Public Transport...

...and "LAMe" Behaviour.

This Thread is about what it says, there. Lighthearted, funny, serious, eerie, strange... any stories, experiences, events, queries...
- "Public" - I use as a word to make this Thread easier to find in the "Related" section.
- "LAMe Behaviour" - is my own Term (so far). It stands for: "LOOK AT ME!! Behaviour", which, if you check my UserName (DC), this occurs to myself... A LOT.

Glad Tidings to all. I have Aspergers's Syndrome (AS). Using this system which is largely run and used by NTs, of course...

Parents
  • On a serious note though, I also have AS and find public transport really hard. In fact part of my 'reasonable adjustments' at work was more home-based working because the commute was causing so much anxiety it was actually making me a bit crazy ....

    I have sensory issues in pretty much all areas, so the train especially brings a multitude of problems:

    - fluorescent lights

    - people talking on their mobiles, loud conversations, train squeaking and rattling, bad music escaping from headphones tsk tsk tsk .... terrible auditory discrimination means I can hear it all and my brain tries to process it all too. Sometimes I want to put my hands over my ears and scream "make it stop"! Noise-cancelling headphones are essential

    - people who wear foul perfumes, usually in quantities that increase with the foulness (was half a litre of perfume really required??) and those who had 20 cigarettes and a clove of garlic for breakfast (or that's what it smells like to me anyway)

    - people with no concept of personal space. I am not comfortable with a complete stranger's arm touching mine for an hour long journey

    I could go on .... the worst thing is, there isn't really a solution, apart from avoid it and then I couldn't earn a living. It got so bad before though that it caused hyper-vigilance, whcih is apparently normally something that people with PTSD get!

Reply
  • On a serious note though, I also have AS and find public transport really hard. In fact part of my 'reasonable adjustments' at work was more home-based working because the commute was causing so much anxiety it was actually making me a bit crazy ....

    I have sensory issues in pretty much all areas, so the train especially brings a multitude of problems:

    - fluorescent lights

    - people talking on their mobiles, loud conversations, train squeaking and rattling, bad music escaping from headphones tsk tsk tsk .... terrible auditory discrimination means I can hear it all and my brain tries to process it all too. Sometimes I want to put my hands over my ears and scream "make it stop"! Noise-cancelling headphones are essential

    - people who wear foul perfumes, usually in quantities that increase with the foulness (was half a litre of perfume really required??) and those who had 20 cigarettes and a clove of garlic for breakfast (or that's what it smells like to me anyway)

    - people with no concept of personal space. I am not comfortable with a complete stranger's arm touching mine for an hour long journey

    I could go on .... the worst thing is, there isn't really a solution, apart from avoid it and then I couldn't earn a living. It got so bad before though that it caused hyper-vigilance, whcih is apparently normally something that people with PTSD get!

Children
  • Thank you for Posting... with only two other persons thus far, you may see how I really mean that...   (   :-0  )

    (As my UserName suggests, I likely have C-PTSD, and whenever I step into a public place, I go into a sort of "Street Mode", where I must ignore outside influences unless they directly mean to engage me. I deal with it via making no eye contact, and leaving the vehicle if it becomes overwhelming...)