mental preparation: a great coping technique

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hi, as some of you know i have adapted very very well and im still in the process of my complete ASD diagnoses, and right now, im actually tetortotering between HFA and Aspergers Syndrome. at first i was diagnosed as AS but then, i got some recent tests done and now we have to re-do some things because of my I.Q. Anyways

one technique i use to cope with changes, such as my routine and life in general is mental preparation. the way i do this is to be aware of a change that is going to happen in the future and replay it in your head, over and over and over again, plan out how you are going to act in the situation and also physically prepare in anyway you can. theres also exposure to routine changes that helped me A LOT. does anyone else use this technique to cope with both small and large changes?

also, at first, it was not easy one bit, but after i was forced to move 6 times, i learned this coping technique. although, havent gotten the hang of wearing different outfits yet. still stuck to one outfit.

I do this too. Especially when I stared public school this year. I had the entire curriculum and schedule laid out. I took tours of the campus to familiarize myself with the layout. So I already had my routine set up before I started. I hate to think of how disorientating it would have been if I had not gone through it mentally ahead of time so much.

Divorce. My folks divorced, too. The murder of a family. That's what divorce is.
Reservation? Are you a native, or am I reading you wrong?
It seems you have had your lifetime share of suffering already. I pray to the BVM that you have a happier year.
(Hope you don't mind how I pray).
Yours,
JSBL

I hope you gain your independence from all that bull**** and can be your own person soon. I've always admired the intelligence of your posts. You have too much to offer the world (and yourself) to be living in such a strange prison.

That really is quite a life story.

I too was surprised when I realized you were only 16, you have a much more mature voice. Maybe you could write a self help book for Aspie kids, it might be fun for you and could help them a lot.

My parents got divorced too (twice actually, because they were dumb enough to remarry once), but thank goodness we didn't move around too much.

I mentally prepare myself as well, particularly if I am going to the doctors or going somewhere I am not used to. the worst thing is if you go somewhere that you don't know what it looks like because its harder to mentally prepare yourself.

I found out just recently that mental preperation for every little thing that happens including fun events actually leads to disaster. So as an experiment I decided to not plan and it worked out better. There were no expectations and no freezing up because someone else decided to interject their own plans which I did not plan for. So far it works for only fun events and I now no longer plan for anything that involves having fun leaving me not having such a horrible time.