229 Results in Strategies

ASD adjustments to the interview process

The National Autistic Society suggests that more than 1 in 100 people are affected by an ASD. They also suggest that as many as 80% of people with an ASD are not working, yet are willing and able to. If you are an employer it is likely that you will come across a person with an ASD at some point. However, it is down to the individual whether or not they disclose their condition on their application form. Some are afraid to do so in case of discrimination by the employer. (My advice to people with an ASD would be to generally always disclose (if not at interview, disclose when you start the job.) If a person has disclosed to you that they have an ASD when they apply, there are some reasonable adjustments you can make to make things better (more productive and sincere) for both of you. In this blog article, I will briefly give some suggestions on the sorts of things you could do to help a potential candidate with an ASD when you see them for interview.

How to reduce the number of transitions you do

For many people on the autistic spectrum, transitions are difficult. A 'transition' is basically any sort of change in circumstance, surroundings or activity. Transitions are most likely difficult for people with ASD because different activities require different thought processes, skills and general mental resources and the ability to undergo transition quickly is often very hard. Indeed, one of the impairments of autism is the ability to be mentally flexible. Many people also have sensory processing difficulties and transitions often cause disturbances of our senses, which can be very uncomfortable or even painful. I also find transitions hard because I get very focused on whatever it is I am doing and to have to suddenly stop that focus and shift it to something else, is hard. I also find transitions in the way I am feeling difficult and if I am doing one activity or doing the same thing, my mood tends to be constant and stable. Doing something different causes changes in feelings and a chance in mood and I find that hard as well. There are an infinite number of transitions that we all do every day, but here are a few examples based on some that affect me:

Person with ASD and exercise – things to consider

Exercise, for me, has been the number one treatment for managing my depression. I have found a sport that I truly enjoy and am very good at. I believe that one of the easiest most natural ways you can help yourself or your loved one to improve their mental (and physical) well being, is to move more. It doesn't have to be a sport, or even a particular exercise - indeed, you don't even have to think of whatever it is as 'exercise' - but rather just increasing the amount of physical activity you do. Here are my thoughts on the things to consider about ASD and exercise:

How might autistic people manage projects?

I've been thinking about project management. I think of projects in three stages: Planning Doing End result A part of being self-employed and running a business is that I have to manage a lot of projects (from start to completion) and I have to think of the work in terms of the bigger picture. So I work on all three stages all the time. This is opposed to someone who is employed and perhaps is more used to working mainly on the ‘doing’ aspect of the project and might not have to think much about the bigger picture. Lately I've had to do quite a few things that I really did not like doing, however I've been very happy with the final outcome. Possibly one of the differences between me and some of my friends and colleagues is that they very much like ‘doing’ whereas I very much like ‘thinking.’ Maybe this is another aspect of introversion (me) vs extroversion (them). Here are some thoughts on the subject of project management and how it may influence people on the autistic spectrum.

Making things better after a meltdown

In most cases, when an autistic person has a meltdown, they have very little control. This is especially true with children, but many adults also are not able to control their behaviour once a meltdown has been triggered. Whilst a meltdown is happening, most people will agree that there is no control. This is how the girl with the curly hair's meltdowns tend to start...

17 tips for doing chores you hate

There are always certain chores that you are going to dislike doing, it's part of being human! However, as well as "disliking", people on the autistic spectrum may struggle with executive functioning - the set of mental skills that enables people to get things done, things such as planning, initiating, following steps, etc. Here are some of my best tips for doing the things you don't like to do. I hope you find at least one of them helpful!

The importance of specific language

Words are very important. I am very specific and pedantic when I talk and I always prefer others to be too. Although other people can sometimes get frustrated or annoyed with my need to get down to the 'semantics' of what is being said, knowing the semantics is actually a good thing as it often represents a desire to connect with the other person. It's well known that people with ASD tend to take words as they are literally said and can therefore go around in a state of confusion if words are not said literally. This can make daily life very hard. For example, a person on our Facebook page commented: "My boss said 'bring me the safe.' She goes into the back office and sees me struggling to lift the safe so I can bring it to her. She says, 'I meant bring me what's inside the safe.' The safe itself was bolted to the floor." Here you can see the words the boss said were confusing and meant the person misunderstood the task. But there is another reason that words are important too...

Why a person with ASD might cancel last minute

I often make plans or agree to plans with others that sound OK, might even sound fun, but then when the time actually comes I don't want to go through with it. Throughout my life, I've been known to cancel on people last minute. Even though I like to think of myself as a highly reliable and committed person, I would more often than not cancel events and meetings. Interestingly, as an adult who has come to terms with my diagnosis I have created a life structure that is both helpful and energising. Subsequently, I cancel far less nowadays. In this post, I will talk about some of the reasons why a person with ASD might cancel something last minute and suggest strategies on how to lessen the chance of this happening. For other people, reading and understanding why plans can sometimes cause difficulty for people with ASD, you can help make their life easier too. 

What to say to a friend who is suffering

When you have ASD, it can be very hard to know what to say and how to respond to people. Even under 'normal' circumstances, such as having a coffee and a chat with a friend or speaking with colleagues at work, this can be difficult. So what happens when someone you know becomes involved in a far more unusual situation, such as when they are suffering because of a loss or an illness? How do you know what to say to them then? Mourning and suffering occur for lots of reasons. It can be the more obvious, e.g. the death of a loved one or a pet, but it can also mean a break up, an illness, moving away from your birth town, etc. All these things can cause a person to suffer and trigger grief or mourning. It is never easy to deal with, and finding the right words to help someone who is suffering can be tricky. Here are our 5 tips on how to communicate with a friend who has known loss, illness, depression…or is faced with any type of suffer or mourning.

The very important people vs alone balance

What I describe in this blog article is something I wish I had understood a long, long time ago! Thinking back over my life I come to see that all the major times of emotional distress I experienced came from when I was spending too much time around people and too little time on my own. There is an optimal balance of 'people time' vs 'alone time' and you have to work out what exactly it is for you. Once you know what it is, you can work out how to maintain this balance through your day to day and long term plans.