Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi, advice needed!
I recently joined a social group for autistic people at my university, the first meeting was more enjoyable than I anticipated but I really struggled with one of the participants who had a loud voice. While I don’t want to expect other people to have to mask a lot in this situation, I definitely felt uncomfortable and found it quite overwhelming. Would it be reasonable to ask the organisers if they could speak to this person (who has been going for longer than I have/seems to have a good rapport with the organisers/staff) and ask them to lower their voice? I feel like an ass asking them to moderate themselves in a group like this but equally I’d really like to keep going (I have very few friends my own age) and don’t want to snap at them by accident.
(please note I don’t think I’m the only person who felt a little like this, several other people also became more open/talkative after they left)
That’s definitely difficult because your uncomfortable yet they would probably not realise that they are doing it, I used to speak loudly because i don’t know I’m doing it, I’m hyper sensitive to noise I would end up placing my loops in and see if that helps
Yeah I know I interrupt/can be too loud/dominate conversation as well if I’m not careful, I feel like they probably just don’t realise but I don’t want to upset them/make them feel ostracised. I’ve not tried loops (although I’d like to I don’t think they’d work for me) but I worry I wouldn’t be able to hear other people in the group.