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Autism the thread
- Thread starter imanautie
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Matt N
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That sounds really rough.
I’ve got to say that all of the PE teaching staff at my school were actually very nice to me and accepting of my lack of ability; I had a lovely teaching assistant in PE who was always really helpful and kind to me. The problem was always that I’ve never been particularly good at it, no matter how hard I tried, and it’s never really been the sort of thing I enjoy.
Funnily enough, that’s exactly what I used to do when they let us pick what we wanted to do from Year 10 onwards (I didn’t take GCSE PE, so I had the luxury of being able to pick how I wanted to spend my time in core PE during my GCSE years.)! There was this one bike with a backrest that I always found really nice and comfortable to sit on for an extended period of time, and I could often do a decent amount on there. (I think my rate was about 1K every 2-3 mins by the end of Y11, so not dissimilar to yourself)
My mum later mocked me when she discovered that’s what I did in PE, as apparently those bikes with backrests are something that she uses with her patients in her job as a physiotherapist who treats stroke patients, but I always found it really nice and comfortable.
Thameslink Rail
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The only problem I have is that there is always music on in the school gym. Last (school) week there was High School Musical which I actually don't like. I'm wondering if I can persuade them to put Queen on next time I'm in (about a months time because of study leave)
Jonathan
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We've got a couple of similar-sounding bikes at my gym. I much prefer them to the upright ones - way more comfortable!
I can't stand the music they have on in my gym - don't know why, but I just do. Much prefer having some headphones on and my own music playing.
Thameslink Rail
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Alexa, add earphones to my shopping list
Matt N
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- Shambhala (PortAventura Park)
Nice to hear of someone else who shares my opinion, as having used both types, I couldn’t agree more, personally! I always find them to offer way more stability than regular exercise bikes, from my experience. I always thought I was really weird liking that type of bike, because as I said, my mum sounded very surprised when I said that’s what I liked using in PE!
On another note related to PE, something I don’t admit very often is that I get quite anxious when things like balls are moving quickly towards me, which is another reason why I’ve never particularly liked ball sports. I always used to feel really nervous around large balls in particular, such as the ones used in things like football, basketball and rugby; even outside of sport, I’ve always been really nervous crossing the school yard when the younger kids are throwing a ball about or even sometimes something like a bottle. I don’t actually do PE anymore now I’m in sixth form, but I still have to cross the school yard on a regular basis to get to certain lessons.
Jonathan
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It's surprising how popular those bikes are at the gym - I find the seated ones tend to be used more than the uprights. Which is frustrating, given there are only two seated ones and way more uprights.
Thameslink Rail
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Well done, you have basically just summed up my life in a way I've been trying to.
Jonathan
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I probably mentioned earlier in this thread that I was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome at the age of 11. It's only really within the past couple of years (EDIT: I'm now 28) that I've properly managed to realise which of my differing traits are autism-related, and it's been a proper struggle. I really wish I'd gone to my GP about it and tried to get a therapist sorted out - could've been really useful. Could still be really useful, actually!
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Jb85
TS Member
welcome aboard
We are going through the ‘diagnosis’ process with our three year old.
He is only just starting to say basic words. His language is so far behind. He struggles to interact and will often look straight past you when being spoken too
he’s a lovely boy though and we don’t want this to define him. Any assistance is greatly appreciated/ tips if there are parents out there. Please PM me.
imanautie
TS Member
1. IL quote one of the aac group admins, AAC for everyone.
2. Eye contact takes spoons, far better to spend them on listening then a pointless looking at someone activity.
Edit: typo
Jonathan
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I can't remember much about my whole diagnostic process, other than being given tests to measure my cognitive ability which must've been to check against the criteria. I also remember being in large rooms with my parents and a couple of assessors where I was left to my own devices while my parents talked to the assessors, but this was presumably so the assessors could observe me and what I was doing. It's surprising how much I remember of it when I went through this process over 17 years ago and didn't quite understand what was going on! I remember more about the process I went through when I was diagnosed with simple partial epilepsy - something that hardly affects me now - than I do for my Asperger syndrome diagnosis! Getting an EEG for that was...fun, shall we say. And for the record, the simple partial epilepsy diagnosis was a year or two before my Asperger syndrome diagnosis, in case that weren't obvious already.
Regarding eye contact, I've always struggled with it. I try my best, especially when at work and dealing with customers, but it takes up so much energy that I'm often exhausted when I finish my shift. There's a reason why I prefer to go through the self-scan tills to buy stuff, plus it means I don't have to make awkward small-talk with the cashier. Having said that, so much of the time, customers don't even make a vague attempt to look at me when I'm talking to them, and that really aggravates me. Like, I'm really trying my hardest to look at you, so the least you can do is the same thing in return.
One thing I've been thinking about a bit more lately is how being autistic influences the clothes I wear. Colours never normally bother me, and I'll quite happily wear anything with bright colours on, though I do find some fluorescent/neon stuff a bit too intense to look at. Red's my favourite colour, and I do have a number of red T-shirts in my drawers. In terms of how they fit me, I'm somewhat unusual. Above the waist, I can't abide anything too tight, as it restricts my upper body movement a lot. Worst feeling is when a T-shirt's sleeve seams dig in to my armpits which drives me insane. Below the waist, it's generally a case of 'the tighter, the better'. I love super-skinny jeans, for example, but I've never been able to find any that hug my thighs anywhere near as tightly as they do my calves, and it does get on my nerves slightly. I do have some jogging bottoms which I wear occasionally while lounging around at home, but I struggle wearing them outside, as I'm constantly worried I'll lose whatever's in my pockets due to them having a fair bit of stuff in them. Right trouser pocket has my keys in with a LOT of keyrings, left one has my wallet & phone in. Which is weird, given I use stuff from my left pocket more than my right and given I'm right-handed. Go figure. In terms of socks, I have to wear almost all-black ones for work, but that suits me fine. There's often a bit of a design on the top part of the ankle, but it's never seen anyway. I don't like trainer socks in normal usage, as they make my ankles feel cold, but I wear them at the gym and never notice a problem. I'd be interested to learn more about what my fellow autistic people on here do with regard to clothing, and how being autistic influences those choices.
And for the record, the simple partial epilepsy diagnosis was a year or two before my Asperger syndrome diagnosis, in case that weren't obvious already. Regarding eye contact, I've always struggled with it. I try my best, especially when at work and dealing with customers, but it takes up so much energy that I'm often exhausted when I finish my shift. There's a reason why I prefer to go through the self-scan tills to buy stuff, plus it means I don't have to make awkward small-talk with the cashier. Having said that, so much of the time, customers don't even make a vague attempt to look at me when I'm talking to them, and that really aggravates me. Like, I'm really trying my hardest to look at you, so the least you can do is the same thing in return.
One thing I've been thinking about a bit more lately is how being autistic influences the clothes I wear. Colours never normally bother me, and I'll quite happily wear anything with bright colours on, though I do find some fluorescent/neon stuff a bit too intense to look at. Red's my favourite colour, and I do have a number of red T-shirts in my drawers. In terms of how they fit me, I'm somewhat unusual. Above the waist, I can't abide anything too tight, as it restricts my upper body movement a lot. Worst feeling is when a T-shirt's sleeve seams dig in to my armpits which drives me insane. Below the waist, it's generally a case of 'the tighter, the better'. I love super-skinny jeans, for example, but I've never been able to find any that hug my thighs anywhere near as tightly as they do my calves, and it does get on my nerves slightly. I do have some jogging bottoms which I wear occasionally while lounging around at home, but I struggle wearing them outside, as I'm constantly worried I'll lose whatever's in my pockets due to them having a fair bit of stuff in them. Right trouser pocket has my keys in with a LOT of keyrings, left one has my wallet & phone in. Which is weird, given I use stuff from my left pocket more than my right and given I'm right-handed. Go figure.
In terms of socks, I have to wear almost all-black ones for work, but that suits me fine. There's often a bit of a design on the top part of the ankle, but it's never seen anyway. I don't like trainer socks in normal usage, as they make my ankles feel cold, but I wear them at the gym and never notice a problem. I'd be interested to learn more about what my fellow autistic people on here do with regard to clothing, and how being autistic influences those choices.
imanautie
TS Member
T-shirts and tracksuit bottoms for me! Jeans are an absolute burn them with fire no go option for a few reasons.I can't remember much about my whole diagnostic process, other than being given tests to measure my cognitive ability which must've been to check against the criteria. I also remember being in large rooms with my parents and a couple of assessors where I was left to my own devices while my parents talked to the assessors, but this was presumably so the assessors could observe me and what I was doing. It's surprising how much I remember of it when I went through this process over 17 years ago and didn't quite understand what was going on! I remember more about the process I went through when I was diagnosed with simple partial epilepsy - something that hardly affects me now - than I do for my Asperger syndrome diagnosis! Getting an EEG for that was...fun, shall we say.And for the record, the simple partial epilepsy diagnosis was a year or two before my Asperger syndrome diagnosis, in case that weren't obvious already.
Regarding eye contact, I've always struggled with it. I try my best, especially when at work and dealing with customers, but it takes up so much energy that I'm often exhausted when I finish my shift. There's a reason why I prefer to go through the self-scan tills to buy stuff, plus it means I don't have to make awkward small-talk with the cashier. Having said that, so much of the time, customers don't even make a vague attempt to look at me when I'm talking to them, and that really aggravates me. Like, I'm really trying my hardest to look at you, so the least you can do is the same thing in return.
One thing I've been thinking about a bit more lately is how being autistic influences the clothes I wear. Colours never normally bother me, and I'll quite happily wear anything with bright colours on, though I do find some fluorescent/neon stuff a bit too intense to look at. Red's my favourite colour, and I do have a number of red T-shirts in my drawers. In terms of how they fit me, I'm somewhat unusual. Above the waist, I can't abide anything too tight, as it restricts my upper body movement a lot. Worst feeling is when a T-shirt's sleeve seams dig in to my armpits which drives me insane. Below the waist, it's generally a case of 'the tighter, the better'. I love super-skinny jeans, for example, but I've never been able to find any that hug my thighs anywhere near as tightly as they do my calves, and it does get on my nerves slightly. I do have some jogging bottoms which I wear occasionally while lounging around at home, but I struggle wearing them outside, as I'm constantly worried I'll lose whatever's in my pockets due to them having a fair bit of stuff in them. Right trouser pocket has my keys in with a LOT of keyrings, left one has my wallet & phone in. Which is weird, given I use stuff from my left pocket more than my right and given I'm right-handed. Go figure.
And for the record, the simple partial epilepsy diagnosis was a year or two before my Asperger syndrome diagnosis, in case that weren't obvious already. I've been told the position I have my trousers on my body isnt the norm.
Jonathan
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- Helix <3
Don't tell me you have them in the Simon Cowell position... I forgot to mention formal trousers. I can wear them, and have to wear slightly smarter ones for work that aren't quite formal trousers (think school trousers), but the material's quite weird and it aggravates me sometimes. Though one benefit is the ones supplied by work do have a small pocket next to the right pocket that's the perfect size for a pen, which is really useful. Strangely, I have some cargo trousers that I wear for work on occasion (like if I'm going away straight after my Saturday shift and want to minimise the time I'm spending getting changed), and despite them having a looser-fitting leg than my usual work ones, I prefer them. Must be the material, I guess!
EDIT: I used to wear tracksuit bottoms VERY regularly, but I switched back to jeans when I was 16-ish for some reason. Think it was some school trip to a university somewhere and I randomly decided to wear jeans for once. Plus (and I know this'll sound bad, so apologies) my mind seems to associate tracksuit bottoms with chavs, and given I had some very bad run-ins with them when I was younger, maybe my mind is subconsciously not wanting me to wear them so I don't remind myself of the rather bad bullying I had to deal with. Or maybe I'm just talking a load of twaddle. Either way, one of the reasons I don't tend to wear them now is because they often have a lot of material that bunches up & rides around my legs, which frustrates me.
I forgot to mention formal trousers. I can wear them, and have to wear slightly smarter ones for work that aren't quite formal trousers (think school trousers), but the material's quite weird and it aggravates me sometimes. Though one benefit is the ones supplied by work do have a small pocket next to the right pocket that's the perfect size for a pen, which is really useful. Strangely, I have some cargo trousers that I wear for work on occasion (like if I'm going away straight after my Saturday shift and want to minimise the time I'm spending getting changed), and despite them having a looser-fitting leg than my usual work ones, I prefer them. Must be the material, I guess!EDIT: I used to wear tracksuit bottoms VERY regularly, but I switched back to jeans when I was 16-ish for some reason. Think it was some school trip to a university somewhere and I randomly decided to wear jeans for once. Plus (and I know this'll sound bad, so apologies) my mind seems to associate tracksuit bottoms with chavs, and given I had some very bad run-ins with them when I was younger, maybe my mind is subconsciously not wanting me to wear them so I don't remind myself of the rather bad bullying I had to deal with. Or maybe I'm just talking a load of twaddle.
Either way, one of the reasons I don't tend to wear them now is because they often have a lot of material that bunches up & rides around my legs, which frustrates me.
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Skyscraper
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- Nemesis
Yeah I have always (and still do) worn the same type of clothing. Hoodie, t-shirt and tracksuit-style trousers for me.
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Jonathan
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My usual outfit is T-shirt, unbuttoned casual shirt (sleeve length depending on the weather, and unbuttoned because stomach's too big for it to be done up properly ), jumper/hoodie/fleece of some description (I prefer zip-ups), jeans, and my red trainers. If I'm wearing a normal jumper, then I don't bother with the shirt, as it looks a tad weird. I often wear shorts in the summer, as it's easier to keep my legs (and...other bits) cool & non-sweaty.
), jumper/hoodie/fleece of some description (I prefer zip-ups), jeans, and my red trainers. If I'm wearing a normal jumper, then I don't bother with the shirt, as it looks a tad weird. I often wear shorts in the summer, as it's easier to keep my legs (and...other bits) cool & non-sweaty.
Skyscraper
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- Nemesis
The reason I always wear the same type of hoodie isn't just because I feel comfortable. I have a habit of using my jacket sleeve for things such as light switches.