I got some good quality noise cancelling headphones 12 months ago and thought they were great. Since doing more reading about ASD and ADHD, I’ve come to understand I have some sensory issues.

I bought some Loop earplugs a few weeks ago after reading about them in other ASD threads and I love wearing them when driving, shopping or in doctor’s waiting rooms. I feel much less anxious and tense.

After doing some more reading and reflection, I think that a weighted blanket might be helpful and so I ordered one.

I’ve been using softer, less jarring alarms and ringtones for years and started using the Smiling Mind phone app recently which has been helpful.

I was wondering if there are any assistive tools/devices/tips that any other ASD people have found that have had a major impact on their lives that they might like that share?

    • claraEnglish
      12·
      10 months ago

      yeah it’s pretty messy

      there was an original condition called “autism” which referred to the stereotypical, ““low functioning”” case where someone has intellectual disabilities and the rest

      then a ““high functioning”” variant was labelled, where the intellectual disability was missing, called “asperger’s syndrome”

      then more and more inbetween cases started being labelled like rett syndrome, CDD, PDD-NOS, and so they had to say “fuck it, it’s all “autism spectrum disorder” now”

      over time, “autism” has become shorthand for ASD. to avoid confusion, the OG autism sometimes gets described as “classic autism”

      honestly it’s all a big mess

      • technomad@slrpnk.netEnglish
        4·
        10 months ago

        You’re right, that is a huge mess for something that should naturally have a more accurate naming convention. It’s understandable why people with it would want to avoid labels about it for some of those reasons as well or be more specific about the labels even. It’s also probably a big reason more people aren’t honest about having it or even why people probably aren’t diagnosed more often and sooner.

        Damn.

        Thanks for explaining.

    • finkrat@lemmy.worldEnglish
      4·
      10 months ago

      They’re the same, ASD serves as the acronym for Autism Spectrum Disorder, Autism is Autism Spectrum Disorder, ASD is useful for short form purposes or specifying it from a medical perspective but they’re interchangeable.