Sensing the City by Sandra Beale-Ellis

Author:Sandra Beale-Ellis
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781784501150
Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers
Published: 2017-08-09T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 9

PEOPLE MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Autistic individuals are all very different; for some, eating out might be absolutely fine, whereas for others there will be a whole host of stressors, most of which I have discussed in previous chapters.

For me, the experience is usually dependent on other people: the person or people I am dining with, who else might be in the restaurant or café, and even the staff to some degree.

If the person I am with is someone I am close to – a friend or family member – then the experience will usually go well enough. I have already discussed that dinner with my husband may be difficult in noisy eateries, where it can be difficult to hear each other, and other stressors may affect our sensory and eating experience – bright lights for one. Any bad eating experience we have had is usually because of other people: people on the next table speaking or laughing loudly, a baby screaming as he waits to be fed, a child running around a restaurant noisily without adult supervision.

There is always a danger in restaurants of large parties of people coming in or the noise levels increasing quickly. This can alter the meal experience in seconds, and I try to avoid popular ‘party venues’ – usually those where they can easily set up large tables, or where food is relatively inexpensive and has a huge variety. For this reason, in cities you might visit often, I would suggest knowledge of quiet places to go to as well as noise-cancelling headphones for emergency use. Of course, if you are with someone else, this is more difficult to resolve and the only option may be to leave. I have been known to use speedy meditation exercises or repeat a short mantra, both of which can be done pretty much anywhere and can quickly calm anxieties. Stepping into the unknown is relatively safe as long as you have a backup plan.

Many autistic individuals do not like to eat with unfamiliar people. I will confess business dining is not an activity I enjoy, probably due to social reasons more than sensory, but autistic all the same. I find that I can get very anxious, and it is the increased anxiety which causes sensory challenges; the more anxious I get, the hotter I become, for example, and body temperature extremes are very common in autists, as you now know. With a high body temperature, eating a hot meal then becomes so uncomfortable that other quirks – for example, rocking or swaying – may become noticeable. With this then comes embarrassment and the whole situation can quickly become out of hand, potentially causing a meltdown with tears or an angry outburst.

Some time ago, this happened to my husband while we were seated at a dining table with people we did not know at a charity function. A conversation was making him uncomfortable to the point that his face became very red and his anxieties were clearly about to ‘burst out loud’.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.