Hello. My name is Tygo and I have autism. I am on a special school to help deal with this. I have gained a lot of experience that I want to share with you. I here have some autism tips for you in your daily life (succes not guaranteed).
Heads up
I just want to say at the beginning that autist are not stupid. Some of us just act this way because they are treated this way. Just treat us like normal and keep these tips in mind.
These tips can also be a bit extreme for a lot of peapole. There are just possibilities.
And I no Englisch good so bear with me.
Hyperactivity
This must be thé symptom where for instanse ADHD is known for. Many ADHD`ers who are hyper al lot are often bombarded wih hyperactive information. An ADHD`er can sometimes recieve twice as much information than the average person. This means that our brain can be a bit overblasted.And if we are hyper it is vey hard to calm us down again. We can also do things a bit impulsive without thinking about it. Ans later on we might nit even remember them (like when you`re drunk). Solution: make a quiet atmosphere with not many to no distractions (or ritalin).
Irritating behavior
Peapole with autism (and also bullies by the way) sometimes find it funny to annoy peapole for their reaction. Things like anger is just what they want so they remind the joke (doesn`t matter how stupid). This can be stopped by reacting in a way that dissapoints them. Eventualy he will get bored and stops.
Habits
Autist in general like a set schedule. We are like computers that have learnt a set patern. If there is a sudden change in that schedule (like in a schop or themepark) we can get stressed out and then you get a scenario of:But you said we would do this! You can ignore this if you`re shopping, but you will have to drag a mokking child around. If it`s in case of a fieldtrip or something like that yo just need to tel them a week befor so they can prepare.
Another habbit is that autists can react differently to peapole using different methods for certain things. This is because they don`t know any better. This can also be the case by thing like: if you`re not crying you`re not sad. With this kind of thing we can be a bit rude, but we just don`t know any better. If this irritates you you can just say that some things are differend and that he has to get used to it (maybe not in that way).
Another habit is that some peapole with autism(me too) also have OCPD. Nicely sorted and in a straight line. Thats how we like it. We do this just for fun or because we would get annoyed otherwise. If you are in a hurry you just say that and he stops (hopefully). On this page i have spent some time to get everything straight. And then I gave up.
Facts
Somebody with autism often knows a lot about certain things. I know a lot about vulcano`s steamtrains an the Titanic. The bad part is that we want to share this ith everybody. In elementary school I spent ten minutes dercribing the last top gear episode. We also like to repeat ourselves a lot. This doesn`t mean that we are a walking encyclopedia. My friend knows every tree in the world by name, but also thought that the Versuvius was in south-west Germany. If you don`t like this stream of information you can just say that. That won`t do any harm right.
Meanings
Peapole with autism often have trouble with comunication. We are just not good in a conversation or our vocabulary is a bit to high or to low (at least with me). We hear word we have never heard before or we use word that are way to complex for our age. We make up word without a meaning.
Sometimes we use (allong with kids) abusive words because we heard them from otherswithout knowing the real meaning. One of my classmates (also with autism) onse said that i had to put up m middlefinger. I was a bit confused and did it. Then he called the teacher. I din`t know what it meant and asked what was wrong about it while my''friend'' kept saying that i put on my midlefinger>:[.
It is also possible that we want to talk about something without knowing the real name.Then it`s just like playing hints with words. Example: The palais with the garden looking out over the Eifeltower (I meanPalais de Chaillot (from google maps)). Pretty frustating.
Concentration
Autist often have trouble with concentration. We are often easily distracted or we have not enough intrest in the subject. If an autist thinks something is boring or if he doesn`t have to do anything he can also start messing around to spent the time. So give him a lot of work to do >:). You can also give him a set time but this can cause a lot of stress. There is also the chanse that we start daydreaming (caught myself on that). Good tip: If someone is staring into a wall, wave before his eyes. If he startles he was probably dreaming.
I have also discovered that my consentration can be so lazersharp that is recieved nothing from the world around me. Then I`m sitting at the couch waching TV and suddenly my mom screams at me. So make sure you have the others attention. It can be that the other is consntrating on something else. You`re talking to air then.
Emotions
Peapole with autism have swiching feelings that can swich in an instand. Offensive words from a traumatic past or about beliefe can make us angry very quickly. If someone says he cant handle certain words than it`s good to respect that.
Hyperactivity or anger is very hard to calm down. If someone with autism is being hyper in class you should give him time to bow out. If someone was very angry he could be annoyed for a while. Silly resentment can be kept for years (own experiense). Some peapole are also easily irritated. If you don`t like this you should talk abut this. Maybe reccoment a cursus anger management.
Sometime we are also bad in juging someone elses feelings. We can be a bit harsh then.