This past week I reached another milestone in my quest to control my Autism. I went to a major sporting event without having any sensory interference.
Growing up before receiving an official diagnosis I shied away from places that had massive crowds and noise. A simple trip to the local store use to be like a prison sentence for me. Most people will not understand this but everything in my surrounding environment felt like a giant waterfall of obnoxious noise, sights, and scents. I mentally could not process the stimuli at the rate it was coming towards me. As I result I almost always shut down, or covered my ears and started crying.
I must admit that at first I was afraid I may have made an impulsive decision which I would end up regretting. When I recieved the invitation I immediately said “YES” with out any consideration to where the event was. It was only after I gave a response that I sat down hours later to evaluate what I had just agreed to.
On the day of the event I was feeling excited and anxious at the same time. I wanted to experience something new without drawing any negative attention to myself. I also did not have a positive mind frame at first because when I got to the arena it was already packed and in my head I said ” OH CRAP! This is going to be a total disaster!” Much to my surprise once I found my seat next to my cousin I focused only on the game in front of me and not on the booming cheers that were going on everywhere. I could not believe how many hours had past because before I knew it I had to leave and go home.
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Autistic Female
Autistic Female's Blog 