THREAD: Oh, it's Christmas time, autism and wine (or a non-alcoholic drink of your choice). Let's have a little chat about being #ActuallyAutistic and Christmas, and yes this is only from my perspective. 1/
I'll be honest, not a huge fan of Christmas. My stock line is that Scrooge had the right idea before the ghosts mucked it up for him, and in large part that is because growing up undiagnosed (ish) led to a few issues. 2/
Christmas includes a lot of things which I can find difficult. The enforced merriment is not exactly my cup of tea to be honest. I don't like being in groups, so parties and gatherings are not great. Although, granted, not a huge issue this year. 3/
There is a lot of extra noise around at Christmas, along with lots of extra lights, which really do set me off. Particularly when you walk into a shop and music is on full blast, or those Christmas caravans which go door to door blaring out Christmas tunes. 4/
Then there is the food issue. I love a lot of Christmas food, yes including Brussel sprouts, but it is a change from the norm and I have to really gear myself up for it. I can manage to go through a bit, but then hit a wall and I'm done. Just pass me a cheese toastie. 5/
Contact, big one here. Why do people think that the "season of goodwill" automatically gives them carte blanche to hug you, or, even worse, kiss (shudder). Look just because I am backing away slowly it doesn't mean I am not happy to see you. 6/
The list. It's not being spoiled if an autistic individual tells you what they would like for Christmas. We may have certain things in our head and are really into those. Personally speaking, surprises are not conducive to a happy Christmas. 7/
On which note, once we have opened presents, don't be surprised if we want to use them. Handing me something I have been looking forward to and then saying I can't read/use it is just going to make it more difficult for me to function. 8/
Christmas can be overwhelming. It isn't that I am being rude by taking myself away to sit quietly in a dark room, it's self-preservation. The last thing I want to do is have a meltdown on Christmas day, or any day for that matter, they suck. 9/
Past trauma, I touched on this, but here we go. I grew up in a household where it was very much you had to be active. You had to be sporty. "Man up" being one of my father's regular lines. For the kid who just wanted a cheese toastie and to read his book it led to conflict. 10/
I hate conflict, but growing up, and not just directly related to me, it was a fairly common theme of Christmas, and the other 364 days but that's another thread. We all know that Christmas can lead to all sorts of arguments. I'll do pretty much anything to avoid them. 11/
If you want to go for a nice long walk in the cold, great. Seriously, have fun, enjoy yourself. I'll just sit here quietly with, hopefully if you followed the list, a new book and keep myself to myself. 12/
I actually don't mean to come across as quite as much of a Grinch as I do, but Christmas is difficult for a lot of #ActuallyAutistic individuals. It has a lot of pressures, noises, lights and obligations etc, as well as the breaking of routines, which can be hard. 13/
Some advice from personal experience. If an autistic individual tells you they don't want to eat something, don't force them. Don't make them engage in activities they feel are overwhelming and don't make out they are being rude by sitting quietly somewhere. Merry Christmas. 14/
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