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My Autistic Brain Does Not Include An Internal Navigation System
Every so often I get so hopelessly lost I have a panic attack that I spend the next day recovering from.
It happened last night. I was on my way home from work via a pleasantly uneventful stop at the nearby shopping centre. It was dark, which adds another layer of difficulty but nothing I can’t handle. Most of the time.
I started the job a couple of months ago and I’ve been doing the hour drive to and from because there isn’t a direct public transport route. I’m pretty familiar with the route now but I still flick the car’s audio system on to Google maps.
I tell myself that it’s a way of optimising my time because who knows where the there might be a traffic snarl or some roadworks to slow things down. But the real reason I cling to it is that I don’t trust my own navigation ability. I rely pretty heavily on satellite navigation technology.
Last night both navigation systems failed me.
For some reason the Bluetooth function on my phone wouldn’t kick in properly and I couldn’t get Google maps through the car audio system. I lost my nerve. It didn’t help that it was dark. Somehow I took a wrong turn after exiting the motorway and found myself…
