Decision paralysis (or choice paralysis) in autism and ADHD. ❤️

I feel like other creators have done a much better job describing this than I have. It is something I struggle with daily, though, so I felt like talking about it. ❤️
When I was little, choice paralysis was one of the biggest issues for me. It got so bad, that my parents would sometimes do whatever they could to remove choices when out in public, so that I didn't have a meltdown. ❤️ This might sound counterintuitive, as you of course want to teach children about choices, but for children with autism or ADHD, it can sometimes be debilitating to have to make a decision. Especially under pressure. ❤️
A lot of parents have asked me in the the comments if I have advice for helping children cope with these kinds of situations. I wish I had had some really good advice. I know my parents struggled with this. It can just be really, really difficult for some neurodivergent children.
If it is any help, it has become easier for me, as I have gotten older. ❤️
When I think about how hard it can be for me now, can understand how it cah e feel like a completely impossibles situation for a child to navigate. ❤️
Have you experienced choice
paralysis? If so, what do you do to help yourself cope? ❤️❤️

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#autism #adhd #audhd #neurodivergent #neurospicy #autismacceptance #autismawareness #adhdawareness #actuallyautistic #adhdacceptance #asd #hiddendisabilites

[thehomelesshebrews]

I am an AuDHDer, and stuffed animals is one of my SPECIAL INTERESTS. ❤ I am 52trs old, and I still struggle with making decisions, even seemingly simple ones. I second guess myself ALL THE TIME, and need reassurance that I made the RIGHT choice. I always feel like no matter what I decide, that it will be the wrong one. I have been labled WEIRD, MISFIT, etc...😢

[susanegley]

It has taken me days and days to choose a f*&+ing calendar. The overwhelming pressure is debilitating.

[Splais]

I thought this (learning about Autism) would be so easy. But the longer I listen to Toren’s awesome videos the more complicated it gets, I had no idea what you go through on a daily basis. ❤🙏🏼

[ginahernandez]

My youngest grandson (3 yrs old) has always struggled with this. Yes- we've noticed it almost since birth. Routine is highly important for his happiness ❤

[FairyDee]

You are teaching me a lot. I didn’t know this had a name, but I definitely have this too.

[HeidiMR]

I remember realizing that getting out of bed was hard because I had to decide what to do once I was out. When I made a list of things I should always do as soon as I got up, that helped. But when I’m in a new place, I struggle to get moving.

[sarahsovereign]

TL;DR - it gets easier!
My way to deal with this when I was your age (or maybe a little older) was to pick one and not change my mind. Half of the time I regretted the decision, but that was only half. 50pct regret is better in my mind than 100pct agony. Fortunately, with experience i have been able to learn the subtle signals of what i like and dont like, so I can decide to change my mind and try different things. That allows me to not fear regret, not fear doing it wrong.
And really, picking the wrong major in uni wasn't that big a deal. First two years were the same for everybody, so by the time I was able to observe and figure out what worked and what didn't, I was able to get help filling out the half slips of paper to change. No big deal, students apparently do that a lot!

[jessicam]

This is the hardest thing I deal with in my job and any job really. Thankfully with my current job, there is more often a “right answer” than with previous ones I’ve had. But there are still decisions to make, and I tend to avoid the tasks in my job that involve many small decisions in favor of the most straightforward ones or ones that I have developed consistent protocols for

[Aemirys]

I relate so harad you and to this! Love you Toren!

[EtherealTomorrow]

I think some of the factors are:
- when someone give you choices to pick, you have the click that they expect quick answer and decision from you
- if you're given choices, you're making research in your head before making final decisions
The struggle is visible when you're online shopping because you don't always feel the material, texture, thickness, actual color, etc. so your only base to choose are inaginations because at times not even experience will help
It's even worse if the things are abstract and you have totally zero imagination on how the things look like, etc

[thomaswwalker]

Not sure of his age….I am very impressed with him

Keep up the good work and I see you keep all bible commandment. You certainly HONOR your parents.

[Anna-zjij]

For me, routines help so much with choices. I think I would die if I couldn’t have a routine 😭. Also, nice plushie :)

[coleleonard]

I used to have ADHD and decision paralysis, I started wondering why and I realized that my family has always made decisions for me, I’m telling you just start making decisions and learn the consequences, idk much about autism but ik the doctors just want to sell you what ever they can give you to mask the problem, not fix it, mask it, I recommend getting off meds and hitting the gym, increasing testosterone levels will make you more confident to make decisions, either way hit the gym it can’t hurt

[elw]

Before I went on a gluten free diet, I could stand in the cereal aisle of the grocery store for 30 minutes trying to choose the right one. My husband would get so bored and tired of waiting he would sit down on the floor. 🤦‍♀️

[YanoMAGDR]

Where did you find Wilbo, I also want something like that😭❤️

[cristinachaliandroi]

I have this problem with restaurants i dont know what to choose and i get stressed

[Alex_]

I overthink everything, so no, "do you want to try that/ eat that" is not that simple, there are many calculations, including how full, what I wanted to eat, how much I wanted to eat, do I / could I like it, does it seem good...
Not that easy, and I still don't usually come even close to taaking five simple minutes( much less)