Please do not get mad at me when I ask for clarification. I am not challenging you, I want to understand what you are trying to convey and because I have not learned to read minds (YET!).
Category: Autism
I have trouble orienting myself in space, and simply telling me where something is isn’t particularly helpful. I would be able to find things and understand complex concepts easier if people used illustrations.
Instead of asking how I am when you see me, make a comment that I can easily respond to, like something about the weather.
If I don’t have the right information, I risk doing the task incorrectly and having to redo something in a different way and/or having someone get angry with me, angrier than when I was just asking questions.
If I tell you I need something, listen. I might not have the energy to communicate your way, can we please communicate my way for a little bit?
Giving me space to talk and think will make my life easier as an Autistic person, because it means I will be able to be a part of a conversation with someone or with a group of people.
I need regular doses of solitude to recover from sensory onslaught. This doesn’t mean I am anti-social. I’m deeply social, but I do need a fair amount of downtime.
A small switch in behavior other people can make, to ease the author’s life as an autistic person, is to “Tell me what to expect in advance! Especially for unfamiliar events… and in more detail than you expect I’ll need.”
We talk with Dr. Mary Doherty and Dr. Sebastian Shaw of Autistic Doctors International about how undetected barriers to health care for autistic people can lead to delayed care, serious complications, and sometimes even fatalities.
Something that would make my life easier would be accessible virtual health care; in other
words, NOT by phone.