No one should make you feel uncomfortable, sad or scared.
If you need support, contact Amaze on 1300 308 699, email info@autismconnect.org.au or chat with us online at www.amaze.org.au
Here are some tips for caring for yourself and being prepared in public.
Be prepared
If you are sensitive to noise, light, or busy places, you can bring things to help you in public like headphones, sunglasses, hoodies or stimming things. Try different things and see what you like.
Autism-friendly shopping
Some shopping centres and supermarkets hold sensory-friendly shopping times. Changes are made to light, noise and other things. To find out if your local store does this, you can search the internet, call the store directly, or contact Amaze.
Ask for time to process
If you feel comfortable, you can tell people you need some more time to process what they are saying. Most people will be kind and give you the time, once they understand what you need.
Get support
If need support understanding the NDIS and how to access it, contact the Amaze Autism Advisor service.
If you want to find support groups near you – visit the Support Groups page on the Amaze website.
Talking about autism
Telling someone you are autistic is a choice and you don’t have to if you don’t want to.
If you want to talk to people about being autistic, it’s a good idea to choose carefully who to tell. Involve a trusted person to help in making the choice of who else to tell.
Advocate for yourself
If you are sensitive to things in the environment like bright lights, you have the right to ask for reasonable adjustments at work.
First, you’ll need to consider telling your workplace manager you are autistic. Only do this if you feel comfortable doing so. Then, you can help them understand what autism is and what you find challenging at work, like bright lights or noise.
If you need help to have this conversation with your workplace manager, you could contact Amaze’s Autism Advisors. They can give you advice and help you plan for the conversation.
Look at ‘do one thing’
If you are talking to your workplace about being autistic, you could suggest they visit the Do One Thing for Autism site.
It explains the things workplaces can do to support autistic people at work. It also has examples of ways they can adjust sensory things to help you.
