Autism/Aspergers people. How are you coping?

[ofwarren]

It's obviously a very trying time for everyone, but autistics especially so.

I feel like my life is in a tail spin.
I thrive on routine and planning and knowing what's coming but now everything is up in the air and the huge uncertainty is making me so anxious.

I've prepped as much as I can with food and supplies but I'm struggling day to day .

There are 5 of us in our family and we are all home for the foreseeable future, due to our son's liver transplant.

How are other autistics/Asperger's people (or your autistic children) feeling at the moment?

Heya just wondering how everyone is getting on? Trying to stick to one day at a time

My daughter (20 year old with ASD and learning disabilities) is coping really well. I've had to teach her a few new routines such as handwashing, not touching my face until hands have been washed, not going to the shops every day, etc etc. Had a couple of minor meltdowns but nothing out of the ordinary. I'll probably have a hard time getting her out of the house every day when this is all over, lol.

I was having massive meltdowns at the beginning.
Got prescribed quetiapine which helps a lot. Also have phone support every day from therapist, mental health charity or support worker.
Am adapting slowly. One thing that helps me is having a new routine and a list of tasks i can tick off.

Oh, and my diet has become even more restricted.

I was worried about how my 22 yr old DS would cope, especially with the supermarkets but he seems to be thriving.

He’s got a new job in civil contingency planning where he has to WFH which I thought he’d struggle with but he’s doing OK as he’s sometimes called into the office as a key worker, he insists on walking the hours journey.

I had to make an essential journey to his city so dropped off a huge bag of food as I was panicking about the supermarket queues and how they would affect him. He gleefully advised me, from a 2m distance that as he lives in a student area and they’ve all gone home that he’s finding the shops quiet, I’m really jealous.

I'm autistic & a natural introvert, I'm loving the lockdown now, was a bit panicky the first night after it was announced, but now nobody can moan at me for staying in my room doing what I want.

Very anxious to the point of terror about the virus which comes in waves. I had some diazepam prescribed by GP after a phone consult which I use sparingly to bring those levels down. Lots of stimming when my anxiety goes out of control.

Coping surprisingly well with lockdown, missing my usual routine but don't have the normal anxieties of coping with human interaction and sensory overload the odd occasion I have been out.

There was a huge level of upset at first about not being able to get my safe foods and some eating disordered behaviour reared its head ie I fasted instead of eating the wrong food but I have been able to get most things except pasta now.

I'm worried I'm going to get too used to being at home and really struggle to go outside again.

I have telephone support twice a week, one worker has signed me up for a couple of online programmes and is setting me goals. The other we just chat.

I can't use zoom as finding chats with more than one person too hard to follow so missing out on that. I might have to do some meetings over zoom which is upsetting me.

My 6yo with asd is really not coping. He is having meltdowns daily, and tried to bite me earlier for the first time in 2 years. He fits the Aspergers criteria, needs routine and control and I’m certain lack of control is what’s driving the meltdowns. I feel for him and I’m trying hard to make sure he’s as stress free and in charge as he can realistically be but bloody hell I’m exhausted.

I'm on day 12 of coronavirus symptoms so life is a bit scary at the moment. I'm not watching any news at all.
Coping well with lockdown, but like others I worry about how I will cope with going outside afterwards.
I was part way through an English degree which I have had to stop, due to being ill but also because I can't cope with online lessons. I'm so far behind now that my only option would be to defer a year but I'd rather not do that.
I struggle to concentrate on more than one thing at a time and at the moment, that is getting well and then after that I need to home educate my kids.

I find myself going from being alright to panicking to be honest. I have pretty bad anxiety (it's how I ended up getting my diagnosis of ASD quite late) and it can lead to some pretty bad catastrophic thinking cycles even at the best of times. This time though, it's actually reasonable? if that makes sense, because this thing is genuinely bad.

I'm trying to distract myself, but it's hard as when I focus on something I have to research it to death and find it difficult to drop it.