Change in routine throws me off, anyone else?

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I have no idea if this is an ASD thing or an ADD thing since this is about routine and difficulty with change.



I notice if I change anything on my route, I will miss a task or a step. This happens if I am interrupted and ask to do something else which is very rare or when something gets added to my schedule because someone called in sick or went on vacation. I rarely have to cover a task for another person. But whenever my boss decides to change my route or schedule occasionally, it throws me off and I forget to do stuff.



Today I forgot to do the east side daycare. I thought I did it but I apparently didn't do it because my boss had called me. I was wondering how I got done so early. What happened was he changed my route and I had to do the daycares first but kids were still in them so I went and did the basement instead as I normally did. I do my route a little different sticking to the new schedule but I somehow didn't do the wast side daycare and went to the west side instead. My boss totally understands and had my co workers do it for me, the trashing, recycling and the compost.



If you change my routine, I will then f**k up because I will forget to do some tasks.



I have thought about getting different copies of my schedule and crossing each task off I do but the only thing is remembering to grab my pen and my schedule and cross off.

The same thing happens to me. The steps of a routine get set in my mind, and then I don't have to think about them. But if something changes, then I get lost. It's very frustrating, because people tend to think you're dumb for being thrown off by a change which is simple to them.

If it's a surprising change then yes, but if I've been informed about it soon enough then it usually just causes slight discomfort.

If I know ahead of time or made the change myself, I’m fine with it. But if it’s forced on me last minute with no time to adjust (and for some larger changes I need a long time to adjust), I bloody despise change.

Not me as long as I have enough EF levels to spare.
In my case it's more like routines just makes things easier, and changing it, breaking it or not having any isn't the problem.

It'll only become a problem if there's already a lot of preparation done only to be thwarted -- making the whole thing a wasted effort. Or the change, especially at last minutes, had been too urgent and things cannot be undone effort wasted or not.


If I don't have any EF levels to spare, routine or no routine I'm confused and/or forgetful either way.

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What I dislike is lack of communication. I'm amenable to change if I know what is asked of me, particularly when the task is new.

I follow a strict routine and I have difficulty when my routine gets thrown off