Why Autistic People NEED To Try New Things

We do but slowly to prevent being overwhelmed.

This is a problem for society as a whole. "Fossil fuels work perfectly well for me, why should I look around for a better energy supply?"

This video is exactly what I've been working on with my therapist for the past year. What also helps is reminding myself that if I try something and I don't like it, I don't have to keep making myself do it. :)

My grandfather used to tell his mom, "but Mama, you know I don't like anything I haven't tried before." He is almost 91 and is still very much the same way now. We think that he is on the autism spectrum, but he doesn't care about if he is or not. I will try new things, but I need it to be on my terms. I need warning about changes in my life/routine before they happen. My mom and my brother are much more flexible about those things than I am, but they are not autistic and I am.

I love trying new things that INTEREST ME. I absolutely HATE being forced into new things. Most of my life is "preplanned" and I have "expectations" for certain things and it is always more comfortable to stick to what I know. That doesnt mean I dont get curious of new things sometimes though.

I have always had problems with change. When I first moved to a college campus, I found the first meal I ordered in the cafeteria was the one I wanted to eat all the time after then. I was so reluctant to try new foods.

I love trying new foods and hobbies, but for job searching and all of this other drudgery where you do a million things and hope one sticks, I hate it.

Out of all of your videos, this one hits me 100%. I seriously need to lighten up and try different things. For instance, I've worn the same exact boots for almost 10 years. I've been through three pairs. The last pair I had to hunt down. They're not made any more. Don't get me started on dating. LOL Keep the videos coming.

I'm not autistic but I have an anxiety disorder and I identify with a lot of what you said. It's important to find the balance between the comfort of what you already know while still acknowledging that you have to try something new from time to time. Because sometimes new experiences turn out to be amazing.

I actually like trying new things, but I need to plan them. I hate how people equate spontaneity with being adventurous. It’s not the same. I find disappointment in spontaneity. But planned adventure is so much fun. You can relax and just enjoy. You have prepared and know what you are doing or going to try. It makes the experience more enjoyable. Spontaneity can be boring and make you stuck with no plan and nothing to do. I wish neurotypicals could understand that.

I love your honesty. Rejection and not fitting in and being judged is a constant happening. My spinal and arthritis is hidden and the ignorance around that causes me anger. And overwhelms. Society disabled us.

I struggle with change still despite being in my late 30's. 🙃 it sucks.

I totally agree, the key to trying new things is to adjust your expectations ahead of time so you can handle the unpleasant attempts. Having both autism and ADHD I am decent at finding new ways to approach the things I'm already comfortable with, but I really struggle with anything completely new. Over the years I have found myself being a hermit simply because it takes so much effort to engage in new things outside the house, but I am slowly trying to take those small steps to expand my comfort zone.

Before you start reading, I’d like to preface this by saying welcome to my TedTalk. I am not as averse to change as most autistic people, but I have my problems. It can be as simple as being reluctant to try a new food because I might not like the texture. However, the biggest problem with change has always been the jarring transition between summer break and school starting again. I found that it would take a longer time for my academic performance to gain momentum than my NT peers. High school was especially tough because we had to juggle loads of work with very little room for transition time (as you have talked about in another video). Through my introspection and meditation I’ve had two thoughts that helped me with this problem: One, have more creative endeavors, and strengthen your “scientist mentality”. With creativity, especially “stream of consciousness” writing, it allows you to go where your thoughts take you. Thus, I apply the same mentality to help me roll with the changes of life. The “scientist mentality” I was talking about basically says if there is a problem in the system that I’m using, try a new solution. Lately I’ve been exploring multiple intellectual ideas, trying new foods, discovering music artists I haven’t heard before, and much more. As a final word, embrace the entropy, y’all!

My dad (neurologically similar to me) used to say that you have to try things when you have no idea what they're going to be like. Sometimes you'll try something and it'll be trash, but that's an acceptable price to pay for the other things that you'll try that'll be really great. Last week I went on a camping weekend for transgender people. I had no idea what it was going to be like; it could have been a boring, wasted weekend. But it's no exaggeration to say it was the best thing I've ever done; a life-changing experience. I could feel new neuronal connections being made in my brain. Not only an opportunity to be openly trans without fear, but also to let the mask fall and be openly neurodivergent; to meet open-minded, accepting people, and to observe something akin to an anarchist commune in operation and be part of that.

So true! Here's to trying something new each day that scares me, even if it's just for a minute! Thanks Paul!

This corresponds to my life of trying new jobs over and over again, and nothing is even bearable for me for more than a few months because of noise, too many social interactions etc. it takes me like a year after every job to brush myself off and force myself to try again, because I don’t like to try things that I know there is a big risk of it being really uncomfortable for me, of course. Anyone been in a similar situation? Autism and adhd paired with physical illness is… a lot of pain 😩.. thanks for the video, I like the scientific approach, it speaks to me! Science can be comforting.

This is a great video on an issue that I find blocks me time and again.I keep getting stuck because, as you say, I feel that if something is worthwhile it is worth repeating. Mostly this is true. Your advice reminds me of my days in art school. We each had a working space and I allocated one corner for experiments and chancy ideas. Sometimes the corner would yield only failed attempts but sometimes it would deliver something that altered my work. After watching your video I am thinking that I might reinstate the chancy corner. I have a broad and deep shelf in the corner of my lounge and that will be where items of clothing can appear or new appliances. I have tended to reach periods of stasis and then there is sameness for a very long time. I have a friend who prods me to try new things, and I must admit that without their input I would be stuck most of the time. A chancy corner seems right for me. I should mention that I have become very competent when buying small gifts that help others explore new things but I can neglect my own needs. I am hoping that I can remedy this. Thank you again. I think addressing issues around change on the spectrum is something I don't often see covered, partly because it is suggested that change leads to stress. However, as I say, I managed change in art school in the way I have described, and it functioned much like the way you include change as research.

So glad you spoke about food as that's the area I am trying to expand my experiences in recently, with the help of a kind Asian lady who loves to cook food and so doesn't mind if I don't like or can't tolerate an ingredient in it (eg peppers!).

I've been buying the same pair of ear buds for years. If they ever get discontinued, my action plan is to lose my mind. I got my current hoodies from a secondhand store nearly ten years ago. They are practically fish nets. But they're my hoodies... I don't like other hoodies. When I'm forced to make a change, it burns me out hard. The worst was when I could patch my Frankenphone together by spare parts AGAIN, or I had to consider if it was worth finally upgrading since that model would soon become obsolete. It took weeks of research for me to choose a new phone. I still don't like it, because I miss my old custom ROM.