Any tips for coping with sudden changes or interruptions? I've read eating mints helps, looking for any suggestions of how to cope.
Any tips for coping with sudden changes or interruptions? I've read eating mints helps, looking for any suggestions of how to cope.
Autistic brains are not designed to cope with sudden changes or interruptions. There is a thing called autistic inertia, whereby thought and / or actions get stuck and it is very difficult, if not impossible, to try and suddenly switch attention from one thing to another.
I'm not sure how mints are supposed to help 
That sounds like one of those vague coping strategies for anxiety, strategies that an overwhelmed autistic person has no access to in the moment.
There is a reason why this is one of the questions in the AQ50 for autism assessment. This is something which autistic people find very difficult to do. No amount of coping strategies is going to change that fundamental difference.
"If there is an interruption, I can switch back to what I was doing very quickly."
The best way of coping is to completely avoid them. Make yourself uncontactable and make it clear to everyone that you must not be disturbed unless it is a life or death emergency. If in the workplace you need to ask for reasonable adjustments to make sure that interruptions do not negatively impact your performance and productivity.
Autistic brains are not designed to cope with sudden changes or interruptions. There is a thing called autistic inertia, whereby thought and / or actions get stuck and it is very difficult, if not impossible, to try and suddenly switch attention from one thing to another.
I'm not sure how mints are supposed to help That sounds like one of those vague coping strategies for anxiety, strategies that an overwhelmed autistic person has no access to in the moment.
There is a reason why this is one of the questions in the AQ50 for autism assessment. This is something which autistic people find very difficult to do. No amount of coping strategies is going to change that fundamental difference.
"If there is an interruption, I can switch back to what I was doing very quickly."
The best way of coping is to completely avoid them. Make yourself uncontactable and make it clear to everyone that you must not be disturbed unless it is a life or death emergency. If in the workplace you need to ask for reasonable adjustments to make sure that interruptions do not negatively impact your performance and productivity.
