As someone with Aspergers, I can say that it there are times when it gets to be a bit difficult to manage. Since I was diagnosed as a young child, I'd been able to overcome my issues with eye contact and a few other basic social cues. However, I have at least two problems that I actively face every now and then.
For one, my executive functioning skills. When it comes to simple things like doing laundry, making my bed and cleaning my room, it can be a bit of a problem. It usually takes me around a couple weeks until I do the laundry. As for my room, I'll clean up and make it neat until it gets completely disorganzed and messy. And when it comes more important tasks like project and assignment due dates, it's even worse. It's common for me to misplace my things and a lot of my papers that I carry with me usually get crumpled. (This is actually something I've had problems with for the longest time.) Due to all of this, I've suffered greatly in school for the longest time as well as with my personal hygiene.
Another problem I'd like to mention has to do with what I feel are shutdowns. Whenever dealing with a stressful situation, I often feel incredibly irritated (which I guess is quite normal for almost anyone), which usually leaves me to cry due to the intense emotions inside of me. If I could describe it, it's as if you're stepping into cold water and your body is reacting to the cold by shivering. With me, once I "step into my own emotions", I can't help but cry, and depending on how bad it is, I could go on and cry for hours. (I guess it's more of a sensitivity thing, I'm not too sure tbh)
And one of the biggest issues I have are with language. I absolutely hate when people are vague towards me, because in my head, I have no way of piecing everything together.
Example:
Person 1 I've gotten both the pink and the yellow sponges for washing the plates/bowls and glass (respectively).
Me What about the utensils? What do I wash those with?
It's embarrassing because it seems as if I don't have any common sense, people must think that I'm a complete idiot. And I also struggle with either finding the right words to say or my grammar would be almost completely off.
From the entire time I was diagnosed up until now, I was (subtly) told that being myself, as an autistic person, is wrong, and that I should try to act as neurotypical as possible. Right now, I just want to know proper coping mechanisms, things I can do so I don't keep continuing on with life like this. I'm just tired of struggling, missing important school deadlines, doing all of these things and never coming back to them, and just being messy all of the time. I want to find a way to do better but I'm not sure how.
Sorry for this long post, but if you've read it, thank you so much.
26 Aug 2016, 6:15 pm
