caz2007 Report post Posted December 11, 2009 why do we like to put things in a order? eg date order numbr order dvds in order??????????????????? who does that here, thanks Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mumble Report post Posted December 11, 2009 why do we like to put things in a order? eg date order numbr order dvds in order??????????????????? For me it's calming, it makes things feel 'right', it gives me a sense of control in what can be a very muddled, out of order and not 'right' world and generally makes me feel safe. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KezT Report post Posted December 11, 2009 From a non-ASD perspective, I am very disordered in general - quite a spontaneous type of person, so find the whole routine thing rather difficult But I keep my books & DVD's in alphabetical order, just bso I can find the ones I want easily. if you have more than a dozen, surely that is only sense! So I guess ordering things is a way of knowing exactly where everything is and therfore keeping control over the external environment - and therefore calming/reassuring for those with "typical" ASD traits Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
trekster Report post Posted December 11, 2009 For me it's calming, it makes things feel 'right', it gives me a sense of control in what can be a very muddled, out of order and not 'right' world and generally makes me feel safe. Im inclined to feel the same as mumble on this one. Excellent explanation. The world can be a confusing and illogical place to us so we put things in order to have some logic, also having poor short term memories means routines work well for us. To NTs these are non functional but to us they are necessary in order for us to survive. i had a playperson in my pocket when i graduated to ease anxiety as stroking her hair gave me comfort as i remembered my gran stroking my hair when i was upset. My routines dont hurt anyone but i need them to be quieter so they dont annoy anyone. Alexis Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sally44 Report post Posted December 12, 2009 Well my son doesn't put things in order. Sorry to buck the trend. I have no idea why he does not have these characteristics and can only assume there are others the same. He also does not have obsessions or special areas of interest. His room is a mess. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NobbyNobbs Report post Posted December 12, 2009 i'm very messy because i struggle to know where to put things unless they have a proper home. but my book shelf is very ordered. books in series order. i also compulsively buy books i dont want to read to complete the set. if there is a series of books i've never read but come across i have to buy all of them so that i can put them in order on my bookshelf (i have all the Garth Nix books, but i haven't read them for example). i find it very calming to order them, its the only cleaning task i'm any good at. when i was a child i was forever taking hundreds of books off the bookshelves and reordering them, my mom would walk into the dining room to find me sitting in the middle of a sea of books perfectly happy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Martin Howe Report post Posted December 15, 2009 Mumble and trekster pretty much said most of what I wanted to say Order means easily locating things and calculating where something is from a few rules is far easier than remembering it. Though I do find memory improves with repeated use. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vanna Report post Posted December 16, 2009 This is a bit different... I have to arrange all my clothes into color - coded categories (going in order of the rainbow So red, pink, yellow, green, blue etc .. in that order.) even down to colors I wear, I have to be colorful I hate bland and hate plain, but if I wear one color then the next day it has to be an opposite color, and everything matches, down to undergarments, socks, jewellery, makeup, shoes, etc. I feel a bit crazy admitting this though! Also cds/dvds in alphebetical order, books going according by type or category. Even in the kitchen my spice rack has an order. Herbs up top (with a green cap), indian spices on the bottom (orange cap) and in the middle just different flavors, all with a black cap. And also the order of which I eat things (for diner) I alternate the flavors /types of food, including sides, around so nothing too similar is ever near each other (in days) The same with pens, according to the good ones the ok ones and the stupid ones. They are all black ink otherwise I would need a bigger desk organizer thing!!! Same with post its, all in rainbow color order ... And for example pictures on the wall, decorations etc, I have to do in threes. Whichever is biggest or tallest in the middle with both sides pretty equal. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
trekster Report post Posted December 17, 2009 Sounds like a lot of us are systemisers ie we have systems for organising things. Alexis Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
