Sensory issues with clothes

I have recently made a video of me talking about sensory issues I have with clothes. There is one other sensory issue I have but it isn't to do with having Asperger's. It is to do with the scar I have from my heart surgery. Most of my clothes have pictures printed on them and not sewn so they don't have any backing. I do have a couple of nighties though that do. When I wore them last year during the hot weather, the backing on them did rub against my scar and make it itch. I had never had this problem before but now I do. I think I will be giving those nighties to a charity shop now that I can't wear them any longer.

To find out about my other sensory issues, check out my YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvh3FOnxCAiITh1cosZM_Lg

To find out more about me growing up with Asperger's, why not check out the Autism Parenting Magazine. I have had articles in it this year; January and this month. You can find the magazine here https://members.autismparentingmagazine.com/dap/a/?a=55311&p=AutismParentingMagazine.com/how_to_purchase

What's the worst thing about Asperger's every day

Someone asked me what's the worst thing abut having Asperger's in every day life. My answer is getting so tired after going out.

I never really knew that I got tired at the end of the day until my mum told me that I was after work, which was why she always let me relax while she made the dinner.

I do get tired, very much so, after going out shopping or meeting people. I never knew why but since I have been reading and learning about Asperger's and autism, I have found out the probable reason. I just thought it was the travelling, and also my heart problem (I have a hole in the heart) but I have come to think it's more than that. It's the whole Aspie experience of communicating, fitting in with others, acting as if you're normal and all the sensory challenges I can come across eg the noise and lights.

Take the morning I drafted this post. I had a meeting with my client. I was so tired that apart from this post, I didn't write anything except this and a status on Facebook. The whole morning exhausted me.

Thankfully, as I work from home, I can have a nap in the afternoon if I want to, and most days I do. I find it recharges my brain and body. If I don't get a proper nap or no nap at all, then I stay tired for the rest of the day, and can become grumpy and miserable.

So, if you have an autistic child and they are tired at the end of the day, let them be themselves and do what they want to, if it's going to their bedroom to rest. They need to recharge their brain and body and get back to normal calmness.

Shopping as an Aspie

When I usually go shopping, I don't think about myself as an Aspie and how everything affects me. I just get on with where I want to go and what I want to get, then go home. But last time I went shopping, I took  note of all the things around me that could affect me as an Aspie. Here is what I thought.

On the bus going there, if I'm with my mum I will chat to her so I try to tune in to what she is saying and tune out others talking; but this can be hard when other people have v loud voices and shout to each other, and little ones crying. If I am on my own I usually look out the window and tune out other people talking around me.

Inside the shopping centre I noted all the lights and the music. The lights were quite bright and could really affect someone, esp a child, with a sensory challenge to lights. The music was quite loud in places, with different music coming from different shops at various levels. Can be a hard challenge to a child with major challenges with noise. I don't mind communicating with shop staff because I have to, but I try not to speak as much as I want to. One thing I don't like is having to go back and check something with staff in a shop eg being charged wrongly. I hate this as I feel that everyone is looking at me, and I hate confrontations.

So, here are my tips for shopping as an Aspie:

1. Write a list of what you want to buy
2. Put that list in order of the shops you need to go to
3. Try to tune out other people's chat on the bus
4. At the shopping centre, try to tune out the constant chatter and music
5. Concentrate on just what you want and where you are going.
6. If you get flustered, and have an Aspie card, and feel you might have a meltdown, then show it to people. Don't be afraid to do that.

So that is how I felt shopping as an Aspie and my tips for a good shop. If you have any more tips, please let me know.

Me, Asperger's and Fireworks

Tis the season... to hear fireworks leading up to Bonfire night. Yes, we get them early here in SE London, and I know others have too. I know that lots of Aspies have sensory challenges with noise, and fireworks can be part of that as they are v loud, some of them. For me, most fireworks don't bother me as they aren't that loud. But there are a few that make me jump (and my mum too) because they are either v loud, sound as though they are just outside, or there is a silence for a few minutes before a loud one goes bang. It is those bangers that make me jump now and then. There was one last year that was so loud and so near, that it set off our sensor alarm on the house.

So if you are an Aspie and don't like fireworks because it is too much noise for you, I have a few tips:

1. Wear headphones.
2. Wear headphones listening to music
3. If you have headphones attached to your TV, then listen to the TV with those.
4. If you don't, then if you can bear it, turn up the TV.

I hope you get some help from this post.

Why libraries are good places for Aspies

As an Aspie who visits their local community library often, I have found it is a good place to go for my sensory challenges. You have to plan what day you go though, or you might find you go there on a day where there is lots happening, so more noise. Like I did last Saturday for my book launch; there were 2 other events happening the same day, so there was more noise than normal. I usually my client on a Monday, and it is quieter then. People come and go and use computers, but it is quieter so I can hear what my client is telling me.

I also think the bigger library the less noise you will get. There will be more space to move around, so other people won't disturb you with noise. The lights aren't too bad either.

So, libraries are good places for Aspies to go, esp if you are a writer like me, and want to meet up with others to talk.