Sunday, October 23, 2011

Anxiously Sharing the Peace

The church I go to has a custom of "sharing the peace" at the beginning of each ceremony - the people in the congregation walk around the church, shaking hands with each other and sharing a friendly hello.

For a person with Aspergers like me, it's torture.

I thought church was about trying to avoid hell, not putting people in it.

The smallest social interactions can be so uncomfortable for Aspies:
- calling a doctor's office to make an appointment
- listening to a coworker's story about their weekend
- being alone in a room with a friend of a friend
- having to explain an idea to someone who may not be interested

All of these exchanges may seem simple to a neurotypical person. To Aspies, these are great challenges that we must overcome. And we shall overcome... if you force us to.

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