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daily chores

I

Ihaveaspergers

Active Member
Do we aspies really have more difficulty with daily chores or is it just that we are not really that interested in doing our daily chores?
For me I guess it is because I don't want to do it. It is not really an asperger issue in itself as long as I get to do it in my own personal way.
 
I have difficulty with doing chores, and i am not good at it. I am usually tired and don't know where to start with cleaning i also get distracted a lot. I have to make lists constantly.
 
I believe that daily chores would fall under the umbrella of "executive functioning". In this example, being able to plan and finish a series of activities during your day. Guilty of poor executive functioning. I am sitting here in front of a computer instead of going to the gym, like I had planned,...and now I don't have time to go to the gym because I have to teach a class in an hour. :D;)
 
Neonatal RRT said:
I believe that daily chores would fall under the umbrella of "executive functioning". In this example, being able to plan and finish a series of activities during your day. Guilty of poor executive functioning. I am sitting here in front of a computer instead of going to the gym, like I had planned,...and now I don't have time to go to the gym because I have to teach a class in an hour. :D;)
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well yes...but playing a musical instrument also require executive functioning and aspies are said to be good at being musicians. So I don't buy into the executive functioning issue.
 
yes, it's part of picture. really got stuck into stuff this week, cleaned the car, vacuumed the house, got my drivers license changed for a different state.... lifts you out of sloth/depression to actually get stuff done.
 
I think both. It's hard to see things others see and then we can have delays and it can be so frustrating.
 
OkRad said:
I think both. It's hard to see things others see and then we can have delays and it can be so frustrating.
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yes it's true but it is very easy to say that you don't do your daily chores just because of a diagnosis. No person has ever experienced that daily chores are easy. If you don't want to do something you say that you have a diagnosis instead of dealing with the problem.
I understand if some people refuse to vacuum-clean due to sensory issue but not if they just don't do it because it requires some energy. If you really have difficulties then it is another issue but too many aspies use the diagnosis not do stuff they actually can do.
If one can play the piano one should be able to do some daily chores, right? Or are daily chores very different from playing the piano? Different parts of the brains are used? Music seem very different from daily chores.
 
Ihaveaspergers said:
not enough said.
Why would playing the piano be easy but doing daily chores extremely difficult?
Playing the piano has nothing to do with executive functioning, right?
It can be difficult for me to play the piano if I don't get to learn how to do it in my way. I think it is the same with daily chores.
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I am not sure if we are talking past each other here. I am not sure if learning to play music has anything to do with the definition of executive functioning as it pertains to autism,...that is, if we were to use the description as written per Executive Functioning | Autism Speaks .

If we were to say that planning and executing chores in a timely manner was difficult,...then absolutely, yes, this has everything to do with executive functioning.

If you are suggesting that the difficulty lies in actually learning how to do the chores and you are just sloppy and terrible at it,...making the bed, cleaning the kitchen, etc....that is more of a learning difficulty.

If you are suggesting that someone has given you specific instructions to you on how to do the chores,...and you just cannot wrap your brain around "doing the procedure", get tied up in the details,...and/or would stubbornly rather do it your own way,...that may be more related to executive functioning.

If you are suggesting that you find learning music rather easy,...perhaps even being self-taught,...that falls under some degree of "giftedness". Usually something like this may even fall under a "special interest" that you have an ability to focus upon.

:)
 
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Neonatal RRT said:
talking past each other here
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maybe

Neonatal RRT said:
If you are suggesting that the difficulty lies in actually learning how to do the chores and you are just sloppy and terrible at it,...making the bed, cleaning the kitchen, etc....that is more of a learning difficulty.
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not a learning difficulty for me. more like a special way of learning.
I hate doing too much at the same time. I need easier task. I don't really like planning.


Neonatal RRT said:
If you are suggesting that someone has given you specific instructions to you on how to do the chores,
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they give instructions that work for them and not me.


Neonatal RRT said:
If you are suggesting that you find learning music rather easy
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music isn't exactly easy for me. It's just that I have never heard anyone say that aspies have difficulties playing music. My point was that issues with executive functioning should also appear in music playing. If aspies have difficulties with automatization then how can some aspies be really good at music or sports?
I don't see how daily chores can be more difficult than music. For some music savant perhaps but not for the rest of us.
I am tired of the: daily chores are difficult for aspies!
It depends on the person. Some have difficulties but not everyone.

my thinking is that if daily chores are difficult then music, sport or even have a job must be extremely difficult. It seems that many people can even have a very difficult occupation but find vacuum-cleaning extremely difficult.
Is this asperger's in a nutshell? Is this your experience? Do you really need to plan a lot when vacuum-cleaning? What it is that is the difficulty.
For me it is the fact that I have to do too much and don't really know where to start. This issue is also found everywhere for me, ie not just in daily chores.
 
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Ihaveaspergers said:
yes it's true but it is very easy to say that you don't do your daily chores just because of a diagnosis. No person has ever experienced that daily chores are easy. If you don't want to do something you say that you have a diagnosis instead of dealing with the problem.
I understand if some people refuse to vacuum-clean due to sensory issue but not if they just don't do it because it requires some energy. If you really have difficulties then it is another issue but too many aspies use the diagnosis not do stuff they actually can do.
If one can play the piano one should be able to do some daily chores, right? Or are daily chores very different from playing the piano? Different parts of the brains are used? Music seem very different from daily chores.
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That is funny you mentioned vacuuming. I have bad sensory issues and I like to vacuum :) I use ear plugs. My trouble with chores is I don't see it. I don't see what people see and they get mad at me for not seeing it. But when I see it, I do a great job. I like to clean and I like laundry. But it's very hard for me to do things the way "They Should Be Done" so people just get poed.
 
I get extremely bored doing chores. Less so as an older adult but as a kid, they drove me nuts. Always something I'd rather be doing and most chores were dull, repetitive, and IMHO unproductive. I considered homework to be a "chore." I'm not sure if it is the Asperger's coming out or more a matter of being saturated with ADD.
 
OkRad said:
That is funny you mentioned vacuuming. I have bad sensory issues and I like to vacuum :) I use ear plugs. My trouble with chores is I don't see it. I don't see what people see and they get mad at me for not seeing it. But when I see it, I do a great job. I like to clean and I like laundry. But it's very hard for me to do things the way "They Should Be Done" so people just get poed.
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Very interesting.
 
I can't do daily chores. I feel too faint to as I even feel faint laying down for hours without moving. I have difficulty walking always due to dizziness and nausea. I feel like I'm going to faint if I stand up for a while and sometimes I do. I've always struggled with them due to having low muscle tone-it's not that I didn't want to do them, it's that I was physically incompetent. However lately due to chronic pain by itself my body will feel like it's been run over by a train or something so I need time to adapt after I wake up because it extremely hurts and I never feel relief since I also can have shortness of breath due to costochondritis.

If I have to move and I don't feel well enough to, I go into autopilot which is a semi panic mode where I literally force myself to move or an alter personality takes over since they can move my form from my mind space. Most times I'm in so much pain I don't know how I still exist.
 
Both. My house is a mess, there's dust everywhere. I don't enjoy doing them and find it hard to motivate myself to do them. I procrastinate and just don't get round to it. I have a lot of work at the moment, I get very tired and in the precious little free time I have, I want to relax and do something that I want to do, not spend that time on chores. I have Sunday off and I do... nothing. Compounded by the fact that I live with a person who really doesn't care about chores and rarely does them, I resent the fact that it's left to me to do them when I'm the one who is working right now.
 
Ihaveaspergers said:
maybe
1. more like a special way of learning.
2. I hate doing too much at the same time.
3. I don't really like planning.
4. they give instructions that work for them and not me.
5. I don't see how daily chores can be more difficult than music.
6. For me it is the fact that I have to do too much and don't really know where to start. This issue is also found everywhere for me, ie not just in daily chores.
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I see two things here in those highlighted statements,...a stereotypical autism-related executive functioning issue with regards to doing chores. The being talented at music and sports may be another separate issue,...which I would suggest has nothing to do with being autistic or neurotypical, but rather aptitudes, interest, and focus,...and would vary greatly amongst both populations.
 
For me, "I don't like to do chores" is the same as "chores drain me". Diagnosis or not, it's a matter of fact. But at the same time, a clean space has a huge impact on my overall wellbeing. So, it's less about finding the cause these days and more about finding a time and a way to do chores that won't drain all of my energy.

Lately it's "No chores after 6pm. No classes, study, or other draining tasks after 6pm, either."

Also, speaking of music, chores seem to go a lot smoother if I put on some great music. Anyone else have this response to a good playlist while doing chores?

They're not that fun, but it almost feels like the house breathes easier when it's clean and tidy.
 
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