Stressed Eric.

Was a really odd week last week, our school escort has been ill so I've been accompanying the brood to and from school, which in itself is fine (and quite fun) but has been kinda stressful in other ways.

And by other ways I mean the way that NT planning and prep is in no way compatible with our 'unique' way of thinking.

This may need a wee bit of background so bare with me.

And if it gets too much just remember you're only reading this, I on the other hand lived it.

So regular (?) readers with long memories - but not short fuses - may remember the various school transport related posts from a few years back (you can find them around here if you're interested), anyway since then everything has run fairly smoothly (or as smoothly as can be expected) and scarily since returning to school since lockdown was lifted - really smoothly.

Taking to various drivers this is because taxi work is hard to come by and the school runs provide a steady income so to expect it to go back to normal when the 'proper' work returns.

Isn't it great to feel wanted?

Obviously not as great as digressing so I'll get back on topic.

 

 

Anyway, as I mentioned our lovely escort has been off sick this week so we had to get a replacement, being kind and considerate I offered to do it.

The school said yes and contacted the (dreaded) transport department to tell them.

So here was the plan for this week:

Tues:   Taxi to and from school, no escort as I'm doing the run.

Wed:    Taxi to and from school, no escort as I'm doing the run.

Thurs:  Taxi to and from school, no escort as I'm doing the run.

Fri:       Taxi to and from school, no escort as I'm doing the run.

As a bit of added info, the taxi is booked to turn up 'tween 8:30 and 9:00 (every day) and to be at the school for pick up at 15.25 (Mon-Thurs) and 15:00 (Fri).

Simple eh?

You'd think.

 

So, roll on Tuesday morning and by 9:00 no taxi has turned up, kids are losing it (as am I), ring school, find out that transport department have 'made a mix up' (as in not booked a cab), school books one, we get to school.

It's OK tho' as it's obviously a one off 'mix up' and it wont happen again. I joke about charging transport for my time and how mad it is that a simple taxi booking can be forgotten - surprisingly I'm the unreasonable one because, um, reasons.

Get confused by NT logic, take the cab home and get set for Wednesday.

Wednesday morning a cab actually turns up on time, only it has an escort in it.

Cue negotiating me going with it to school as Cassidy especially is kinda freaked out, luckily the escort and driver are fine with this, the only problem is that I'm not on the pick up list for the day so I'll have to make my own way home.

Not a problem and head into school where no-one knows about the escort as transport hadn't contacted anyone to say.

By now I've discovered that what I mistakenly call incompetence is still just a 'mix up'.

Chatting to the driver on the way home he promises to pick me up that afternoon at the right time.

Yup, it actually appears that I'm now organizing transport.

Thursday everything goes to plan.

Hurrah.

Friday comes around and the cab turns up on time and we head to school, kinda worried that someone will turn up at the earlier time for pick up but convinced that transport will get this right seeing as it's the same as every Friday, so excitedly wait for 14:40 when the cab will arrive to pick the kids up at 15:00.

By 14:55 I'm kinda worried.

By 15:00 I'm in full panic mode, ring the school who ring transport.

Guess what?

There's been a 'mix up'.

A taxi is booked and we eventually arrived at school 45 minutes late and due to rush hour traffic take another 50 minutes to get home.

Luckily the kids handle this brilliantly.

Unlike myself who by this point was not only confused as to what constitutes actually being really unable to do your job as opposed to what is classed as a slight mix up.

I mean let's be blunt for a second.

Over a 4 day period transport department (whose job let's not forget is partly to organize school transport - the clue is in the name) managed to get this right once.

Yup, 3 out of 4 days they managed to get booking a cab (that goes to and from the same place) totally wrong.

Yet somehow the worst thing about the whole situation is me saying it's a bit shit because someone doing their job correctly one day out of four is somehow them trying their best and shouldn't be criticized.

Yes, I know folk can make mistakes but if I was doing 5 pieces of art for someone and fucked up 4 of them with the excuse that drawing was hard I'd never be hired again.

And rightly so.

Not only that tho' but it's as if folk don't realise the impact that things like this can have on your routines and can really mess you up for the entire day.

And pointing this out doesn't mean I'm bitching about it, it means that as an autistic adult I feel comfortable enough (and assume folk know enough about it) to realise the very real impact it can have on you.

And before some smart arse pipes in with "Oh but taxis can be late due to traffic and the like!" - Yes we're aware of that and as annoying/upsetting as that can be  it's a wee bit different from one not turning up because someone can't be bothered to send it.

To be honest it feels like the stuff we need in place to function properly (you know routines, a wee bit of understanding, maybe some respect) is just way too much to ask for sometimes.

And if you think that's an over exaggeration and I'm being a bit of a drama Llama then ask yourself why I've had to explain it all here in the first place.

Gotcha.

 

Yes, I know that the whole black and white Autistic bluntness can be a wee bit uncomfortable for you at times - even for folk that know us well - but can you imagine for a minute how utterly confusing - and bloody frustrating - the NT mindset of always underplaying and excusing problems and issues is?

"Someone I work with is a total pain in the arse but I can't say anything as it'd make the work day uncomfortable."

"I asked someone to fix my car and they've had it 3 days and don't answer the phone....I'll just try again, get it back and just not use them again..."

And so on.

I'll be honest, the nuances and rules of this kinda thing are totally lost on us - and really tiring to try and emulate.

So here's the thing.

When we don't do it and just speak our minds about stuff like this just listen and try to understand where we're coming from.

Don't just pull us up for it.

Because chances are we'll call you out for being an arse.

Thanks for listening.