Ever go out to eat, and they bring your entrée before the sides?
And suddenly — boom — you’re stuck. Not because the food looks bad. Not because you’re not hungry.
But because your brain’s like, “Wait. This isn’t the order we eat things in.”
You sit there, fork in hand, just… waiting. Not sure how to start, because it’s not how it usually goes.
Your brain doesn’t know how to do it differently.
And you don’t even notice you’re waiting until five, maybe ten minutes have gone by.
Then finally, your brain offers up a new idea: “I guess I could just… eat what’s here?”
That, my friends, is what a transition issue can look like.
Whereas one person immediately says, “That’s okay,” and starts eating.
Brains with ADHD/Autism may need minutes or days to shift into acceptance of a new idea. If they’re able to shift at all.
It can look like every day stubbornness but it can also be a glitch in the executive function for flexibility.
Going through life with a brain that locks up in the presence of change is exhausting and can affect your confidence.
I encourage you to be mindful of and extend compassion to the folks in your life experiencing this.