Grocery Shopping for ASD

Since I have found out about the whole autism thing I have consciously developed coping mechanisms or have perfected coping mechanisms that I wasn't aware of (well, I wasn't aware of that they were coping mechanisms for ASD).

Now, grocery shopping (!!!).

I have always loved to go grocery shopping, it is so much fun to load into your shopping trolley whatever you feel like eating (my usual policy is "Treat YO self! You deserve it!" - possibly not the best policy to go by though)! But then again, I don't actually like it if I think about it - it is so noisy! I cannot focus on anything! When I come home I feel SO exhausted! Even a shopping list does not help me because all the sale signs distracted me from what I need at home. Kids screaming, different people's smells and the music (usually rather terrible?), the absolute awkwardness of trying to reach for something that you would like to put into your basket but somebody else is standing in front of it (how do I tell them to GET GOING?).

Since I have done my "why am I not okay"-list I have realised that for me personally things get a lot easier if I minimise a main factor: noise. I have started going shopping with my noise-blocking skull candy earphones while listening to music I enjoy, loud enough to block out the children, store radio and other annoying background noises (y'all know this beeping when indoor trucks drive backwards?!). It has been absolutely blissful! Firstly, if I DO have a shopping list (rarely) I am usually able to stick to it apart from a few treats (we all deserve them if we can afford it!) and if I don't have a shopping list my decision-making is not flawed or irritated by the noises that are going on. I suppose this may be one of the only things that's good when you're single: you don't need to communicate with anybody in the grocery store.

Either way: noise-blocking earphones and a good tune is the go for a better shopping experience. (Also: the more obvious your earphones are, the less people try to interact with you and you can just do your thing!)

Thank y'all

Fiona over and out, yo