By Daniel M. Jones aka The Aspie World
When we think about autism we often think about the issues ausitic people have in school and work, and even in social situations.
However one of the biggest things forgotten about is usually the day to day daily tasks that austic individuals find difficult as navigating the world can be a scary and challenging task,
It is sometimes the most difficult task in the world to stay motivated and stay on task when you are on the spectrum and especially if you have ADHD also.
I love hacking my environment to make it more autism friendly and I also help other companies do the same for working environments too.
Whatever environment you spend most time in, it needs to be autism friendly and autism accommodating, kind of like if you were a wheelchair user you'd need ramp access.
So, let’s get prepped and ready to learn how to hack your way to an easier life on the spectrum.
I have laid out some simple but impactful productivity hacks for autism to keep you motivated, productive and sensory safe!
Each one of these hacks has an explanation of why you need to use this specific hack and also why these hacks work.
Most of these are simple and easy to do, but some i mention using certain products so bare that in mind when reading these.
I have so many more but starting you off with 7 of the most helpful ones will set you on a journey of self awesomeness to hack your environment to make life more autism friendly.
Proprioception
Lots of autistic people have issues with sensory processing disorder (SPD). This can have massive impacts on the way that they can operate and navigate their day to day lives.
I have issues with opening a door to let myself through it, and also knowing distance, like how far away a table is to place a mug down.
These are all part of SPD and also can be helped a little by activating proprioception or deep muscle proprioception.
Ausitic people may be overly or underlie sensitive to things like spatial awareness etc linked to the fact they have SPD.
By activating some muscle work and getting proprioception working you can actually help lower some of the issue caused by SPD.
Using a small muscle work out of tension can create a more aware sense of awareness that will create a less impactful sensory processing environment for you.
Do this by doing simple proprioception exercises like, wall press ups, moving light objects like a dining chair or stack of books.
They may seem like pointless exercises but these will really make a difference, also a pro tip is to top up every 2 hours with one of those little activities to keep the proprioception working.
Soundsory
Soundsory is a headphone based skill development therapy that works on the fine, gross, and visual-motor skills in children leading to enhancements in handwriting and drawing, balance and posture, hand-eye coordination, and sports skills.
This is a piece of technology that I would say is adaptive wear, however it has awesome results and is worth looking at.
There are lots of exercises on their website to do along with the actual earphones that I found useful.
Sensory Room / Corner
Having a dedicated space in your home or room where you can create a sensory corner with lights and comfy pillows etc, will help you escape the busy over sensory world and help you stay calm.
I know not everyone can dedicate an entire room to this idea, but even if it is creating a den or corer of the room that you can just block out the world for just a few minuets a day will really make a difference in the way your brain as an ausitic person responds and reacts to the world around you. Top Tip: Try work sensory time out into your daily routine, like 15 or 20 mins a day to just really get some sensory down time in.
Headphones / Sunglasses
Lots of people use headphones and or sunglasses to help filter out some of the main causes of sensory overload in autistic individuals.
This can be done by simply just warning headphones to block some of the noise out and use sunglasses to filter bright lights.
Headphones can provide a good way to help filter out some unwanted noise and audio from the environment around you.
You could however do one step further and use noise canceling headphones and these are fantastic to create instant silence for that instant escape from noise overload.
Sunglasses can provide a safe haven from bright lights and or flickering lights. These lights can be super problematic and create a sensory overload.
I would suggest investing in good quality lenses as cheaper sunglasses won’t filter as much light.
Set A Timer
The lack of motivation to do something productive is all too familiar for autistic people, especially those of us who are ADHD as well.
This is because we are always chasing dopamine and this comes from the ability to do something more fun as fun things create dopamine. So a hack to create something fun out of a task is to have timer.
If you have tasks you need to do, try set a timer for the tasks so you know that you can do fun things after the timers is up!
Also! The timer is almost like a game play that you have to do the task in that amount of time and you can try to pace yourself accordingly and make the tasks a little more fun!
Lists
Autistic individuals love lists. I for one am a list hoarder, no like literally i have some many list making apps, that I make lists of lists.
Because autistic people like to visually see things in a linear format, (thinking back to lining up toys and toy cars etc), making lists is like the adult way of doing that… kinda.
My advice is to create lists of all the things you need to do and tasks to complete, and have them visible on your desk, wall or even the background of you phone or tablet to prompt you to stay productive. A plan keeps you on track!
Another placement of your lists would be on a calendar that you hang on your wall. This way the items on your to do lists etc will be time and date specific as you have added them to an up to date physical calendar.
I personally use a digital calendar and have my lists within the days on there.
Regular Sensory Breaks
One thing that autsitc people do best is not take enough time to decompress and regulate themselves.
This comes from the fact that the autsitic brain is constantly seeking more and more info along with big dolps of dopamine.
It’s like your mind is on a treadmill distracted by shiny lights and forgets that it is going to get tired and burnt out.
This type of burn out then causes meltdowns and lots of mental health issues, however fear not as there are ways to help this kind of thing be avoided!
Taking regular sensory breaks is a fantastic way to stop overloads happening for autistic people.
Overloads happen when you have too many demands on your mental capacity, and with autism this happens when there are too many sensory inputs building up.
Taking short but regular time out breaks from whatever you are doing will help reset your sensory input.
What is a sensory short break? Simply, it is taking time out of your day to sit in a quiet room, or less noisy room to just breathe, be in the moment and have a short break from the hustle and bustle of noise and chatter.
I used to go into my car at lunch time when i was working in an office and listen to a book on my iphone for an hour or even just lay back in my chair and relax for that hour.
It is kinda like a mini vacation for your mind, and it helps SO MUCH!!