It’s been a while. Life is so unpredictable. My time has been focused on physical issues these days. I am being assessed for dementia. I have had a series of small automobile accidents lately. I believe that at least four of them were due to my reduced ability to turn my head to look over my shoulder or behind while driving. The issue for me is more mental. Was I focused enough? What about being high? At this point I don’t see the role of dementia. I have agreed to refrain from driving until after all the assessments have been finished. In none of this has a professional asked me about the role of my autism. IMHO the reason is that autism doesn’t play a role in this situation.
It’s now November. All the tests have been performed. I went to driving school. The results of all this is that I am a normal 77 year old autistic man who drives well when I am sober. My driving issues were 1) The issue of a lack of motion in my neck, due to the surgery. This reduces the range of motion, and 2) A lack of attention to driving primarily due to cannabis intoxication (too stoned). Additionally, I have no symptoms or signs of dementia.
Until now, I have looked at the relationship between my autism and pot as positive. Pot helps me stay calm. I am less reactive to stimuli. But, recently, I can see how pot disturbs my gait when I walk. I also think that pot seems to magnify my “leaving the building” moments, as my partner calls this behaviour. This inattentive state is dangerous when driving. So, I am modifying my consumption of pot to only in the evening. I would be very interested in hearing from other folks about their pot use and autism.
I am finding the current rise in social consciousness around autism, particularly in the area of neurotypes to be encouraging.
I want to wish everyone a happy holiday season. Be safe.
THE AGEING AUTISTIC 