Published on 12, July, 2020
I have to deal with someone who isn't mental health aware and although i have told her im Autistic i don't think she really grasps what that means as she often changes appointment times or turns up at my home un announced and brings different people with her and creates situations that really stress me out and what im looking for is a free booklet or information pack which explains to N.T's how to deal with autistic adults so as to not causes stress etc any help would be appreciated i have looked online but i don't have a printer so im looking for free info type pack i can request to be posted to me please
thanks in anticipation
Hi Giddy, I’d be inclined to say we are all different and we all deal with things differently, different things affect us all to a greater or lesser extent. The example I’ll use is sensory issues (mine are there but pretty mild in the grand scheme of things) and social gatherings where everyone seems to want to hug and kiss everyone hello. Now some people with ASD would absolutely not be able to tolerate being hugged and kissed on the cheek by one person let alone multiple people. Personally while I’m not a very tactile person and I wouldn’t usually initiate hugging and kissing someone hello, I can tolerate it if I have to. In fact I was at a social gathering recently with some people who know I’ve recently been diagnosed with AS, people who would have previously hugged and kissed me on the cheek to greet me at a social event, except this time they didn’t. Now I’m sure they’d read somewhere the one box fits all approach that autistic people don’t like to be touched, and I’m sure they thought they were being helpful/understanding/other but actually I felt a bit offended, like now they know I have AS they’re not going to hug and kiss me on the cheek to greet me anymore, how very rude!! Honestly I wish they’d just taken the time to ask me what is good for me rather than just applying a general assumption to me. Anyway the point of all my waffling is that you need to own your own boundaries. How does Autism affect you and what do you need people to do in order to accommodate your autism and not cause you unnecessarily stress. Otherwise you might find yourself in the same situation as me, having a stereotype applied to you that doesn’t actually fit you. Maybe write it out if you don’t have a printer?
thanks for that and all the other advice i delved into the NAS website and found some helpful advice copied what was relevant to me and going to library tomorrow get it printed out she can have a copy next time she comes and hopefully take notice of it