#once again disclaimer. if this doesnt fit ur experience it isnt abt u! wild! i know!

[spectrumgarden]

You dont take the bus because its loud, so you get noise cancelling headphones or ear defenders and its okay now. I cant take the bus because I get overwhelmed trying to understand the timetables and stops and having people brush against me and dont know what to do when a single thing goes wrong without someone helping, only way it works (outside of simple one way routes that were practiced with me for years) is someone being there by my side at all times start to finish.

You dont like to go shopping because its overstimulating. I cant make it to the store without someone driving me there, accompanying me on the bus, walking with me inside, helping me get what I need, helping me pay, helping me back home.

You struggle to shower, so you set up a reminder system and you use rewards and make it fun by playing music or something and now you shower like twice a week reliably with very rare exceptions. If I try showering by myself I often end up catatonic on the floor, or hitting my head against the wall, ... and still only do it once every 7-12 days. Reminders dont work. Music doesnt work. Rewards dont work. The only thing that actually gets me to shower safely and enough is someone verbal prompting on good days and some hand on help for bad days. Same with brushing my teeth.

You struggle to work because its exhausting to mask. I wont get hired because I cant make it there without someone taking me and picking me up because taking the bus doesnt work and I cant drive, I can't speak to them without AAC and I dont understand what they say to me and I elope and I injure myself and I freeze and I can't stop myself from making noises and rocking and shaking my hands and pacing and jumping. my body refuses to make many (gross) motor skill movements right and I break stuff, walk into stuff, ... All I have is work at a sheltered workshop for like 1€ an hour.

Etcetc. Driving. Getting dressed. Going to a doctor. ... and yet you want to tell me is the same autism? That support needs labels dont matter? When this is my every every day?