7 Autism Daily Life Hacks

October 12, 2022
Craig Stapley
By Daniel M. Jones aka The Aspie World

When we think about autism, we often think about the issues autistic people have in school and work, and even in social situations.

However, one of the biggest things forgotten about is usually the day-to-day tasks that autistic individuals find difficult, as navigating the world can be a scary and challenging task.

It is sometimes the most difficult task in the world to stay motivated and stay on task when you are on the spectrum, especially if you have ADHD also.

I love hacking my environment to make it more autism-friendly, and I also help other companies do the same for working environments too.

Whatever environment you spend the most time in, it needs to be autism-friendly and autism-accommodating, kind of like if you were a wheelchair user needing ramp access.

So, let’s get prepped and ready to learn how to hack your way to an easier life on the spectrum.

I have laid out some simple but impactful productivity hacks for autism to keep you motivated, productive, and sensory safe!

Each one of these hacks has an explanation of why you need to use this specific hack and also why these hacks work.

Most of these are simple and easy to do, but some I mention using certain products, so bear that in mind when reading these.

I have so many more, but starting you off with 7 of the most helpful ones will set you on a journey of self-awesomeness to hack your environment to make life more autism-friendly.

Proprioception

Lots of autistic people have issues with sensory processing disorder (SPD). This can have massive impacts on the way that they can operate and navigate their day-to-day lives.

I have issues with opening a door to let myself through it and also knowing distance, like how far away a table is to place a mug down.

These are all part of SPD and can be helped a little by activating proprioception or deep muscle proprioception.

Autistic people may be overly or underly sensitive to things like spatial awareness, linked to the fact they have SPD.

By activating some muscle work and getting proprioception working, you can actually help lower some of the issues caused by SPD.

Do this by doing simple proprioception exercises like wall push-ups or moving light objects like a dining chair or stack of books.

They may seem like pointless exercises, but these will really make a difference; also, a pro tip is to top up every 2 hours with one of those little activities to keep the proprioception working.

Soundsory

Soundsory is a headphone-based skill development therapy that works on the fine, gross, and visual-motor skills in children, leading to enhancements in handwriting and drawing, balance and posture, hand-eye coordination, and sports skills.

This is a piece of technology that I would say is adaptive wear; however, it has awesome results and is worth looking at.

There are lots of exercises on their website to do along with the actual earphones that I found useful.

Sensory Room / Corner

Having a dedicated space in your home or room where you can create a sensory corner with lights and comfy pillows, etc., will help you escape the busy, over-sensory world and help you stay calm.

I know not everyone can dedicate an entire room to this idea, but even if it is creating a den or corner of the room that you can just block out the world for just a few minutes a day will really make a difference in the way your brain as an autistic person responds and reacts to the world around you. Top Tip: Try to work sensory time out into your daily routine, like 15 or 20 mins a day to just really get some sensory downtime in.

Headphones / Sunglasses

Lots of people use headphones and/or sunglasses to help filter out some of the main causes of sensory overload in autistic individuals.

This can be done by simply wearing headphones to block some of the noise out and using sunglasses to filter bright lights.

Headphones can provide a good way to help filter out some unwanted noise from the environment around you.

You could, however, go one step further and use noise-canceling headphones, which are fantastic for creating instant silence for an escape from noise overload.

Sunglasses can provide a safe haven from bright or flickering lights, which can be super problematic and create a sensory overload.

I would suggest investing in good quality lenses, as cheaper sunglasses won’t filter as much light.

Set A Timer

The lack of motivation to do something productive is all too familiar for autistic people, especially those of us who are ADHD as well.

This is because we are always chasing dopamine, which comes from doing something more fun, as fun things create dopamine.

So a hack to create something fun out of a task is to set a timer.

If you have tasks you need to do, try setting a timer for the tasks so you know that you can do fun things after the timer is up!

Also! The timer is almost like gameplay—you have to do the task in that amount of time, and you can try to pace yourself accordingly and make the tasks a little more fun!

Lists

Autistic individuals love lists. I, for one, am a list hoarder; no, like literally, I have so many list-making apps that I make lists of lists.

Because autistic people like to visually see things in a linear format (thinking back to lining up toys and toy cars, etc.), making lists is like the adult way of doing that—kinda.

My advice is to create lists of all the things you need to do and tasks to complete, and have them visible on your desk, wall, or even the background of your phone or tablet to prompt you to stay productive. A plan keeps you on track!

Another placement for your lists would be on a calendar that you hang on your wall. This way, the items on your to-do lists will be time and date-specific as you have added them to an up-to-date physical calendar.

I personally use a digital calendar and have my lists within the days on there.

Regular Sensory Breaks

One thing that autistic people do best is not take enough time to decompress and regulate themselves.

This comes from the fact that the autistic brain is constantly seeking more and more info along with big doses of dopamine.

It’s like your mind is on a treadmill, distracted by shiny lights, and forgets that it is going to get tired and burnt out.

This type of burnout then causes meltdowns and lots of mental health issues; however, fear not, as there are ways to help this kind of thing be avoided!

Taking regular sensory breaks is a fantastic way to stop overloads from happening for autistic people.

Overloads occur when you have too many demands on your mental capacity, and with autism, this happens when there are too many sensory inputs building up.

Taking short but regular time-out breaks from whatever you are doing will help reset your sensory input.

What is a sensory short break? Simply, it is taking time out of your day to sit in a quiet room or a less noisy room to just breathe, be present, and have a short break from the hustle and bustle of noise and chatter.

I used to go into my car at lunchtime when I was working in an office and listen to a book on my iphone for an hour or even just lay back in my chair and relax for that hour.

It’s kind of like a mini-vacation for your mind, and it helps SO MUCH!!