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New Year's Day

bristolvr3

Hello everyone.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy new year, now that the year 2014 has started. However, as an autistic person, I would expect to be faced with new and potentially difficult challenges. I am currently in paid employment, but for how much longer I don't know. My local bus and train services, as in timetables, ticket prices etc, could change at any time. If the weather conditions from the past few weeks is anything to go by, it could get wetter, windier or more stormy at any time, even when I least expect it. If I am facing any kind of uncertainty myself, I'm sure there's a few other autistic people in a similar situation.

Speaking of the weather, the past few weeks has seen some very heavy rain and storm force winds. I have heard that a care home in Hampshire, which I believe cares for elderly residents, has gone several days without heating. The residents have had to spend Christmas Day of 2013 in bed, just to keep warm. Can you imagine how terrible the situation would be if that care home cared for autistic people? It would really be an absolute nightmare, with no heating, no electricity, and no public transport service either, with all that debris on the roads, railway tracks etc. I feel so sorry for anyone whose Christmas and New Year plans were so severely disrupted by the weather. One storm is bad enough, but three or four within weeks of each other is terrible.

Parents

  • Hello, Susie76.

    Speaking of party invitations, I find parties intimidating. If it's a birthday party, there would probably be balloons, party food, music, dancing, games, chat, laughter, that kind of thing. In a small living room or dining room, this would be a nightmare, but in a much bigger venue, such as a catering facility of a large hall or hotel, it's even worse. 

    It's pretty much the same thing with Christmas parties. In recent years, my work colleagues have invited me to attend Christmas get-togethers, but I find all those Christmas songs a bit inevitable, and over-played, especially if I have already heard it on local or national radio. The songs themselves are OK, but as with today's pop songs, I find them boring and repetitive after a while.

    I used to do voluntary work for the Ipswich Transport Museum, in the Suffolk town of Ipswich. On a few occasions, I was invited to a late morning Christmas get-together at a small Ipswich-based pub. A group of volunteers, including myself, went there aboard one of the museum's vintage buses (usually late 1940s to mid 1960s spec) which was very nice. I don't drink alcohol, and would never do so for fear of causing trouble, so I had some diet cola instead.

    The pub itself, however, was uncomfortable. Being 6 feet 5 inches tall, I struggled to fit my tall legs underneath one of the tables. I couldn't stay there for long, because all that noisy talk and uncomfortable seating would overwhelm me after a while. All I would want is a relatively quiet get-together, then after around 30 to 60 minutes, I would be cleared by my colleagues to go home as normal.

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  • Hello, Susie76.

    Speaking of party invitations, I find parties intimidating. If it's a birthday party, there would probably be balloons, party food, music, dancing, games, chat, laughter, that kind of thing. In a small living room or dining room, this would be a nightmare, but in a much bigger venue, such as a catering facility of a large hall or hotel, it's even worse. 

    It's pretty much the same thing with Christmas parties. In recent years, my work colleagues have invited me to attend Christmas get-togethers, but I find all those Christmas songs a bit inevitable, and over-played, especially if I have already heard it on local or national radio. The songs themselves are OK, but as with today's pop songs, I find them boring and repetitive after a while.

    I used to do voluntary work for the Ipswich Transport Museum, in the Suffolk town of Ipswich. On a few occasions, I was invited to a late morning Christmas get-together at a small Ipswich-based pub. A group of volunteers, including myself, went there aboard one of the museum's vintage buses (usually late 1940s to mid 1960s spec) which was very nice. I don't drink alcohol, and would never do so for fear of causing trouble, so I had some diet cola instead.

    The pub itself, however, was uncomfortable. Being 6 feet 5 inches tall, I struggled to fit my tall legs underneath one of the tables. I couldn't stay there for long, because all that noisy talk and uncomfortable seating would overwhelm me after a while. All I would want is a relatively quiet get-together, then after around 30 to 60 minutes, I would be cleared by my colleagues to go home as normal.

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