Chad's custom communication! Now when Chad can't find the right words at the right time, ain't no thang. Here's a QR code to explain. Bye! (Genius, right?)
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Error 241: Escape
When Chad's ready to go, Chad's really ready to go.
If you're reading this, I probably left and did not say goodbye. It does not mean I'm ungrateful, did not enjoy spending time with you, nor that I did not have fun. It means that my spectrum-y sensory issues got overwhelming, and I needed to regroup in a calm, quiet corner.
When I'm in those crowded situations and I need to leave, in order to say goodbye, I must cross a sea of chaotic challenges and unwanted alien touches, figure out when I should start talking, etc. That doesn't even count figuring out what I should say. It can be exhausting. When I need to leave, I need to leave. TTYL!
What's happening in my head, you ask?
Physical Space
Do I have free will and the ability to exit when I need? If not, I don't do well.
Ask me about the time I went to a taping of Family Feud. After the show, they wouldn't let me stand up or pee until Steve Harvey ended his unwelcomed 30-minute Jesus talk. Survey says: UNACCEPTABLE.
As a general rule, unless we're sleeping in the same bed, I don't like to be touched unless it's my choice. When people walk up and say "I'm a hugger!" I get pissed. Oh, you're a hugger? That's great. And irrelevant.
If someone taps me on the shoulder, I'll instinctively jerk back. No offense! At a crowded party, to an outsider, I must look like real-life Frogger. I'll even make 90 degree turns as I weave in and out of people's space, much like a Roomba without the need to eat garbage.
At social events, as drinking increases, so does the volume and touchy-feely shit. I am glad other people are having fun, and I respect their right to let loose. But by the end of the night, it can feel like I'm in a hostage crisis -- where I am the hostage and the failed mediator.
LOUD NOISES
Loud noises feel like someone is physically invading my personal space, poking my eyeballs with their fingers, and/or like I've been rolled up in a carpet and locked in someone's trunk.
Nothing will make me more grumpy than inescapable loud noises. I don't like who I become in those moments. I may react poorly while I'm trying to re-regulate myself.
As drinking increases, volume skyrockets.
One at a time, please.
If more than one person is talking to me, or if there's several conversations happening, I implode. Everything gets jumbled in my head, and I cannot separate out one voice or keep a train of thought.
Sometimes you'll see me go into fight-or-flight mode and maybe cover my ears with my hands while I'm trying to level out. It happens instinctively.
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