#sensorynightmare

[mybloodjustwantstosayhellotoyou]

View from my hotel window, unfortunately it's rather noisy as I'm on the main road. #sensorynightmare #leeds #hotelwanker #businesstrip (at Travelodge Hotel - Leeds Central Vicar Lane) https://www.instagram.com/p/B5YrVAFFITT/?igshid=vylkia0e0sbb

[neuroqueer]

I forget I have put the kettle on to boil almost every single time I do so.

This means that when the kettle boils, I almost inevitably a) get really startled by the whistle, b) jump up while yelling expletives, and then c) run really fast into the kitchen to take the kettle off of the burner on the stove.

Sometimes Often I run into stuff while trying to run to the kitchen.

I have also discovered this entire endeavour is made much more dangerous  by trying to cover my ears (to block out the whistling noise of the kettle) while running...

ADHD, this is ASD; ASD, this is ADHD. I believe you two have met before?

[neuroqueer]

Apparently I have to wear a suit for an upcoming family thing. My dad has told me it's pretty much non-negotiable. He offered to pay for it since he seemed to think that was the issue...which is good I guess because it definitely is part of it (i.e. I would never waste money on a suit)...but it's also a waste of his money because I am never going to wear the suit again. When I pointed this out he said stuff about job interviews, etc. and I told him that I will never go to a job interview in a suit...

Besides the fact that I think suits/formal dress is pretty much bullshit (note: I'm totally into people dressing up and getting fancy if they like to do that thing. What I mean is that the proscription and intense focus on formality that comes along with shit like heterosexual weddings is BS), the real issue is a sensory one. I cannot deal with the feeling of "fancy" clothes. I can barely handle button-down shirts (they have to be really really soft or the not-too-fuzzy kind of flannel). In researching suits online, I have also just discovered they are mostly made of wool...which is horrifying to me because I can't deal with wool (I can barely deal with wool socks...I usually wear other socks underneath). Wool is scratchy and itchy and terrible and sometimes it gives me hives. Wool is also so warm and makes me feel sweaty in a way that I can't deal with.

I'm not sure what I am going to do since I don't think I can get out of wearing a suit, but I also don't think I can deal with wearing one.

(There's also the part where I am pretty short and I think I'm probably going to look more like my 9-year-old cousin in a suit than the older humans at the event...and while I don't normally care about that kind of stuff, for some reason it's really really bothering me.)

[neuroqueer]

Why meltdowns are not the same thing as tantrums, and how you can tell the difference

"Meltdowns are not power struggles or demands for attention, they are involuntary physiological reactions to being in a situation which is overwhelming.

So kids who are having one will usually be trying to relieve the tension or escape the situation in some way - by blocking sensory input, running away, touching or hitting the place where they feel the pressure (maybe their head or stomach). They often seem scared, anxious or uncomfortable and it might be difficult for them to communicate what it is that they need or why they’re so upset.

Discipline is never an appropriate response to a meltdown, because it's not behaviour which is intentional or under conscious control. Kids experiencing this kind of physiological response need calm, reassurance and a reduction in the amount of input they're being asked to process. In short, they need an escape route.

Kids throwing a tantrum might also do a lot of these same things, but have much greater control over their behavior - they can stop crying to check if anyone’s paying attention, they can communicate ultimatums. It’s easier to understand exactly what they want and why they’re upset about not getting it because a tantrum is a performance, not a reaction."