Alis Rowe's Blog, page 2

Understanding your ‘lifestyle needs’

Being able to live comfortably with less worry and stress can first of all involve recognising what one’s own personal needs are. It may take a high level of self-awareness to be able to do this. Some people might need extra help in order to understand these needs, such as by talking to a professional person.

When you have autism, it is vitally important to adjust your lifestyle in order to meet your needs. Here are some suggestions for improving the way that you live your life:

Routine-needs

Most autistic people will benefit from having small routines throughout the day or a general daily routine. Find a routine that works for you and is sustainable, i.e. unlikely to get changed, and it can be vastly beneficial for your mental health.

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Understanding post-event anxiety

Many autistic people feel anxious about events that are impending. We recently talked about this in our anticipatory anxiety article. 

It’s important to understand that autistic people can also feel highly anxious after an event. I call this post-event anxiety.

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10 Ways to find motivation to do a task

Autistic people can sometimes lack the motivation to do tasks. They may be easily distracted, find it hard to concentrate, or not wish to prioritise a task that they consider is unimportant or that does not interest them. However, whether we like it or not, at some point all of us have to do menial tasks or things that we would rather not do. It’s just a part of living.

That being so, over time I have learned a few techniques that help me find the motivation to do such tasks. Maybe you will find these techniques helpful as well:

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The Patterns Theory

Like many autistic people, I like things to be ‘right.’ I like things to be done perfectly and accurately. I focus on small details and insist they are correct.

Although there are instances when this way of being is useful (such as in science and maths), there are also instances when it is hindering (such as spending excessive hours perfecting a piece of work that was already ‘good enough’).

Recently I’ve been trying to change my thinking to focus on patterns and trends instead of single details. Sometimes I feel this can be much more helpful to me!

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What is Anticipatory Anxiety?

Anticipatory anxiety is a known condition where a person experiences increased levels of anxiety by thinking about an event or situation in the future. In neurotypical people, anticipatory anxiety is often caused by negative thinking. They might worry that the worst is going to happen in a forthcoming situation.

Autistic people can be prone to experiencing anticipatory anxiety. Although they may also have negative thinking, their anticipatory anxiety is typically related to other factors. These factors are related to the autism condition. They are what differentiate anticipatory anxiety in autistic versus neurotypical people.

Let’s discuss these other factors in more detail:

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What problems did The Girl With The Curly Hair encounter during the Nature Walk?

The Girl With The Curly Hair had just started at secondary school. The school had arranged for the students to go to an activity park for a few days so that they could get to know each other. One of the activities they participated in was the ‘Nature Walk’, which involved exploring the natural habitats in the park grounds.

The Girl With The Curly Hair found the Nature Walk very stressful. Let’s watch the scene and discuss some of the learning points made:

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Managing weak working memory

Working memory is one of the brain’s executive functions. It is a metaphorical bucket inside the brain that holds information temporarily in order to assist us in completing a task or thinking through an idea. The information is held only very briefly and then it goes away after a few seconds or when a person gets distracted.

Autistic people often have weak working memory. This can greatly impact their day to day life.

In order to understand working memory a bit more clearly, here are 3 examples of activities in which working memory is used:

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The importance of ‘processing time’

Yesterday I received a text message asking whether I could do something the following day. I read the message and then carried on with my day. Although I knew I was going to say “yes”, I didn’t reply until the evening.

I refer to the time between reading the message and responding to it as ‘processing time.’ 

To have ‘processing time’ is so important to me. It’s important regardless of whether I feel I’m going to say “yes” to whatever it is or whether I think I’m going to say “no.”

Read my article to learn more about ‘processing time’. Consider whether making more processing time would be a good habit to develop!

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New film – A Day at the Activity Park

We are excited to release our new animated film, ‘A Day at the Activity Park for The Girl With The Curly Hair!’

The Girl With The Curly Hair has just started at secondary school and the school have arranged to take the students away to an activity park for a few days to get to know each other.

One of the most fun aspects of developing this film was that we were able to utilise outdoor scenes, as opposed to our previous films which tended to be based indoors. Consequently, there’s a lot of colour and visual imagery in this film, which I think makes it very interesting!

It was also nice to see The Girl With The Curly Hair feel a bit more supported by a member of staff who seemed to understand her.

We hope you enjoy the film!

Watch the trailer or subscribe to watch the full film now!

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10 Strategies for improving sleep

Good sleep is talked about a lot these days and there is much advice for everyone on the subject. However, autistic people may have other, more specific problems like sensory challenges, lack of body awareness or staying awake due to worrying.

In this article I have reflected upon 10 strategies that have helped me to sleep well, which you could also consider. Everyone is different, so it is important to analyse your own challenges and work out strategies that work for you!

1. Take daily exercise

I have found that I sleep much better on the days when I have done some physical activity.

Regular exercise helps regulate one’s whole physiological system. It also helps to physically tire you out. A suggestion for autistic people might be to take regular daily exercise. Maybe you could consider doing some light exercise in the evening, which could burn off any excess physical and mental energy that has accumulated during the day.

Autistic people are usually good at following a daily routine. They might find the inclusion of some exercise to be a positive, healthy addition to their schedule.

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The post 10 Strategies for improving sleep appeared first on The Girl with the Curly Hair.