Autistic shutdowns and becoming non verbal

hawkbanana81

How do others cope with autistic shutdowns. They happen to me a lot and at those times I become non verbal. One time this happened in A&E and the dr became impatient because I wasn’t answering him because I couldn’t. I’m alone, with no support or help of any sort. How do I get across that I can’t speak and why in situations? I’m also worried this could happen at work as I need to be able to communicate as I’m a health care assistant on a busy surgical ward. Increasingly, I’m finding myself in this situation and can’t communicate my needs.

Albus_Scope

Hi @hawkbanana81, sorry to see no one has been able to offer any advice.  This can sometimes happen in a busy community like ours.  I just wanted to reach out and see how you were doing?  Hopefully me commenting will let others see the post and offer some advice.

I'm still learning about my autism, but I've found I can keep shutdowns at bay by making sure I have time in an evening (or morning) to really process the day.  Shutdowns often happen when there's too much stimulation and if you've managed to get rid of that "brain backlog" that can go a long way to helping keep calm.   If you find yourself struggling to communicate, then just take your time and pick your words slowly, I found rushing does me no favours at all.  

surfygoose

When I’m non-verbal I type, use makaton or symbols. Makaton is probably only good if you are around someone who understands but typing or using pictures in your phone could work when you are around anyone.

bookrabbit

I can see that in a busy environment like that it would be a huge problem for it to happen at a critical moment. I would certainly worry about it too.
It happens to me on occasion and to my son more frequently and I certainly find it frustrating from the outside when it happens to him when something important needs to be done so I can imagine the doctor's reaction. I know to be supportive with my son when it happens and hide my frustration and I think you need to make sure that the people you work with understand so that they can make adjustments to their expectations of you if it arises.

Pan

I struggle with the same thing and want to learn sign language for that reason, for situations off the job. I managed to do my Starbucks order last year by typing it on my phone and the signed thank you to the cashier and she was very sweet. There is also apps for your phone specifically for non-verbal autistic people, where you press a button and it will say a simple word "Please, Want, Good Morning" but I think those cost money. For your job I think your best bet is to talk to it with your boss, if you genuinely worry its gonna happen a lot, I know it is scary but its probably gonna be worse if it happens a lot and nobody knows whats going on. Its hard to judge what to recommend for a rare occurrence but then everyone has bad days so it might be easier to explain it with a spell of stress? 

gogigi

Hi im sorry to hear that and i just felt i needed to reply as i have this exact same problem.

for your job i think u can consider looking into the access to work scheme (https://www.scope.org.uk/advice-and-support/access-to-work-grant-scheme/#Examples-of-what-Access-to-Work-might-fund-click ) and maybe see if you can arrange to have one single point of contact if you have any worries. Personally i find it hard to identify and communicate my needs anyways but it helps a lot when u know theres one person u know u can talk to. Maybe you can set up weekly or biweekly meetings with that person.i don’t know what the correct term is for this person: mentor, support worker, coach? But nonetheless it’s an idea.  I havent applied for access to work but i just know it exists dont know how good it is but at least i want u to know thats an option❤️

Now regarding hospital appointments: 

This is what i do:
-always keep a notebook with me with a pen and sometimes i can write things down it helps!

-i wear a sunflower lanyard i noticed more patience from doctors 

here are more ideas i haven’t adopted yet but u may find useful

-on the national autistic society they created something called a health passport which ‘helps you communicate your needs’ (https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/physical-health/my-health-passport)  

-Search the name of your hospital + autism. Sometimes hospitals have their own guidance, their own health passport template, someone to support you theoughout the visit etc… 


sorry if this seems overwhelming (it is to me lol) but i don’t have a definitive answer  but honestly the lanyard and writing things down saved me… i think the other things will help me too i just didnt do them yet.

good luck!❤️❤️