Debt and Caring

WelshmansDaughter

I too have the Impact Affect Cherry. It's why I often find myself going to new places for a short visit first then I go back for what I want to go for.

I am writing this from Edinburgh as I have finally booked Christmas travel 🥳 From first thought to booking only took 2 months and 12 days but who's counting 🤣🤣🤣

I've come to see the assessment process I went through as perhaps a more of an introduction. Because they take a neuroaffirmative approach, I think it comes across as a bit one-sided. I still don't really have a clear picture of my difficulties, let alone a structure for dealing with them.
So the idea is now to work on a clearer picture. I will be completing an entirely new application for disability, this time with supporting information. Unfortunately I now have to get that supporting information 🤦‍♀️ 

PennysIntoPounds

That sounds like a good approach and plan.

Happy holiday! I love Edinburgh

Cherryfudge

Edinburgh's beautiful, have fun!

I don't know how one gets a full picture for supporting information, especially as there are bound to be coping mechanisms so things are hidden from ourselves as well as from others. It's just come to me, though, that it might be useful to start with the areas where you tend to be negative about yourself or feel criticised by others. So with me, for instance, I'm rubbish at time keeping and I don't do mornings. Nowadays I can see that the first is probably ADHD (poor perception of time flow), and the second is autism (difficulty with change, especially if it leads into situations where I'm going to have to face more challenges, whether that's getting dressed in cold weather, going onto a difficult shift or having too quiet a day - so there can be apparently contrary things happening).

I'm not sure I can blame my difficulties with Maths and Physics on neurodiversity, but you never know!  

CRANKY40

Cherryfudge said:

I'm not sure I can blame my difficulties with Maths and Physics on neurodiversity, but you never know!  

You so can. My son has dyscalculia - he can't do maths or physics either. Other fun facts are that as well as not having any concept of time passing, neither he or my niece are able to blow their noses. My son is a sensory eater (texture as well as taste and we are all hypermobile, some of us more than others. 

Cherryfudge

CRANKY40 said:

Cherryfudge said:

I'm not sure I can blame my difficulties with Maths and Physics on neurodiversity, but you never know!  

You so can. My son has dyscalculia - he can't do maths or physics either. Other fun facts are that as well as not having any concept of time passing, neither he or my niece are able to blow their noses. My son is a sensory eater (texture as well as taste and we are all hypermobile, some of us more than others. 

I don't know if I'd qualify for dyscalculia - I did start researching it once. I can do functional maths to a level where I can get by in everyday life. Physics, mind you... genuinely can't get a hold of it.

That's fascinating about people not being able to blow their noses. I can't clear my throat. It makes me gag.

I'm mobile but not hypermobile. I've retained mobility in my arthritic feet, though, because the movement in the middle joint of each big toe has compensated for the fusion of the joint between to toe and the foot. My elbows over-extend a bit, but only 5% (I had this measured by a physio). My back isn't very mobile at all, but my hips are...

savingholmes

I find it interesting that others struggle with new places and need intro visit before going back for longer. I am very like this.  

I struggle with swallowing sometimes and can feel like I am choking. A lot of my family are hyper mobile. I struggle with textures of food but not as much as DD. Time blindness is a huge issue as is sensory overload mainly due to smell and noise but brightness also often an issue. Owning my needs makes it easier to find adjustments. Making a diary which includes my struggles helped me identify patterns and then adjustments that would help.

WelshmansDaughter

Sadly for you Edinburgh lovers it was just a brief stop on my way to the airport. I did manage to meet my friend who lives there. We haven't seen each other since 2019, poor woman was at the receiving end of a lot of info dumping.
I was observing as I went along to see how I managed the airport, there are definitely pain points like security (I did have fast track) and the wait to board. I did book an extra legroom seat and that helped as I do not like to have people that close to me.
I am now back in Ireland for Christmas which will be interesting. Ahem.

I will never have a full picture Cherry so accepting that was important. There are too many variables. Something that helped was in the website SH recommended and that was breaking a task down into more than can/can't. 
Another factor I think is important is the difference between having an inability to learn versus being unable to learn because of psychological distress. I also have difficulty understanding maths and physics but was an A grade biology student. In that case it is more to do with the rules we are interpreting from the learning situation than something like dyscalculia where the shape and presentation of numbers can be distorted or absent.

Relating to time is also something I struggle with but it does have to be put in context. People were designed to process time passing using the features of the natural world like light. Not a clock. People on the social spectrum don't generally manage time well either but it is masked by the fact that they're in sync with the people around them. If you all go to a meeting together then nobody notices that it's past the agreed starting time. 

I do tend to think of these things in a different way to most people but I am (now) more aware that it is as a result of my circumstances as well as my developmental disorder. My intention is not be a lecturer, I'm just putting it the way I find it interesting.

WelshmansDaughter

This may be quite waffly as I am crashing hard. 
I've been out this morning and overloaded myself. I stopped for a rest at the bus stop and luckily a nice bus driver lady let me on even though I couldn't pay. This may be because I shaved my head yesterday and well...
It's not the right disability but I'll take it.
I was thinking about wearing the sunflower lanyard but I'm not sure how I feel about it yet, any thoughts anyone? My thinking is that other people are not that observant and it might keep them away from me.
Went to the carol service last night and tried to keep the Christmas spirit going with mulled wine which may or may not be contributing to how horrible I feel today.

Cherryfudge

WelshmansDaughter said:

Another factor I think is important is the difference between having an inability to learn versus being unable to learn because of psychological distress.

I'm finding it all very interesting: I think neurodiversity, seen from the inside, is not at all like what's seen from the outside - or is that just me?  

You are very right about the difference between inability to learn and impediment caused by psychological distress. My language learning is a prime example - I was constantly failing at school, where I was terrified of the teacher and didn't understand some explanations. Yet I recently got fantastic feedback from Duolingo based on the year's results. Mind you, Duo wouldn't recognise a negative if it hit him, and I know that part of the reason I'm doing better than whatever percentage of other people is that I just keep plodding on.

It's worth trying a sunflower lanyard, though of course not everyone will notice/understand. You would get an idea of whether it's right for you as you observe people's reactions (and your own reaction). If you don't feel comfortable, you could tuck it away.

I hope you recover quickly. Have you got a quiet afternoon planned?

PennysIntoPounds

Is shaving your head something that should be ringing alarm bells or is this just how you roll? Hope you've had a decent rest this afternoon