Some things i can do independently some not

[CountryGirl]

the things i can do independently is look after myself of course like washing and dressing and i spend a lot of time grooming myself, like hair,makeup,etc
and i keep the bungalow clean and free of any mess because i have to have everything tidy and neat otherwise i could have meltdown

driving is my passion & like special interest and i drive a bus for a living and as long as im driving on the same bus route every day im ok i feel happy and safe and relaxed behind the wheel even if theres loads of traffic i still keep calm because im driving and i love it and im in control of both the vehicle and the passengers

but

my husbands friend who has retired now has moved in with us to help take care of me when my husband is working because i need someone accompany me when doing things like shopping.because i can easily have meltdown in the supermarket if things are moved or untidy or something
so the only thing outside of home i can do independently is drive but that sounds contradicting because people often ask why i can drive a car or a bus without any problems but turn into a low functioning when im in the supermarket?

its hard to explain.do you have some things you can do independently and easily but some things that are easy for others are difficult for you
autism doesnt always make sense does it

 

[Progster]

Anxiety. Some things cause a seemingly disproportionate amount of anxiety, other things are ok. I get anxious about certain things too, or there are some things I just don't want to do at all, such as answer the door when I'm not expecting anyone. I'm ok when I'm expecting it, but I don't want to have to deal with people unexpectedly.

 

[Neonatal RRT]

the things i can do independently is look after myself of course like washing and dressing and i spend a lot of time grooming myself, like hair,makeup,etc
and i keep the bungalow clean and free of any mess because i have to have everything tidy and neat otherwise i could have meltdown

driving is my passion & like special interest and i drive a bus for a living and as long as im driving on the same bus route every day im ok i feel happy and safe and relaxed behind the wheel even if theres loads of traffic i still keep calm because im driving and i love it and im in control of both the vehicle and the passengers

but

my husbands friend who has retired now has moved in with us to help take care of me when my husband is working because i need someone accompany me when doing things like shopping.because i can easily have meltdown in the supermarket if things are moved or untidy or something
so the only thing outside of home i can do independently is drive but that sounds contradicting because people often ask why i can drive a car or a bus without any problems but turn into a low functioning when im in the supermarket?

its hard to explain.do you have some things you can do independently and easily but some things that are easy for others are difficult for you
autism doesnt always make sense does it

What you are describing is, to varying extents, part of the autism experience. One of the hallmarks of autism is this concept of asymmetrical intelligences. So, an example, might be that I understand how things work and physics intuitively, I have a strong sense of pattern recognition, but I struggle with the mathematical proofs. I could tell what the end result of an experiment in physics lab would be, with a fair amount of accuracy, before actually performing the experiment. Of course, in physics class, the professor wants the mathematical proofs, and this is where I would sometimes struggle. When in high school, I took the ACTs and scored nearly perfect in the science portion of the test, without ever having a science course yet. I just had an aptitude for it. Other topics, I didn't score so well in. When I went to have my autism testing done, I had 2 people running me though a series of cognitive testing/skills. There were things I did very well in, and there were things I literally couldn't do at all. Asymmetrical intelligences.

All of this has to do with how the neurons migrated and formed in utero. When neurologists start talking about conductivity (voltage) and connectivity (thickness of the wires) within the brain, a hallmark of autism is a significant amount of asymmetry as compared to a so-called "normal" brain. Everyone is going to have their own unique gifts and deficits.

I worked with a pediatric ophthalmologist in our neonatal ICU. He was, in his younger years, a respiratory therapist, like myself, but went on to medical school for ophthalmology. Well, he was quite autistic, and likely the first real autistic friend I had at work. This guy was brilliant. We had some enlightening conversations at the bedside and in conference rooms. We learned quite a bit from each other. He was a master at using a cold laser in the operating room. He saw things that no one else saw. He was a leader in his field having published many scientific papers. We got along great. Having said that, he also had a private nurse that would assist him throughout his day, keeping his schedule, reminding him of his patients, what he did and ordered during his last visit, walked him throughout the hospital, so on and so forth. The poor guy struggled with dressing himself some days. Asymmetrical intelligences.

 

[tazz]

autism doesnt always make sense does it

This!

 

[Tom]

That is an unusual situation I think. At least from the perspective of thinking driving a bus is quite a stressful job with lots of moving parts and responsibility.

But probably not so unusual from a autism perspective. It does frequently happen that what we do well, we do very well, and what gives us distress can get out of proportion fast.

 

[CountryGirl]

For me driving a bus for a living means im in control and is repetative and i just love driving
In our buses the cab is enclosed with a safety screen on the door so im just in my own little world
The only thing about it is i wish they brought conductors back so that i wouldnt have to interact with the passengers but when paying their bus fare that is easier because its a scripted interaction but when passengers want social chitchat i dont want it but some of the old ladies and gentlemen are so sweet you cant really be rude and they do respect and look out for me even
im excellent at memorising routes and street names and even when theres a lot of traffic i am still patient and chilled because im in my bus
Sometimes when im having a meltdown at home i drive out in my car to calm down and even if the roads are busy im calm as soon as i get in my car because driving is like a autistic like passion and just calms my mind from all thoughts and feelings and emotions and im never ever an aggressive driver
but as soon as i get home sometimes i can explode as in melt down