Your Day on The Spectrum

~ work in progress ~

::: I’d like to emphasize that I am *not* a doctor. These are ideas for consideration regarding how to engage with people on the autism spectrum (ASD). Providing these questions in writing as opposed to addressing someone on the spectrum verbally may be preferable and receive more reflective and elaborate responses. Feedback is more than welcome. :::

~ Questions for People with Autism to reflect and share about their day without having to further drain their social/emotional bandwidth using verbal responses ~

How has your day been?

How do you feel you were treated by friends?

Did anything bad happen?

Were people nice to you today?

How were you treated by colleagues today? Do you feel your interactions were mostly positive?

Did you get into any awkward circumstances today? Please elaborate as best as you feel able to manage.

How were you treated by loved ones today?

Do you feel your needs were adequately met today? If not, what are some examples of when people let you down?

How are you feeling about yourself today?

Do you feel like you did a good job regulating your emotions today?

Do you feel like you did a good job “fitting in” today? Were there moments where you felt you did something wrong or not quite “normal”? Please elaborate.

Did you have to break your routine(s) today? What happened? How did you react to changes in your routine?

Can you share a favorite moment or two about today?

What helped you stay ok, feeling even-headed, today?

What was a problem today?

What do you hope will be different tomorrow?

What are you looking forward to?

What are you worried about?

Do you have any negative thoughts? Are they repetitive?

Do you feel safe?

Do you feel you are being well taken care of? Put another way, do you feel you could use more support?

Do you feel you had moments when your support needs were high today? Can you elaborate on these instances?

How are you feeling about your friends?

Did you share anything personal about yourself today? How did it feel? Was this received as you hoped?

What can help you feel motivated about tomorrow?

What can help you wind down / decompress tonight?

Sleep heals. Let yourself rest. Let your body naturally decompress. What is something that will help you sleep?

Plan for a good time tomorrow evening to answer these questions again. Make this a habit. These notes about your well-being can help track your feelings and emotions over the coming days, weeks, and months. Reflection can help you learn about your motivations and improve your decision-making with an aim towards an improved sense of gracefully moving through day-to-day life.