![]() ![]() In some circumstances, temporary partial shutdown can be as simple as blocking out sound when noise is causing a sensory disturbance, but It can just as easily be taking our voice away if the brain believes we need to focus on reflecting and not projecting.ĭuring this kind of shutdown, autistic people can become increasingly agitated, as we will still be conscious of the outside world but unable to interact with it. ![]() This presents itself as involuntary modulation of the senses, which is basically a fancy way of saying that the brain reroutes power to whatever it deems necessary, to isolate an individual from a problem. Usually more common in autistic people who can be considered at the more independent part of the spectrum, a temporary partial shutdown is when an autistic person loses some or all of a basic function during moments of distress. However, not all is how it seems as, unlike an autistic meltdown which sees the mind reboot our bodies, a shutdown will see our minds rewire our senses, to protect us from what is causing the distress.Īccording to Autism: An Inside-Out Approach, this can result in one of two autism shutdown subdivides:īoth of which may seem preferable to the destruction that is a meltdown, but don’t let this deceive you into thinking that they don’t have strengths and weaknesses of their own. What Are the Different Types of Autistic Shutdown?Īutistic people may appear cool as a cucumber when in shutdown mode (as though we have entered a Zen-like state of tranquillity and powered down for the time being). So, what actually goes on when the blinds go down? However, a quick trip to any hearing or language specialist will right this misconception, proving that, no, autistic people in shutdowns aren’t being disobedient, it’s just that we can’t hear you through our sensory shields. This, as you might have guessed from the title, is known as autistic shutdown and it’s essentially when our minds have battened down the hatches during a tornado of change and, on the inside, we await for things to pass, in what autism guru: Temple Grandin describes as a ‘self-imposed sensory deprivation’(but more on that later).ĭue to the seemingly comatosed state that an autistic shutdown will present as, they are often perceived as autistic people being hard of hearing or flat out rude. However, in other instances, we may appear to freeze as though the alteration has knocked us too far off course and we can’t find our way back. In many cases, an autistic person can react to this by essentially ‘rebooting’ in fight or flight mode (otherwise known as a meltdown). The winds of change can often feel like a hurricane for autistic people as our minds, which favour regularity and routine, are knocked about in an endless sea of possibilities. What Does an Autistic Shutdown Look Like? ![]() So, what actually is an autistic shutdown? What is autistic catatonia and what can be done to ease the impact of a shutdown/catatonic episode? Thankfully, in most circumstances we can be right as rain in only a few hours but, the experience without an explanation can be a terrifying prospect – especially in instances where the rate that we run out of steam becomes… Autistic shutdowns (whether it be autistic temporary partial shutdown, autistic extended systems shutdown or autistic catatonia) are an often under-discussed aspect of autistic life in which, one minute, an autistic person might be cruising along, not a care in the world, and then the next we may… ![]()
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