Question about therapy?

[tobers]

Hey y'all, new to the forum. Have any of you used any therapies for ASD that you have found super helpful? Trying to find which one has worked the best and maybe try it out.

 

[SusanLR]

The one that has worked best for me was a type of exposure therapy to do at least one day per week.
Drive alone and go to somewhere there were a lot of people around me.
Restaurants, theatres, malls, department stores.
Or treat myself to nature, quiet, by a lake or wooded park, but, be sure it was far enough away from my comfort zone and drive there alone.

This started getting me used to being in crowded areas, even if I didn't try to socialise.
It felt very uncomfortable for quite a while.
I felt like people knew I was somehow different just
from watching my actions.
That may have just been my anxiety telling me this.
Now I am getting used to it and actually like shopping or going to a small restaurant alone occasionally.

I love being out in nature, but, I've never liked driving very far alone. Don't think I will ever feel less anxiety driving. Especially amongst a lot of traffic or on highways and bridges.