Aspergers and the Lockdown. - Page 2 — Scope | Disability forum
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Aspergers and the Lockdown.

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  • AvsNutWhalley
    AvsNutWhalley Community member Posts: 23 Connected
    @Janer1967. I have no choice. If it weren't for my parents I shudder to think were I would be now as I reach middle age.
  • janer1967
    janer1967 Community member Posts: 21,964 Disability Gamechanger
    Its good you have their support 

    Which area of uk do you live 
  • AvsNutWhalley
    AvsNutWhalley Community member Posts: 23 Connected
    @Janer1967. Liverpool in the North Western part of England and yes its famous for The Beatles. LOL!!!
  • janer1967
    janer1967 Community member Posts: 21,964 Disability Gamechanger
    I have been to liverpool a couple of times 
  • AvsNutWhalley
    AvsNutWhalley Community member Posts: 23 Connected
    @janer1967. That's nice. Where are you from.
  • mia97
    mia97 Community member Posts: 51 Courageous
    @AvsNutWhalley

    Hey! Hope you are well and having a good day so far!

    I too am Autistic and have found lockdown/current situation very difficult at times. The change in routine or lack of routine has thrown me a lot. However, I have a few suggestions which may help you; Think of this situation as a chance to create a new routine (which I know will be difficult to adapt to at first) but this is your chance to create a routine which suits you - this is really exciting, for once we are in control of what we want to do, without having the usually day to day expectations (such as working 9-5). And as we are restricted with what we can do (i.e. not being able to meet up with friends, go to work, other leisure activities, etc), try to fill up your time with some of your other favourite hobbies. An example, I made a timetable for me to follow during these weeks, I have made it very specific but if I do not achieve everything on the planner for that day, that is okay - no pressure! Just the feeling that there is some sort of routine in place, is very beneficial and really does help!

    During lockdown, I have been spending more time with my family, my dog and going for runs/walks. Also I have watched a lot of films/series on Netflix - there are so many great shows out there!

    I hope some of my suggestions help and do not hesitate to ask anything. Take care??
  • AvsNutWhalley
    AvsNutWhalley Community member Posts: 23 Connected
    @mia97. Thanks for your advace. Its nice to know your feeling the same as me. How old are you. Please keep in touch if at any time you lonely and need a friendly ear.
  • mia97
    mia97 Community member Posts: 51 Courageous
    @AvsNutWhalley No problem at all, happy to help! I am 22 years old. How old are you? and sure, I only use this website every now and then, but I always try to respond when I can
  • Chloe_Scope
    Chloe_Scope Posts: 10,586 Disability Gamechanger
    mia97 said:
    @AvsNutWhalley

    Hey! Hope you are well and having a good day so far!

    I too am Autistic and have found lockdown/current situation very difficult at times. The change in routine or lack of routine has thrown me a lot. However, I have a few suggestions which may help you; Think of this situation as a chance to create a new routine (which I know will be difficult to adapt to at first) but this is your chance to create a routine which suits you - this is really exciting, for once we are in control of what we want to do, without having the usually day to day expectations (such as working 9-5). And as we are restricted with what we can do (i.e. not being able to meet up with friends, go to work, other leisure activities, etc), try to fill up your time with some of your other favourite hobbies. An example, I made a timetable for me to follow during these weeks, I have made it very specific but if I do not achieve everything on the planner for that day, that is okay - no pressure! Just the feeling that there is some sort of routine in place, is very beneficial and really does help!

    During lockdown, I have been spending more time with my family, my dog and going for runs/walks. Also I have watched a lot of films/series on Netflix - there are so many great shows out there!

    I hope some of my suggestions help and do not hesitate to ask anything. Take care??
    Thank you for sharing this @mia97, some great suggestions! I hope the routine is helping. What things have you been watching on Netflix's? :)
    Scope

  • mia97
    mia97 Community member Posts: 51 Courageous
    @Chloe_Scope

    Hi Chloe,

    No problem at all, I am happy to share and hopefully it will help others. I am lucky to be able to work from home, but also being autistic has definitely had its challenging times during lockdown. I have an advocate through a company which helps me, I wrote an article regarding Autism and COVID19 - from what I have seen on SCOPE, so far, I think it would help some people. Not sure how I would share it on here? Also I have written many other articles regarding mental health in general, as part of work - but I primarily work in IT.

    I have just finished watching 'Dead to Me' on Netflix, a brilliant series. Recommend this to people, if you like crime/thriller type series. Other than that, Friends is always a good watch, one of those series I have watched many times, but never gets old and is a great uplifting programme, especially during times like now.

    I hope you are well and have a good day??
  • janer1967
    janer1967 Community member Posts: 21,964 Disability Gamechanger
    Hi again hope you had a good bank holiday weekend .
    We took advantage of the new easing and we went to the coast had fish and chips looking out to sea 

    I'm glad to see your meeting lots new people on here and making friends 
  • fairybellsxo
    fairybellsxo Community member Posts: 45 Courageous
    Hello :) 

    I hope you are feeling much better, I completely understand how this feels as I myself have Asperger's also and I was diagnosed in January. So I was still processing all of this when Lock down happened and it made me feel MORE isolated initially with that thought in mind.

    The thought of not having a routine/seing people etc really worried and upset me and It took me a long while to adjust to the new normal, as with all changes in life I tend to feel I am going a little bit crazy and I am very aware of my own emotions, I realize to your average person it might seem like an over reaction :( but to me it feels so scary and real!

    I have found that coming onto forums like this helps me majorly as I know I am not alone in my thoughts/way of thinking, I have found some wonderful series on Netflix! ' A Typical ' Is about a boy with autism living his day to day life! this was interesting and funny as I found alot of it so relatable! LOVE is also a great series which I have seen twice :) 

    I like to draw and paint and write poetry I have found that it helps turning your emotions/thoughts into art work if you have that kind of a streak, as you feel you have ' achieved ' something from what ' you ' perceive as negative emotions into something to be proud of :) 

    Whenever I feel scared about change I always tell myself this-
    No matter how hard everything new feels at the time, I ALWAYS get used to it in the end and I always get by I just have to overcome the idea of change and we all do, it's just about being kind to ourselves while we get used to it.

    I hope this helps :) 


  • IrishManc
    IrishManc Community member Posts: 54 Courageous
    Hi @AvsNutWhalley.
    I'm glad you found your way to us. I think this lockdown is affecting everyone in unexpected ways. I know my patience is running pretty thin at the moment and I'm struggling at times to enjoy even the things I still can do.
    Have you had a look at creating new routines? I know so many people have been putting temporary measures in place for a situation that has become increasingly more permanent and trying to develop a routine that becomes the 'new normal' for you might be the way to go.
    I think that I can relate, since my redundancy in September 2019 after 17 years at age 49 and on Universal Credit, where the jobcentre want me to get a formal diagnosis for my (undiagnosed) Aspergers while living alone in the UK, in order to improve my chances of regaining employment, as it is a (very) difficult situation at present - if a workaround, even via Scope, could be found without having to go through a GP and having assurances about any costs involved - Having lived in the U.K. since 2002, I grew up as an only child and a Catholic in a little Irish village with parents who had their own issues, so missing my extended family in Ireland only adds to the difficulty of the situation, as it is highly unlikely that I’ll get to visit them in 2020 for my 50th birthday in October due to current Irish government travel restrictions from the U.K. despite holding an Irish passport - this also becomes a more difficult issue for me as I approach  both U.K. and Irish state pension age, including in terms of my future employment prospects past retirement age 

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