I like many others on the spectrum thrive on routines! I have certain things I do every single day on or around the same time. For instance I leave for work everyday at 6:31 and go to dunkin. If I do not leave at that time my entire day is ruined because if I get stuck in traffic I possibly wont be able to get my coffee and run the risk of being late to work. More importantly I will feel "off" all day and then I will probably feel very overwhelmed and stressed out and this could lead to other stressors triggering a MELTDOWN! I hate having meltdowns for many many reasons. They are exhausting both physically and mentally, Most people DO NOT understand why I am behaving "irrationally" and this leads to me feeling bad about myself and shutting down and feeling depressed for a couple days with severe anxiety. My point to all of this filibustering is that as seemingly simple as a daily routine may seem to others could mean the difference between meltdown and a normal day. And a break in routine can lead to spiraling someone with ASD into a meltdown. So if you are close to someone on the spectrum or are in a relationship with someone on the spectrum try to remember that just because YOU don't think breaking a routine is a big deal doesn't mean it doesn't mean the world to them. So unless you want to see a man in his 30s have a tantrum like a baby let me go to dunkin every morning Thanx! I do not care that it is Saturday and you want to sleep past 7:30 I need to go at a certain time!
~5H4D0W5
