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Anyone been diagnosed who doesn't have a 'rigid routine' ?

Poppy71
over 4 years ago

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?

Parents
  • over 4 years ago

    Hi there,

    My ten year old son has just been diagnosed with ASD and like you doesn’t have rigid routines as such. If plans are interrupted or changed that’s an issue for him. But in terms of ritualistic routines he doesn’t have so many. It’s more like his ‘routines’ are internal and around his expectations of what should be happening as opposed to physical actions. Parts of his life are super organised whereas others are a chaotic whirlwind!

    His reports picked up on this also.

    Hope this helps! :)

  • over 4 years ago in reply to GiGiLish

    Thanks, that is reassuring. I agree with the  idea of routines being internalised, more like expectations of what should be happening, rather than physical actions. For example, I can plan to meet up with a friend, but if I unexpectedly bump into a friend when I'm out, that can throw me, even if my 'plan' for the day is just a bit of casual shopping on my own (providing I'm in the right frame of mind to handle noise/lights/crowds etc).

    It's good that his reports picked up on that too - I sometimes worry that the assessments themselves are too 'rigid/restrictive' in their questions!

    Thanks for the reply.

  • over 4 years ago in reply to Poppy71

    Yes, thanks GiGiLish that is helpful. As far as things being internalised goes, I think this is part of the problem in getting diagnosed. If for e.g. I was told tomorrow that my Monday appointment had been cancelled, or I turned up and was told then, I would be devastatingly disappointed and frustrated inside, angry, weekend spoiled, wondering if I was safe to drive home: but what you'd see on the outside is me saying "Really? Oh, that's disappointing - when can I expect it to be delayed to and will I receive another letter?".

Reply
  • over 4 years ago in reply to Poppy71

    Yes, thanks GiGiLish that is helpful. As far as things being internalised goes, I think this is part of the problem in getting diagnosed. If for e.g. I was told tomorrow that my Monday appointment had been cancelled, or I turned up and was told then, I would be devastatingly disappointed and frustrated inside, angry, weekend spoiled, wondering if I was safe to drive home: but what you'd see on the outside is me saying "Really? Oh, that's disappointing - when can I expect it to be delayed to and will I receive another letter?".

Children
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