Published on 12, July, 2020
One of my greatest difficulties at work is managing change. When there is a major change ahead I plan as much as I can and each day I tend to plan what order I will do things in. Some things I do in the same order every day.
This week I was thrown by a sudden one off change that was a change from the norm and I couldn't understand the reason for it. I ended up having a discussion with my team leader and getting quite emotional. To a NT I guess they would not understand the impact of a minor change with no warning, which affected my plan.
I was wondering if anyone could point to any useful information that might explain how this feels to an autistic person. I am not very good at explaining this myself.
Hi Homebird
Sorry that you were distressed by a sudden change at work this week, I hope you are feeling more adjusted to it now? Does your employer know you are autistic?
Also I have found this article which explains many different experiences from the autistic perspective including sudden changes:
https://www.thearticulateautistic.com/15-things-that-bother-your-autistic-loved-one-that-you-may-not-even-notice/
Another article that may be useful as a starting point to cross the neurotype communication divide:
https://oolong.medium.com/starting-points-for-understanding-autism-3573817402f2
I hope this helps!
Thank you, those are very helpful and made me realize quite a few things recently that explain why work has been more challenging. They do know I have now discovered I am autistic. I used to be able to mask a lot. So many things change now and I often get told I just have to get used to it. I understand that, but just need them to understand what it feels like for me especially when things don't always seem to be consistent. That gives me a good start to ponder on