Hanime on Autism: Obsessions and Routines

Hi, everyone!  Welcome to part two of this week’s “Hanime on Autism.”  Today, I’ll be talking about some symptoms of autism that are often identifiable among people with autism: compulsive and repetitive behavior.   All people with autism have an obsession and some kind of routine, and I’m definitely no exception there.  It’s certainly a noticeable trait of autism, if not an important symptom of it.

I’ll start off discussing routines first.  In a nutshell, people with autism run by a routine.  It’s crucial to maintaining a sense of control in their lives.  There must be some kind of schedule, some kind of ritual, some kind of process, some set of rules, etc.  So in other words, something has to be in place that makes things go.  And it must all go accordingly, as well.  If the routine goes off just a tiny bit, everything is thrown off course.  To someone with autism, it’s not right; it’s not part of the plan.  But instead of adapting to it, they freak out. 

I remember when I took Child Psychology one summer I read a story about a girl with autism.  This little girl had a routine of her teacher greeting her with the same phrase in the same tone.  One day, the teacher changed one little thing in the routine, and the little girl freaked out.  This lack of adaptability in a sudden change of plans all comes down to a dislike in change.  People with autism don’t like change.  I can’t really explain why they don’t, that’s just how it is.  For most people with autism, adapting to change is not easy.  However, for people with higher functioning forms of autism, like Asperger’s, change is possible.  It’s not easy, but can be done.  Granted, a sudden change can set anyone with autism off-high functioning or low functioning.  And I have personal story to prove it.

Last year, I was getting ready to go on an out-of-state band trip.  At the same time, I had all these assignments due by the end of the week as well.  So I decided to finish all of them before I left.  Well that Thursday night, the day before I left, I found out there was one other assignment I that I had completely missed.  And it was due that night.  I panicked.  I was screaming, I was crying, I was cussing.  I was a mess!  Long story short, I was able to get the assignment done just before it was due and of course, calm down.  It’s stories like this that show whether or not you’re low functioning or high functioning, routines are important.  And if things don’t go accordingly, everything can get out of hand very quickly.

So since I’ve brought up a personal bit, let’s go into my own routines.  Like I said earlier, most people with autism don’t like change in their routine.  I used to have a theory that if I didn’t follow my routine exactly, I wouldn’t sleep.  Of course, I later learned that this isn’t true at all.  I’ll use my bedtime routine as an example.  Unlike most people who can go to sleep instantly, my bedtime routine takes about an hour just go to sleep.  The routine goes as follows:

1.       I take a shower

2.       I brush my teeth and brush my hair

3.       I watch an anime from anywhere between 30 min. to an hour-the anime of choice depends on what I’m currently obsessing over at the time, but I’ll get to that later.  I also play on my phone during this time, too.

4.       I take 15 mg of Melatonin-yes, I take sleep aids.

5.       I take about 10 min. to watch some clips on my camera, usually from my current anime obsession.  This portion of the routine has been skipped lately

6.       And then I go to sleep with the TV on.

Granted, as complex as this routine is, it works for me.  I’ve even been able to sleep without even taking Melatonin!  Plus, I don’t panic if something goes wrong.  This routine in particular is the result of years of modification.  The beautiful thing about routines is that they change themselves by the tiniest details overtime, and this routine is bound to change bit by bit over the next year or so.  Regardless, routines are essential to people with autism, and Asperger’s.

So now that routines are covered, let’s talk about obsessions.  I think this is a trademark symptom of autism.  Why?  Because if you talk to anyone with autism, they only seem to talk when you talk about something that interests them.  More than likely, this is interest is their obsession.  They will talk about it constantly, almost telling you things you didn’t even know about it, to the point of annoyance.  Everyone with autism has an obsession of some sort, but those who are higher functioning tend to be a little more in control of it than most people.

Obviously, my obsession is anime.  Though this obsession hasn’t changed much over the years, what does change often is the anime show or movie that I’m obsessing over.  These obsessions can last anywhere between two weeks to six months-don’t ask how I figured this out.  As of now, my current obsession has been Akira-you all may remember that this was my big highlight review for Flashback February.  I saw it during Christmas and have been stuck to it since-I’ve also been reading the manga, which has also been making the obsession even stronger.  You can also see in the photo above me posing with two different copies of the movie.  So most likely, if you get me in a conversation, don’t be surprised if I slip a tidbit about Akira or mention how excited I get when I hear Kaneda and Tetsuo scream each other’s names or mention how awesome I think Tetsuo is even though he’s a nut job.  You get the idea.

Now despite that this behavior may be a setback for someone with autism, it does present an opportunity for those who aren’t autistic.  Though this goes into next week’s topic, talking about an autistic person’s obsession is a great way to talk with someone with autism.  For many people with autism, this is their only way to communicate.  Getting an understanding of what this obsession is is a great way to start a conversation with someone with autism, and even make a new friend! ;)

Well, with that much said, that’s all that I have for this week’s “Hanime on Autism” post.  I hope that you learned something from this and also got an understanding of what goes on in a person with autism.  Stay tuned for Sunday because I’ll have another fresh anime review!

-Hanime on Anime