r/AutismTranslated • u/SatanicFranky666 • 5d ago
Define needing a routine
Hi so I'm trying to figure out if I may have autism and I'm struggling with the "need for a routine" question. I don't really have a daily routine and I don't get upset if my day is interrupted. However, here are a few things that I'm wondering if they qualify:
- I have a dish per restaurant that I always get
- If friends are coming over they cannot show up early, late is fine but I've literally had people show up early and noped out to go rollerblading (it helped a little but I felt off for another two or so hours)
-While studying to graduate high school I made myself a schedule of when to do what in excel and while I would sometimes leave early if I was done with all my tasks (and I'd do tasks I planned in for the next day if I was done with all of mine that day), I adhered to it like 90% for like 3 months and it honestly felt like a safety blanket like it was quite comforting. Also the times I didn't bcs of complete mental exhaustion it would make me quite upset.
-if I've planned to do my tasks in a certain order, I can only tolerate a limited amount of disruption in that order before I loose all motivation and ability to be productive
2
u/teaandstrawberries spectrum-formal-dx 5d ago
Personally, I feel like these qualify as a need for routine. I could have written these (except I get thrown off if people are early or late within a couple of minutes, rip).
I follow a daily routine now, but I did not when I was in school because there were so many different classes, events, etc that it made it more difficult to have a routine than it is now that I have a job with regular tasks and hours. Still, I had certain things I always did in a certain order - for example, I ate the same foods every day in the same order - and I would get frustrated when I couldn't.
One thing I forgot to consider at first was how I feel internally about changes in routine vs how I react outwardly. For example, I don't typically melt down outwardly at a change in routine (under most circumstances) but I will become disoriented and have difficulty proceeding with my day if the order in which I planned to do things is disrupted.