Tag Archives: coping strategies

Asperger's Tests

Survey: General Coping Strategies

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Welcome to week 3 of our survey.

I’ve slightly revised the schedule due to some additional questions that were posted over the weekend. This week we’ll do general coping strategies. Next week we’ll do special skills and fun stuff. When I get back from my great big adventure some time in May, we’ll do acceptance and gender/sexuality/body image.

You all probably know the drill by now, but in case anyone new wanders in: answer as many questions as you like, here or anonymously at Survey Monkey. Talk amongst yourselves about the answers if you like.

Also, you might want to have a look at the last two weeks’ surveys on relationships and sensory sensitivities/work and school strategies. Answers to both are still coming in!

Take the Survey Monkey version here: general coping strategies.

Although some questions reference diagnosis, this is open to all those who identify as on the spectrum (professionally diagnosed, self-diagnosed  and suspected aspies/autistics/people with autism).

General Coping Strategies

  1. What positive changes did you make to your life after your diagnosis?

  1. Over-apologising/apologising as a reflex action: Seriously, “sorry” has become my standard greeting to people at uni. Does anyone else do this? Has anyone managed to break the habit? How?

  1. How do you all describe what it’s like to be you to someone else? What do you compare these things to in a way that makes others have that aha! moment? more details here

  1. Does anyone else have issues with conflict/arguments/shouting matches in front of you? How do you deal with this?

  1. Does anyone else have trouble with “future planning”? a little more info here

  1. How do you stay on top of cleaning? What contextual cues do you use to get you to do things around the house?

  1. Do you catastrophise and if so, have you strategies for managing it?

  1. Do you experience emotional distress, such as depression and grieving, in unusual ways, such as increased sensory challenges or physical pain?

  1. Do you have trouble speaking at a normal pace? Do you have any tips for modulating your voice?

  2. Have you experienced chronic fatigue or chronic pain? Do you have other chronic illnesses? If so, do you think autistic traits such as poor emotional awareness and sensory differences such as oversensitivity to pain or muscle discomfort have any effect on these?

Asperger's Tests

Survey: Sensory Sensitivities and Work/School Strategies

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The response to the relationship survey last week was fantastic! People continued adding answers all week, so you might want to pop back there and read the latest responses if you haven’t.

This week we have 8 questions about sensory sensitivities and 6 about work/school. You can answer here in the comments or anonymously at Survey Monkey. I’ll bring the Survey Monkey answers over and paste them as comments.

A reminder: this is open to all those who identify as on the spectrum (professionally diagnosed, self-diagnosed  and suspected aspies/autistics/people with autism). Answer as many or as few questions as you choose. Tell us about yourself. Have fun!

I’m so excited by how many answers each person got to their question last week. Y’all are awesome. On to the questions . . .

Survey Monkey has a 10 question limit per survey so I had to make 2: sensory sensitivities and work/school strategies.

Sensory Sensitivities

  1. Does anyone else in the adult autistic blog-munity have issues with temperature sensitivity? If you have issues with heat, how do you cope with summer weather? With the effects of exercise? more details here

  1. For those who have hyper-sensitivity to light and sound: How do you cope when you find yourself starting to get overwhelmed, but can’t leave immediately? How do you recognize when you’re starting to hit that point of sensory overload? How do you deal with the aftereffects of the overload – and what aftereffects do you notice? How long can it take to deal with the aftereffects? more details here

  1. What texture sensitivities do you have? What specific textures are bad? How does your body react to them? more details here

  1. Bras. Do you also find them very stressful to wear? If so, have you come up with a solution to that?

  1. Shoes. Do you have difficulty finding comfortable shoes? What is your preferred choice of footwear?

  1. Does anyone else find showers almost physically painful?

  1. About sensory issues, how did you react to a overload and did you know at first why you reacted this way? Or was it simply a reaction without really know why you were annoyed/angry/overreacting?

  1. How many of us here find earplugs and Mp3 player to be important when going out? Does the stress level go up when you can’t have it on when being stuck in crowed or noisy places?

Work/School

  1. What kind of job would be right for your own ‘brand’ of autism?

  1. If you work, how do you cope with your errors in understanding they way that most humans think and behave, not just non-verbal language, but office politics and similar inexplicable behaviours?

  1. I get very anxious about interviews – what strategies do you have to cope with these?

  1. How do you deal with being bullied at work? (or anywhere else)

  1. How do you get a job if you can’t use the telephone?

  1. Have you ever asked for accommodations at work or school? How did it go?