Sparks and Accommodations
Hey everyone, I am Jack/Noodle and I heavily do apologise for the lack of posting. I’ve been busy with the arty side of my world (my art account is instagram and tumblr; insta - doodle.noodle.27 and tumblr -soundwavesnoodle). I’ve also been not great mentally as it’s been exhausting trying to find work and balance the mental state. I keep trying to put myself first and do things I love and hang with my friends but I’ve had to take a hiatus on here so I don’t feel overwhelmed by the impending post and writings. I’m going to try and get back into this, I says this as I have my first huge depressive episode in 3 years and I don’t know if I’ll finish this, or it’ll be up to good standards. To them unaware, I love my work to be the highest standards, I don’t often like to admit it as I’ve had so many writings here in ‘drafts’ but I’ve deleted them because they sat for too long and in my head they went ‘mouldy’. I also had to put my safe food choice in hiatus bin because I ate a ready meal version of it which was nearly a month past sell by. My life may be in a mess but I’m going to try and write a post and pull myself out of a slump of constant shitty feelings. But before I begin this post, remember to eat and drink today, I’ve just finished a coffee and my breakfast which I added some cookies to the side of to make me feel a bit happier. Currently, I’m obsessed with dark chocolate so I ask any of my friends to hand me some dark chocolate snacks. Without much more rambling and sad violin music, I bring you today’s post.
So today’s post is all about accommodations. You may be sitting (or even standing or lying down) wondering what I mean. Some think I’ll be talking about hotels and how sparks can help you feel homely in a room away from your comfort zone. But instead I’m talking about accommodations and supports I need/get/do for my autism and what role Sparks play in aiding me in my day to day life. Some accommodations I’ll not be giving a detailed explanation for as I don't owe the internet my entire needs set and I am my own person. Everyone’s needs are different and everyone has a different reason they do something or need something. With that ramble out the way I bring you a handful of ‘needs’ sparks aid in.
1. Transitions with Sparks - for me I don’t do well (and never have done well) in change and transitioning from one task to another. Currently I find getting out of my bed, to go down to have my breakfast and start my day exceedingly difficult because I haven’t got a clear routine and often this leads to me sitting or falling back to sleep. I’ve recently began a ‘hype up’ playlist which has plenty upbeat and wake up tracks of sparks. I have yet to test if this playlist works in its purpose. Another example is, I find it hard to go from home to a new/regular place I frequent. I’ve started putting on Sparks through my headphones when I’m scared of doing said thing and it eases me and helps in determining the length of the journey and being ready when I get to the end point.
2. Quiet/Down time - I am high masking as I’ve gone majority of my life (up until recently) without my awareness of autism. This can lead to quiet time which I often spend sprawled out on my couch or on my bed. I also find peace in cleaning dishes so I am usually playing sparks or watching the same sparks videos during this time. I also find it calming when I think about sparks and how they’ve been through strong and hard times and that whatever times I’m going through I can survive and come out of it stronger.
3. Showers - I was planning to maybe make this its own post, however, I don’t feel comfortable discussing my hate for showers in large details online because I forget more than sparks fans read this page. So instead I’m keeping it short and sweet. I don’t particularly like showers. I am a trans guy so yea obviously it’s a hate because of that situation. However, for me I find the motivation to be in a shower due to the sensory aspects extremely hard. I grew up hating the sensation of water on my face, I still hate it so a lot of my skincare stuff is water free stuff. I often find that playing music, especially sparks, or treating myself after the shower can aid in the motivation I need. Some sparks songs are perfect lengths for washing my hair, shampooing hair and cleaning nooks and crannies.
4. Schedules - This accommodation is from myself and my friends. My best friend, who reads these postings so everyone say hey to her today, is always on the ball for understanding schedules and routines as she’s also neurodivergent and both of us prefer a clear plan on what’s happening. An example is whenever we go out we have an idea where we'll be eating and the shops both of us want to go to and how long we may take doing certain tasks. In my own world, away from this friend I use sparks to time how long I take doing certain tasks such as showering, making work and products, getting dressed and making food. I love a fun kitchen disco and most the time I turn to sparks to do this and averagely I like my food to take 5-25 mins so I play a few songs I find danceable to keep me distracted from constantly checking the food.
5. Food/Eating - I recently made a post around food and sparks, but I find watching Sparks content while I am eating very useful. My favourite thing is eating my dinner or lunch with the sparks documentary. I find them very comforting to eat with, I fear I may struggle to eat if I was in person with sparks because I’d more be in shock with them in my presence and I classically get afraid of being in a crowd of people and eating. Sparks content is just really comfy knowing Ron has one special drink (Mountain Dew) and also Russell most definitely likes to eat the same foods everyday.
6. Communication - Some people may think I am describing a stereotypical view of communication issues for autistic people, they don’t talk or will only talk about one thing. For me, I have situational mutism where I find certain situations too difficult to talk in. An example is a very loud and crowded room; I find this difficult to talk in because I’m a soft spoken person and also I find it hard to work out my volume, it is almost like I have a volume control but I do not get in on what volume I am at that moment. Moving on, I use sparks to help in communication as Russell once said in an interview “if you have anxiety I highly recommend going on a stage at least once” and in February went on a stage to give part of a speech for an arts festival. I also find thinking about my favourite band or sharing facts about my favourite band helps me to speak to new people, if I learn the new person is also a sparks fan I immediately want to try and become their friend.
That is all from today’s post. I thought I’d end on why I’ve not been posting here as of late and apologise for the lack in posting. I have been trying to balance finding a job and making a variety of art things, on Saturday 20th September in my city I’m doing a market in the amazing Pop Recs and I cannot wait as I’ve been making badge packs and new keychains. I also have been doing Sparkstember (I stopped due to exhaustion and wanting to focus more on the market as I found it difficult to balance both). But hopefully I’ll be back to posting here regularly as I miss writing. So before you forget me, I’m Jack/Noodle, you’ve been a reader. Until next time.
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