Published on 12, July, 2020
What "autistic" things do you find yourselves doing? I do a lot of different things which I know a neurotypical wouldn't think twice about.
One of them is making sure everything in my house is straight, so the chairs, my books and DVDs on the shelf, pictures hanging on the wall and plenty more than that.
Recently I was doing up an MG Maestro and had noticed the offside headlight wasn't seated properly and was facing a little to the side. This bothered me so much, playing at the back of my mind until finally I went out and straightened it because I couldn't cope with it not being right.
I feel like I was actually approaching a meltdown, that's how much this sort of thing bothers me.
Am I alone in being this way?
I'm aware that I have OCD-like traits. One that is perhaps apt for this time of year is that if I decorate a Christmas tree and spot just one thing I'm not happy with, then I will take everything off and start again.
There are sometimes things I like to do in a particular way. If someone else does those things differently, I have to resist the urge not to take over and do it myself, even though the way they may do something achieves the same result as my way.
During recent years, I have noticed that I can pace the floor. It's not necessarily because I feel anxious, but it's just something I seem to do.