Joe90 wrote:
I think this was the reason I got my diagnosis. I had a fear of the school bells, and it was the only sound I disliked at school. Loud chattering children did not ever bother me at all. But if I knew a bell was about to ring and I was near one, I'd put my hands over my ears because of my nerves when anticipating the sudden loud ringing sound that will echo around the hallway or room within the next few moments. When I got a bit older and felt silly having my hands over my ears I would instead go and stand somewhere away from a bell if I was in the hallways, which looked unsociable. So the adults all thought "Joe90 puts her hands over her ears, and she often stands away from the other children. Very autistic indeed." I felt too embarrassed to tell people I was afraid of the bells, so I regrettably let them assume I was just afraid of the children and the noise of chattering.
So, if electric bells on walls didn't exist, I probably wouldn't have got a diagnosis of Asperger's, and I probably wouldn't have been picked on by the other children either.
For me, the bell would sound overwhelming if I would cry, other times, while in third grade, I would spend the morning looking at the artwork in the halls before the bell rang. Then, I would run to my class like everyone else.