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The personal site of Jamie Knight, an autistic web developer, speaker and mountain biker who is never seen far from his plush sidekick Lion. View the Archive

Topics: Autism Development

Spoons in brief

Today’s post in my autism awareness week series is probably the easiest. It’s about the spoons metaphor.

First read the original piece by Christine Miserandino.

That covers most of it. The much shorter version is that spoons are a unit of energy. I start most days with 10 spoons and doing things uses spoons. A shower, 2 spoons, commuting 4-6 spoons etc etc.

When I run out of spoons, I tend to get very spaced out. Beyond that, if the pressure continues, it tends to cause a panic attack.

I actively manage my spoons throughout the day. Knowing which activities drain spoons gives me a tool for ensuring I never push to far.

Published: 30 March 2015 | Categories: Permalink

Comment

  1. Sophie · Apr 15, 09:41 pm ·

    Thank you Jamie for introducing me to the spoon metaphor. I know exactly what that means, and how to manage spoons, and I know of some ways to “save” spoons and even of ways that sometimes give me a spoon back. I treasure my spoons, on those days when they’re in very, very short supply.

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