Problems with phones

[Warwick C]

Thats why they are where they are, they would have failed at the floor level.

It is a pity that working up from the workshop floor has gone now.
where a manager would know how to do all asects of a job.

 

[Yoshi08]

I'm still weird on the phone, those awkward silent moments and finding stuff to talk about.

 

[I am that which I am]

I did not know it was an aspie thing. I always disliked phones. The one thing that allowed me to answer when I was young was that I had a script and would just pass the phone to whomever the caller wanted to talk to. Then came the day when I had to call 911 because of a family incident and I was so anxious I hung up before they picked up, then they called back and I tried to awkwardly explain my reason for calling. That was hell. I have gotten more used to it now. I have to answer the phone in some cases but often ignore numbers I do not know. I prefer written communications since it helps me to get my thoughts down in a clearer fashion and allows for editing.

 

[rollerskate]

Wow I thought this was just a random issue for me that has no root or connection to anything else...

I hate talking on the phone with a passion. Even when it's something important and non social like making a doctor's appointment. I've screwed myself over so many times just by avoiding making or taking important phone calls. I feel so horrible and guilty about it. Like it makes me terribly irresponsible and incapable of normal adult functioning/self care. But I just panic and can't seem to bring myself to dial and talk. I avoid my voice mail too. If given an email option I always take it, if not given it I try asking if it's an option and making it happen anyway. Eventually I'll get the calls done. But it is so so so hard to get to that point I'm almost always late on doing it.

 

[Judge]

It's another one of those things to me that makes me ponder how relative it may be to mild autism. I'll never enjoy talking on the telephone. However much like being able to look people in the eye, I was eventually able to overcome what amounted to a phobia of some kind, when it came to picking up the phone. Practice? Resolve? I'm really not sure what happened for me to be able to change this issue.

Yeah, if there's an Aspie out there who has never had difficulty with phone calls in any way, I'd like to hear about it.

 

[Andrew206]

I've been able to make calls to total strangers more often, now that I'm older. I still make calls to friends. Making calls to total strangers isn't as tough now as it used to be for me. Practice has made me better.

 

[broomster]

One of my hates is speaking to people I don't know over the phone. I'd rather travel 50 miles to speak face to face - though when I do that I struggle to make eye contact... Anyone else in the same boat? As for answerphones - I detest them and never leave a message unless there is no other way...

 

[Kirsty]

Yep I'm the same. Not sure why I'm like this, though. :/

 

[stanmgk]

Same.
When I was younger, I used to be "afraid" of the phone. When no one answers to it, I'm not the one who does it.

 

[broomster]

Glad it's not just me.. Caller id is the best thing ever..

I recently had to sit a telephone interview as part of the recruitment process for a job I'm going for. I passed that stage, so I'm obviously capable of talking on the phone, but this took a lot of preparation mentally...

 

[AsheSkyler]

I was okay with phones at one time minus a little trouble understanding them because I was just beginning to have trouble with disembodied verbal communication, and then I got a job and a really bad "friend". After those two lovely incidents, my stomach knots up whenever I hear a phone ring, and I'm anywhere from grumpy to nervous. When I have to call somebody, I hope I get the voicemail so I can just leave a message and not talk to anybody. Even with phone calls that I know are harmless, I have issues. Recently, I had my first customer with my art business want to chat over the phone about random details instead of shooting emails back forth like literally all the other customers had done. Took me two hours after the phone call to calm back down, and I spent two or three hours before hand encouraging myself to make the call. He was as nice as he could be, couldn't ask for a better conversational experience, but I'm just not cut out for phone calls.

 

[clg114]

With most of the non-verbal communication issues being eliminated while on the phone, you would think talking on the phone would be easy. I have a lot of trouble knowing when it's my turn to talk while talking on the phone. I don't know why, but it makes me think I'm picking up on more non-verbal communication in face to face conversation than I thought I was.

 

[Andrew206]

I feel more comfortable talking over the phone. My Asperger's has lessened over the years.

 

[You'llPokeYourEyeOut]

I am terrible when it comes to the phone. I do not answer it unless I positively have to. Otherwise, I let it go straight to voicemail and check the message(s) later.

People always complain that I do not answer my phone. I hardly call people myself. If I do, I feel as though I have to have it planned out beforehand to prevent as many awkward silences as possible. I make a short list of things to speak about. Many times, people just want to talk and talk and talk, when all I want to do is get the call over with as quickly as possible.

 

[ThatSkyWing]

Hi there - i am new to this forum so bear with me

Does anyone else there have problems with making/receiving phone calls from people they don't know?

I can talk on the phone with friends, but anything involving phone calls to unknown people is a major problem for me. This has been a problem in jobs all my life.

I can't stand talking on the phone, I'll only answer it if it's a family member, otherwise I ignore the call. If a stranger happens to call me, well I ignore that call too. I can see myself having trouble answering calls at my future job.

 

[HarleyMama]

I hate hate hate talking on the phone. Even when I plan out what I'm going to say it's horribly uncomfortable.

 

[Kirsty]

I also hate talking on the phone. It's actually worse than talking face-to-face for some unknown reason. Will have to force myself to give my Granny a ring to say I'll be coming over for xmas. I texted my father to ask him to let her know I'm coming if he sees her, but he said it would be a bit off if he did then I just turned up. That's true...

 

[wyverary]

More often than not, if I'm at work and I hear the phone ring, I'll let it go for someone else to answer. In fact, I'm grateful for those times when I'm super busy with customers and don't have the time to answer it (the one saving grace of dealing with so many customers!).

 

[Kirsty]

More often than not, if I'm at work and I hear the phone ring, I'll let it go for someone else to answer. In fact, I'm grateful for those times when I'm super busy with customers and don't have the time to answer it (the one saving grace of dealing with so many customers!).

Lol that sounds exactly like me. I'd blatantly walk past the phone when it's ringing and pretend I'm busy until someone else answers it.

 

[I am that which I am]

More often than not, if I'm at work and I hear the phone ring, I'll let it go for someone else to answer. In fact, I'm grateful for those times when I'm super busy with customers and don't have the time to answer it (the one saving grace of dealing with so many customers!).

lol I do that too at the lab where I work. I have my gloves on and am in the middle of an experiment I cannot answer the phone. However, almost everyone does that so it is an issue our lab tech and supervisor keep telling us about. We have a comic by the phone of someone complaining that they always get the phone and a colleague answering "We have a phone?" It sometimes rings a bit too true at times and most people in our lab are introverted.