I attended a fantastic workshop yesterday organised by Kingwood. Kingwood provide support for people with Aspergers and autism, click here to find out more about them. Anyway, the workshop I attended was on ‘Social Communication’ and as I’m on the autistic spectrum it really gave me an insight into better ways to communicate socially. If you’ve read my book, you’ll know I’ve had many situations where I’ve struggled to think socially.
So, How Do I Struggle?
One analogy that really summed up how I struggle to communicate was this, ‘imagine your Netflix program constantly buffering, well it’s like this with people on the autistic spectrum, you know what to say but you can’t process it quick enough, so you buffer’. That’s me down to the tin, with new people in particular I struggle to find things to talk about and when they do ask me a question I buffer and process the conversation slowly, like a buffering Netflix program.
So, How Do I Improve My Communication?
Interestingly, the workshop gave me some amazing insights into how I can improve my conversations. One thing I can do is write a list of questions to ask someone, see whenever I come across someone new I can ask these questions to break the ice. The questions I’ve come up with so far include, “How’s your day been?”, “What have you been up to today?” or even “What’s your name?”. I think if I ask more questions to people, the conversation will flow better, that’s one thing I lack.
Other Ways To Communicate
Talking isn’t the only way to communicate, I found that out during the workshop. You can get cards from Stickman Communications that you can show to a person should you feel too anxious to talk. I’m going to get one myself because I think they are a great way to communicate to another person that you are disabled. Other ways to communicate include sending texts, using WhatsApp, using gestures, making a list or using social media, just as I am doing. Don’t forget to follow me on my social accounts below or find my book on Amazon.
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