Published on 12, July, 2020
I’m a recently diagnosed adult woman and was wondering what people find helps them cope the best? I’m just trying to make adjustments in my life as I’m learning more about how I struggle. Just want to see how people may cope with social communication, sensory issues, routine/changes. Etc. Any suggestions would be welcome as I’m finding it difficult to put adjustments and tools in place after going without them for years.
I don't think I actually did anything different after my diagnosis. i got it 2 weeks before first lockdown. I start the "Understanding Autism" course next week, several years after the diagnosis. I am going there to make friends. I already understand Autism, after all I've lived it for nearly 50 years. If you manage to make it to 30 without a diagnosis, then age is largely irrelevant. You will have all the mechanisms required to function in life and understand yourself and how to deal with things. Yes by all means read books on it and maybe you get some interesting tweaks you can do to your life to make it easier, but core level stuff, you probably already have that down.
As to coping with routine change, I don't, nor do I change my routine in general. I have likes and dislikes in terms of sensory issues and I just avoid dislikes, but i can cope with them up to a point.
Meltdowns occur when I am severely stressed or something occurs that messes with my routine. The last one was a couple of years back while at college, when a planned event was changed last minute and the lecturer decided to double down and call me rude for just walking away from the situation. Then he took the full brunt of me going to flip out mode and telling him in no uncertain terms that he should be somewhere else. I went home after that, as I was too stressed to deal with it all.
Social communication is easy, I don't do it full stop. Can't be bothered with the stress of maintaining friendships (most of the time). I have acquaintances that I talk to in passing, but mostly I am a social leech, I go to places with lots of people to feel less alone, but without the need to actually invest in interaction. Take from that what you want. I find spending time with strangers in a supermarket or library, that I don't have to talk to, is enough to lessen the loneliness factor.
Hi Stu