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What are your requirments/needs?

music.forlife7

music.forlife7

Well-Known Member
As usual, most people with AS like me) have special requirements that make us feel more comfortable. For example before bed every night I like to browse through my Redwall collection. My food needs to hot (not lukewarm, and not cold, except for ice cream and other dessert.) What about you?
 
- Hot salt water baths
- Foods cannot be touching or otherwise mashed together
- Minimal 'stuff' & no clutter, very clean/neat/organized surroundings
- No physical contact (hugs, shoulder pats, arm rubs, kisses etc.)
- Minimal noise
- All fabrics must be comfortable, non itchy tagless without slogans, prints or patterns
- Must have a hoodie with a functioning hood OR a classic black toque
- Prefer eating alone
-lots of alone time
 
I'm quite sure it makes me a rather unpredictable person, but I don't have a preset list of stuff I need. The one day I want no noise at all (not even "the bare minimum" is acceptable, that'll drive me nuts as well), the other day I'm more life of the party, noise, light and chaos... and lots of it. It's as my aspie mood and my hyperactive mood alternate... if I were having blackouts (and no recollection of what I did that day) I could probably even see if qualify for Dissasociative Identity Disorder to some extent I guess.

But things in general that work for me;
  • No physical contact
  • A bare minimum of light to operate (and even then; I'm inclined to wear shades)
  • No noise (and especially no sudden noises like doorbells or ringtones on phones)
  • Temperature comfy enough for me to not think about the phenomena temperature. This varies greatly per... I could say day, but I found it alternating within the hour
  • Something to put my mind on/at. I need a goal, a focus... or just simply put, something to do that I care about... and that last part is important. Doing stuff I don't care about makes my mind wander off and might eventually end up in a meltdown.
  • Clothes... actually like temperature, something I don't have the idea that I'm wearing it. I don't mind tags as much as some people do (though writing it now, I feel it itching my back, hah).
  • A bare minimum of human contact in general. I'm fine with not communicating for a few days with anyone whatsoever. This includes not talking to my girlfriend or parents.
  • A way to "escape", and better even, a way to control a handful of factors. While I can enjoy music, I cannot stand it if I cannot control volume (which I might change multiple times over the course of a song), nor if I cannot skip to the next song. Similarly, I want to be informed of what's going on around me. If someone drops someone, most of the time I can pinpoint where it came from, but if I can't it drives me nuts.
  • Talking about music; I will only play music on my ipod that I listened to before when at home. I crank up the volume rather high to drown out sounds, but I don't want to end up with songs and sections that annoy me or freak me out. It's probably quite often a dynamics thing, but I want to know what I'm using to drown out sounds of my surroundings and not be caught of guard with something "new".
  • While I can handle change rather well, I cannot deal with abrupt change on the spot. There's a reason why I leave on time X for my train to get somewhere at time Y. I look up my schedule. Bus, please do not take a detour. I will say that I usually look routes and all up extensively so I wont end up lost (which I haven't luckily).
  • The only mess that works for me, is MY mess. I'm a rather messy person, but ask me where something is and I can tell you where it is, since when it is there, and why it is there. And maybe even where it was before.
  • Showers in near dark. Not neccesarily to get clean, but just to zone out a bit.
  • Lots of alone time... and how unrealistic that might be, I sometimes feel that 24 hours a day do not cut it. For every minute of interaction with something, I need 2 minutes of alone time back.
  • Free of structure. That might be a big non-aspie thing on the list. But I cannot, wait, let me emphasize it... CANNOT, deal with structure. Nor time... on a regular basis. I'm fine with taking the train, but in a 10 minute drive, I probably watched schedules and times about 50 times, to see if it's on time... I tend to get OCD-ish when I have to deal with schedules.
  • Be able to communicate how I like to. If I prefer to use non-verbal communication, so be it. Think it has to do with feeling comfy with it as well. For some silly reason I speak english with my girlfriend... and we're both native dutch speakers. I haven't really had the entire deal with non-verbal language in general, though I keep paper and pencil around if I have meetings with the job agency (as well as a extensive pile of self-written (typed) documentation, trains of thought and whatnot). I do have a thing for using a language I feel most comfy with at that moment.
  • I need subtitles for pretty much anything I watch. I don't blame my hearing, since the last time I got it checked up, it was fine, but I prefer to read what is being said in, for instance, a movie. I memorize it way better. I don't pick up on auditory cues that easily.


There's a few more, but I think this'll do for now.
 
Lots of alone time
Furry pets
My comfort foods: pasta, chocolate, breads and cheese
Music, even if there isn't any, it's always in my head. Repetitive, can't control which ones :-)
Hot baths every night ~ 1-1/2 hours
Naps.
 
my laptop, internet access to chat with my online friends, my samsung galaxy tablet, ear buds, and my mp3 player. :) other than that im not too high maintenance. i like having foods i like around me, my morning peets coffee i love peets coffee.
 
A nice warm-to-hot shower in the morning.
Decongestant.
MP3 player at work.
At least one bottle of Gatorade per day.
My laptop and net access.
Slippers at home.
Frequent doses of pasta.
Strawberry Jell-O.
 
Basically I just like to have a routine. My day has a routine and every activity which I carry out has a routine as well (and I really struggle with new or uncommon activities which don't yet have a routine to them). I don't like it when those routines are disrupted and in particular I appreciate it when people do something to ensure that the routines are kept (and annoyed when they don't). I like to know what's coming as well: haircuts (which I absolutely hate by the way) need to be warned of at least a week in advance and I always need to know what meal I'm having, for example. Other than that I would say that I don't like being disrupted when I'm working otherwise I struggle to concentrate.
 
Lots of time alone
YouTube videos late at night
AspieCentral
Mugs of tea
Art (drawing, painting, making things)
Playing the guitar
Coffee shops
Keeping my home clean and tidy
Nice warm shower everyday
Getting at least 8 hours sleep
Listening to music
Bed socks
Hugs
 
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Right now I'd settle for being able to draw without getting poked or harassed every few minutes or being able to wake up in the mornings because I want to and not because the TV woke me up.
 
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