After mum brought am home in a taxi tonight,am was thinking of some of the top hates that am experience,when out of the home,and yes,taxi is one of them.
So here's a a small selection of a very long list!
*Taxis.
-These are the main form of travel am use,besides car [and walking],but it is a battle with the drivers of them because they do not understand severe sensory [in this case,hearing] problems and the need to have the radio turned off,despite family or staff telling them am have autism and cant cope with the radio [music/talking radio,not the radio they use to contact other drivers] being on in a car.
Some of them say 'cant she put those head phones on',they mean the ear defenders am have- which am wearing at the time,so staff say am wearing them,then they say,'well cant she put ear plugs in',well being the pyschics that they seem to be,am already wearing them,and their radio is still making am meltdown.
It can take a lot of arguing from staff and their car getting head banged before they switch it off,am should just get another taxi instead as they dont deserve the money.
*Cues/ques [not sure how to spell it]
-Who exactly would like them.
For an autist,these can be extremely challenging in many ways,with cues in different places being worse than others.
One of the worst types of cues,is the type at post offices,as if the place isn't torturing enough,the cues are forced into line by barriers so are unable to get out until get to the front.
There is already enough overload in the place,but add the noise from those in front,and those behind and it is unbearable.
The last time am ever went in one am ended up in meltdown as some screaming things had joined the back and there was a shouting lady at the front,am barged through the whole cue in front,the only reason am had to go in one is because am not allowed to be left on own and had to go in with staff,it was to pay a care bill,it is partly thanks to the inaccessibility of post offices that am have the huge debt to the council as they wouldnt take the payment any other way,the post office is disability friendly when it comes to physical needs,but not others,maybe it's time to get the DDA at them [and the council].
*Communicating with shop assistants.
When am went to get a new laptop earlier this year at PC world,as soon as the assistant realised am was NV,she said everything to the staff who was with am,and she knows nothing about computers,am was using PDA to ask if they had the toshiba equium two gig ram deal laptop left,and as soon as the staff said it to the lady,she kept trying to sell some crap norton 360 software and windows office software.
Am wrote out on the PDA,no...use AVG free and open office,and she then said that they were both unsuitable for use with vista and they dont work-am had to tell her-no they weren't, they were installed on dads vista pc and they were going fine,but she kept trying to force that other laggy crap.
She kept saying to the staff with am, 'tell her....' FFS,when did am become deaf? am can hear every bit of crap she is saying.
She then took the staff to the side,and said 'she needs this...',and the stupid woman had added it onto the bill,the staff with am said she thought she was giving it for free as part of the deal.
it was took back the next day and a complaint was made,so they gave a free months of insurance [am forced to use computer insurance by home managers due to a habit of laptops getting in the way of meltdowns].
Shop assistants are not all bad,there are some really nice ones,but of the bad ones,they need to learn- not to force themselves on customers,dont assume all customers are idiots about whatever it is they are buying,dont keep following them and bothering them and dont treat disabled customers who have support staff like they're invisible [eg,showing things to staff instead of buyer].
*Feeling like are cursed.
-Wherever am go outside,something that sets am off-always happens,it doesn't happen before,it doesn't happen after,it always happens just as am next to it.
For example,car alarm going off,house alarm going off,lawn mower/leaf blower/other tools starting up,the beeping noise of things reversing [thats what staff said it is],building work going on,a plane going over,a dog barking,those big drills to get up concrete [staff said theyre called jack hammers?] a child screaming,a teenage girl doing.....those teenage girl noises..and so on..they all start up just as am go past,am really do think am cursed because it could happen at any time but it happens at that exact moment am go past.
*Doctors appointments.
-Especially as they are now mostly big super health centres,they are extremely overloading and am always used to leave there in a post meltdown state.
Am have a very supportive GP which is good and she will come out and see am for appointments,which is usually reserved for emergency appointments,so the only time am have had to go there anymore is to pick up the paper thing for emergency supply of painkillers.
They are making doctors surgeries more and more autistic unfriendly by making them into these huge health centres,with screeching beeping noises coming from those electronic boards to wake up whoever has gone to sleep because of the long time they've been waiting for their appointment,the screeching children,echoeing of the building,whistling,all the noises from everything grouping together and attacking,waiting too long for appointment,and depending on the GP-not being explained to slowly and clearly enough or given enough time to let things process etc,they were better when they were small doctors surgeries with hardly anything in them.
*Road works.
-Am hate road works for a few reasons,not only for their torturing noise,but also for their routine disrupting abilities.
They can completely change the way the traffic goes,when have always gone that way,it is a major set off for am especially at the moment-there are a lot of them where am live as they are rebuilding the area.
There was no warning they were going to happen either,and are supposed to be here for a while.
Not good.
*Shops that play music.
-There is enough overload in them without adding to it.
*Places that ban wearing hoods.
-Am can understand they are trying to keep out the bad kids who try to hide their faces from camera,by banning hoods,but am wore these for years as extra protection over headphones,ear plugs and ear defs. and was suddenly dived on by a pack of red coats at the trafford centre,who treated am like a criminal,and demanded that am removed the hood there and then or would be restrained marched out of there by them.
Sister explained the disability side to wearing of the hood but they werent interested,and just as am was removing hood,a few muslim ladies wearing the entire islamic dress which only has a slit to see through [don't know what it is called] had walked past and were allowed to carry on.
Why is it perfectly ok to wear the full islamic dress at the trafford centre,but not ok to wear a hood over the ear defenders for disability reasons when face was on show at all times?
Again,it's another thing am should have got the DDA at,bastards.
So here's a a small selection of a very long list!
*Taxis.
-These are the main form of travel am use,besides car [and walking],but it is a battle with the drivers of them because they do not understand severe sensory [in this case,hearing] problems and the need to have the radio turned off,despite family or staff telling them am have autism and cant cope with the radio [music/talking radio,not the radio they use to contact other drivers] being on in a car.
Some of them say 'cant she put those head phones on',they mean the ear defenders am have- which am wearing at the time,so staff say am wearing them,then they say,'well cant she put ear plugs in',well being the pyschics that they seem to be,am already wearing them,and their radio is still making am meltdown.
It can take a lot of arguing from staff and their car getting head banged before they switch it off,am should just get another taxi instead as they dont deserve the money.
*Cues/ques [not sure how to spell it]
-Who exactly would like them.
For an autist,these can be extremely challenging in many ways,with cues in different places being worse than others.
One of the worst types of cues,is the type at post offices,as if the place isn't torturing enough,the cues are forced into line by barriers so are unable to get out until get to the front.
There is already enough overload in the place,but add the noise from those in front,and those behind and it is unbearable.
The last time am ever went in one am ended up in meltdown as some screaming things had joined the back and there was a shouting lady at the front,am barged through the whole cue in front,the only reason am had to go in one is because am not allowed to be left on own and had to go in with staff,it was to pay a care bill,it is partly thanks to the inaccessibility of post offices that am have the huge debt to the council as they wouldnt take the payment any other way,the post office is disability friendly when it comes to physical needs,but not others,maybe it's time to get the DDA at them [and the council].
*Communicating with shop assistants.
When am went to get a new laptop earlier this year at PC world,as soon as the assistant realised am was NV,she said everything to the staff who was with am,and she knows nothing about computers,am was using PDA to ask if they had the toshiba equium two gig ram deal laptop left,and as soon as the staff said it to the lady,she kept trying to sell some crap norton 360 software and windows office software.
Am wrote out on the PDA,no...use AVG free and open office,and she then said that they were both unsuitable for use with vista and they dont work-am had to tell her-no they weren't, they were installed on dads vista pc and they were going fine,but she kept trying to force that other laggy crap.
She kept saying to the staff with am, 'tell her....' FFS,when did am become deaf? am can hear every bit of crap she is saying.
She then took the staff to the side,and said 'she needs this...',and the stupid woman had added it onto the bill,the staff with am said she thought she was giving it for free as part of the deal.
it was took back the next day and a complaint was made,so they gave a free months of insurance [am forced to use computer insurance by home managers due to a habit of laptops getting in the way of meltdowns].
Shop assistants are not all bad,there are some really nice ones,but of the bad ones,they need to learn- not to force themselves on customers,dont assume all customers are idiots about whatever it is they are buying,dont keep following them and bothering them and dont treat disabled customers who have support staff like they're invisible [eg,showing things to staff instead of buyer].
*Feeling like are cursed.
-Wherever am go outside,something that sets am off-always happens,it doesn't happen before,it doesn't happen after,it always happens just as am next to it.
For example,car alarm going off,house alarm going off,lawn mower/leaf blower/other tools starting up,the beeping noise of things reversing [thats what staff said it is],building work going on,a plane going over,a dog barking,those big drills to get up concrete [staff said theyre called jack hammers?] a child screaming,a teenage girl doing.....those teenage girl noises..and so on..they all start up just as am go past,am really do think am cursed because it could happen at any time but it happens at that exact moment am go past.
*Doctors appointments.
-Especially as they are now mostly big super health centres,they are extremely overloading and am always used to leave there in a post meltdown state.
Am have a very supportive GP which is good and she will come out and see am for appointments,which is usually reserved for emergency appointments,so the only time am have had to go there anymore is to pick up the paper thing for emergency supply of painkillers.
They are making doctors surgeries more and more autistic unfriendly by making them into these huge health centres,with screeching beeping noises coming from those electronic boards to wake up whoever has gone to sleep because of the long time they've been waiting for their appointment,the screeching children,echoeing of the building,whistling,all the noises from everything grouping together and attacking,waiting too long for appointment,and depending on the GP-not being explained to slowly and clearly enough or given enough time to let things process etc,they were better when they were small doctors surgeries with hardly anything in them.
*Road works.
-Am hate road works for a few reasons,not only for their torturing noise,but also for their routine disrupting abilities.
They can completely change the way the traffic goes,when have always gone that way,it is a major set off for am especially at the moment-there are a lot of them where am live as they are rebuilding the area.
There was no warning they were going to happen either,and are supposed to be here for a while.
Not good.
*Shops that play music.
-There is enough overload in them without adding to it.
*Places that ban wearing hoods.
-Am can understand they are trying to keep out the bad kids who try to hide their faces from camera,by banning hoods,but am wore these for years as extra protection over headphones,ear plugs and ear defs. and was suddenly dived on by a pack of red coats at the trafford centre,who treated am like a criminal,and demanded that am removed the hood there and then or would be restrained marched out of there by them.
Sister explained the disability side to wearing of the hood but they werent interested,and just as am was removing hood,a few muslim ladies wearing the entire islamic dress which only has a slit to see through [don't know what it is called] had walked past and were allowed to carry on.
Why is it perfectly ok to wear the full islamic dress at the trafford centre,but not ok to wear a hood over the ear defenders for disability reasons when face was on show at all times?
Again,it's another thing am should have got the DDA at,bastards.
