Neurodiversity support thread for women with suspected, diagnosed or self-diagnosed autism, ADHD and other NDs #18

[PolterThreadStarter]

As usual, latest support thread.

Welcome

I have a new holiday toy

I hugged my instructor when I passed. I think he was a bit surprised at that.

I love driving. I had about 32 hours of lessons over 3 months and then went out with my dad in his car about 2 hours most nights too. My main issue is roundabouts and junctions, I'm not great at judging how far away or how fast they're coming. I only ever drive specific routes too.

I enjoy driving. I picked up lots of tips from my old work and the more experienced drivers; as well as an ex who was an advanced motorcyclist.

But it took me ages to learn to drive; Then when I moved over here it took me a long time to have the courage to drive on the other side of the road with everything the wrong way around.

Where did you get that fidget cube MrsN? I've not seen one on a keyring...

Well I guess I won't know how I feel about driving until I actually take lessons. Seems like neurotypical people's experiences- some get on, some don't.

If anyone wants to have a go but is nervous or whatever, you could always see if a local driving school does a pre sort of lesson not on the road, just to give you a chance to drive a car with no other cars about. I did that a month or so before I was 18 just to see what it was like. It was at a nearby transport museum as they had a track. I assume plenty other driving schools offer it. It's quite a good idea.

The orange bit is a sort of rubbery "cage" that they also sell on the website. It's an original shipped over from the states, the website antsy labs .com

DH got it for me it was a little present from him.

I've only bought cheap fakes. I like the rubbery cage though. Good present.

I bought one from the entertainer/thetoyshop, was going to buy a cheap one but they are supposedly real and not much more expensive. It's quite good. Are the cheap ones good? As I was reading Amazon reviews and lots were saying they're okay but not great so it kind of put me off.

I have a cheap fidget cube from Amazon. Does the trick. Definitely packing it for my upcoming holiday!

I enjoy driving now. I didn't drive for a fortnight recently because the painkillers I was on were making me drowsy and I missed it! I love the freedom driving gives me and I don't like much public transport (although I love long train journeys).

I was looking for a copy on Amazon and some reviews said "it's ok" some said "argh the plastic edges are badly aligned and really annoying" so I was really umming and ahhing about it. I have also asked a friend who will be going to the states and she will organise the delivery to a family member there. It seems that everything shipped from the states to Germany gets held and you have to pay taxes.

So I might have spares or I might email her and change my order.

I always end up buying and fiddling with non-fiddle-things e.g. these soft twist plant ties or braided loop key ring things.

But years ago I had some tangle toys that came free in NHS quit smoking kits (I didn't smoke, and managed to get hold of four or five kits in total, ending up with an enormous tangle I used to take them apart and clip them together in different numbers to work out which numbers of segments would create stable shapes and which wouldn't, or build structures with them).

I also have a rainbow rubber bouncy ball thing, a really long rainbow Jacob's ladder, a little Slinky, a green wooden twisty snake thing made from triangular-ish blocks, several rainbow twisty and lock things (little cubes on elastic, basically)…

Lots of them I got way before I even thought of getting an autism dx and most of them were from Wilko's I just like fiddly things. If I'm not twiddling something like that when I'm in class, I'm either doodling or surreptitiously vaping

Or playing with rubber bands, or purloined blutack, or repeatedly colouring in areas of paper with pencil and rubbing it out again, or cracking my knuckles, or clicking all the lead out of my pencil and sliding it back in again, or something irritating.

Basically, go to Wilko's, they have a whole table of what are in effect sensory toys, just at a third of the price a sensory toy website will sell them for.

I think we might have every fiddle toy ever invented in this house.

Fuzzy tangles and mini koosh are my favourites.

I had a full-size koosh with two Lycra bats when I was a kid. The koosh ball drew me in and repulsed me in equal measure.

My friend had a thing she called a water snake? Like, a toroidal tube full of water that would fall through your hand. Kind of condomy. Great fun. But equally quease-inducing.

I just like texture, almost anything except lenticular pictures.

I'm not a particularly "fiddly" sort of person but I do sometimes play around with a bit of blue tack, making it into a cube or similar. I've also somtimes liked chewing on things. I was a nail biter for ages, stopped now but do still like, ahem, chewing the cut nails bit gross

My fidget is this www.hawkin.com/twist-and-lock-blocks

... but people always think it's some sort of puzzle, and interrogate me on what it's supposed to look like when I'm done!

My favourite is a klixx, it's kind of like a tangle but more square and it clicks when you move it.

I do not like those weird condom toys. They are just some kind of Ick that really does not appeal.

I like clicky pencils and fiddly things but this cube is really quite cool. The 5 buttons are arranged with two loud clickers a medium clock and two silent buttons. It is soooo lovely to fiddle with.
Fidget spinners do nothing for me though. And I get bored really quickly with a koosh, I don't see the appeal.

Oh god don't ask me about learning to drive

But, I will say, I was dead nervous and I ended up loving it. I really like the fact that the instructor has control too because you know you can't fuck up too badly.

We used to have those water snakes when we were kids. Someone bought DS one and he thought it was great and then DH was playing with it and somehow burst it everywhere! The goo is horrible.

BTW they don't remind me of condoms, but when I first saw a real life penis I decided that they remind me of foreskins. (Probably I decided this the other way around).