I'm living comfortably

[Obsessed]

I was diagnosed with autism at 6 years old. I am almost 50 now but I remember the way I was and there's no doubt I was different.

I am ASD. I havent figured out the "Disorder" part of that yet. I'm more successful than all my siblings combined and they are "normal". I've been looking for answers to my sensory issues. Fabrics are my biggest issues. We all know the world of ASD is easy to live if we were the only ones here. But since we aren't, there's a lot of explaining to do with the "normal" population that already labeled us according to their understanding.

As a 5 year old boy, I'd wear anything nylon as comfort. I would steal my sister's underwear and anything else nylon. They knew where to find their stuff. Lol. My biological father use to beat me when he caught me with my sister's underwear on. He was locked for child abuse when I was 10. He thought I was gay. Kids at that age don't have those desires. Fast forward, I can't wear cotton, denim, or wool clothing. It's like wearing clothes made of bristle pads. I prefer to wear other fabrics like nylon, compression, rayon, and polyester clothing. When wearing other fabrics, a nylon t-shirt and pantliner is on underneath. My preferred is nylon. When anxiety goes up, I layer up like an addiction. The more stress,the more layers. Like a smoker, more stress, more smokes. Mine is nylon though. It can get warm at times. Lol.

My wife and kids are kind of confused and kicking the obsession is not good. Tried once before and it was bad. The anxiety hit a high and my wife thought an exorcism was needed. It's not a perverted, sexual, self turn on, or disturbed thing. It's more of a distraction from stress. More comfort and less anxiety. Problem is easy to figure out. I just wish it wasn't so "different" and I could just be me. Am I alone and why am I this way? The world of ASD is a roller-coaster ride and all the differences is a physiologically huge game changer from the "normal" people.

Oh, pugs are awesome 👌

[PearCider]

I gather clothing sensitivity does affect some but not all people with ASD. I've seen reports of clothing being turned inside out. Usually it seems to be physical discomfort rather than a stress thing.

[Obsessed in reply to PearCider]

Thanks for the reply back. Most fabrics are a discomfort. Wool is my biggest discomfort. It feels like I'm wearing clothes made of bristle pads. Denim and Jean material is next in discomfort. But when I don't have a choice, I just wear something like nylon pajama bottoms underneath to eliminate the discomfort. Clothing tags are always removed too. I find that the synthetic clothes without tags or seams work the best.

[shouty]

its so hard i know my niece wore the same type of pyjama bottoms day and night for years till they fell apart. We learned to buy in bulk when found fabric and design she could tolerate

[Obsessed in reply to shouty]

My grandmother gave me a polyester pillowcase when I was about 7 years old. It's helped me sleep at night. I have insomnia about 2 nights a week on average so the material helped that out. I never did sleep with any other pillow cases till I wore it out. It's just a comfort thing and nothing more. Just a different world of thinking, toleration, and sensory.

[Aviarie]

I could not stand seams in clothing Aspies are like hunters heightened senses but hypersensitive to taste. Sound touch light etc have trouble with social skills

[Obsessed in reply to Aviarie]

It's easy to be social on this page. You can fix, erase, or stall your thoughts without anyone knowing that you are having trouble putting the words together. Around others, I usually don't say much and just listen. Thats because when I talk, words can come out wrong or get stalled causing others to think I'm special needs or something. It gets me frustrated with me and I shut down. Here is easy. Social skills are tough.