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Things that cause distress

Crystal

I'm doing an autism passport.    But I can't get my head round sharing with other people things that cause me distress.  Obviously not all people can be trusted, so why give other people that information??    Am I wrong?   Isn't it just enough to say that I get stressed easily?   How have other people navigated this part of the form?   Grateful for any advice.

Parents

  • The things which stress non-Autistic people are not necessarily the same as for Autistic people.  Unfortunately, this means we sometimes need to educate people and spell it out for them to better understand us.

    Our sensory sensitivities may not be obvious to others.

    Our experience of social challenges can be the last thing which occurs to others.

    Our difficulties with transitions such as moving between tasks or going into a new building could be a mystery to others.

    Our need for a bit more time to think before replying to questions we had not expected can puzzle other people.

    Other people may not know that our stressors can lead to our emotional dysregulation, perhaps shutdowns, even temporary non-speaking or meltdowns. 

    Oher people do not realise our repeated exposure to our triggers or stressors can contribute to our potentially experiencing Autistic burnout.

    I think about this section of the passport as also being helpful for when "I am not having a good day, what do I need other people to know in order for them to better support me - until I am having a better day?"

  • in reply to DormouseAtRest_25

    Hi  , thank you for posting.   I think part of the reason I'm struggling is that really I need educating somewhat myself.   I've been so used to masking for years, then having difficulties or burnout and it wasn't recognised.    It was only through a prolonged stay at a private hospital that someone noticed I had sensory issues, and then I got diagnosed as autistic.   I am finding this form surprisingly hard work to do on my own.

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  • in reply to DormouseAtRest_25

    Hi  , thank you for posting.   I think part of the reason I'm struggling is that really I need educating somewhat myself.   I've been so used to masking for years, then having difficulties or burnout and it wasn't recognised.    It was only through a prolonged stay at a private hospital that someone noticed I had sensory issues, and then I got diagnosed as autistic.   I am finding this form surprisingly hard work to do on my own.

Children
  • in reply to Crystal

    You may not now what stresses you at this time if you are recently diagnosed. It will take time.

    Now you know you can pay attention to yourself.

    I suppressed and ignored things for so long I didn't know. I also had got used to set routines and places so thought I was ok, but trying to do new things is exposing some of the issues.

  • in reply to Crystal

    Think about it as your "draft" or version 1. 

    As you learn more you can revise it and use version 2, and so forth.

    I did one before my formal diagnosis and now I am revising mine since my assessment feedback.

    There is the My Health Passport (which I use) on the National Autistic Society main website, some Health Trusts or Hospitals have one and some Integrated Health Boards might have a more general purpose one as a Neurodivergent Passport which doesn't include medical settings and history aspects in detail but just covers more sensory issues more likely to be encountered in a waiting room or consultation room.