Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi, I have my assessment in about a month, and I'm worried as most descriptions of ASD include having a rigid routine. I don't and never really have had a particular routine. I'm not working at the moment, which means I don't have to have a routine, and I pretty much eat, sleep, go out, do chores etc whenever I feel like it. I can be very organised in some respects, and very chaotic in others. In an ideal world I would like to have more routine in my life (nothing too rigid though), in order to get things done, but never seem to be able to make this happen.
I don't like it when someone/something interrupts my plans, or when sudden changes are thrust upon me, but I'm not sure if that's the same thing.
Has anyone else been diagnosed with ASD who hasn't got a strict routine?
This is a question that interests me, as I have been assessed and meet all of the criteria except for Restricted and Repetitive Behaviours / Insistence on Sameness. It seemed to me that the focus was very much on "did you line up toys as a child?" and "do you have a meltdown if someone rearranges the furniture?". No to both, but I do categorise data and look for taxonomies everywhere, and prefer the same lunch every day, and after my wife reorganised the cupboards in our house I am now seemingly permanently confused about where stuff lives, and a whole host of other things like perseveration & obsessive thoughts.
Have a look at the thread I started here, which talks about the different ways that these classic symptoms present in adults :https://community.autism.org.uk/f/adults-on-the-autistic-spectrum/15724/the-rbq2a---standardised-self-report-for-restricted-and-repetitive-behaviours-in-adults
I'm hoping that my ADOS on Monday will provide the opportunity to capture the missing evidence.
Re: restricted & repetitive behaviours/insistence on sameness - I find these questions really hard to answer, as they are way too generalised, and I don't feel I fit into any of the answer categories exactly. For example, how do I define what a restricted range of behaviours is? And how do I know what a 'normal' range of behaviours is?
I do re-read good books, (but I read new books most of the time) and it's a standing joke between me and my friend that I usually want to watch films I've seen before, but that's because I find a lot of films boring/badly acted/derivative - I do give new films a chance but often I lose interest.
I live on my own, but don't like it if anything is moved, but don't eat the same things every day. I have repetitive tics/stims, and often find myself repeating things, sometimes because I think the other person isn't listening properly, but sometimes I don't know why I do it.
I also scored 32/1.6 on the test, I'm not sure what that means though, as I was confused with all the jargon/abbreviations, is that nearer ASD or NT?
Good luck with your ADOS on Monday.