Translating Autism

I need an Autism translation tool….

So I walked past Rosie’s bedroom and commented that it needed tidying up. Instantly the rocket went up…

So I said it doesn’t need doing now, but sometime over the weekend and I’d check on Tuesday.

But Rosie missed that because she was already blowing up.

45 mins later I had to tell her it was bedtime. But she was in such a tizz that she was literally spinning on the spot whilst shouting about how stressed she was!

I finally got her to calm down enough to learn that I had interrupted her bed time routine; altered her bedtime routine and all her plans for tomorrow.

I just can’t understand why Rosie couldn’t just add ‘Tidy my bedroom’ to her mental ‘to do’ list!

Apparently instead tidying up has just moved everything else up in her plans until it’s finished first.

I explained it doesn’t need doing until Tuesday, at which point she admitted that she hadn’t heard that bit!!!

I asked how to tell her that her room needs tidying in future! Do I text? Write a note? Write it on the calendar. She blows up every time! I did suggest maybe keeping it tidy every day would probably resolve the need.

But Rosie laughed……apparently there’s no good time or way to tell her that her bedroom needed tidying! I think at that point ASD becomes teenage rebellion!!

Originally Posted on 15.7.2021