f*****g lot. One time was actually very severe, that was on the subway. I was shaking for like 20 minutes after I finally got off.

But even then? I also got overwhelmed in more quiet places. In the cabin we were staying in, I frequently found myself overwhelmed by the chatter of 15 other people. Or by the sound of traffic outside.

And even at home? I frequently find that everyday items make me feel overloaded. The fan running. Crickets chirping in my yard. The music I'm playing on my phone - fun and party time one minute, shutting it off and retreating to a dark and quiet place to recover the next.

I never realized until this year, really, how bad my sensory s**t is. I would feel sometimes feel sick for no apparent reason and wonder what was the cause, but didn't realize it was sensory related somehow. And I thought it was normal, so I grinned and bared it more often than not.

Anyways, I'm glad I live in a small town and not a huge chaotic city.

But all that to say.... everyone's autism is definitely different with different symptoms, and it's totally valid to not consider yours to be disabling.

One of the ladies on the retreat was also autistic, and she encouraged me to ask for priority boarding on my way home since I have a disability. I did get granted that since I asked and just mentioned that I have a disability, and it was indeed helpful and nice.


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ASD level 1, ADHD-C, most likely have dyscalculia as well. RSD hurts.
RAADs: 104 | ASQ: 30 | CAT-Q: 139 | Aspie Quiz: 116/200 (84% probability of being atypical)

Also diagnosed with: seasonal depression, anxiety, OCD