Mission Impossible - the 'Crisp Protocol' ?

Who doesn't like a packet of crisps ???Salt and vinegar, cheese and onion…….. prawn cocktail if you're feeling exotic.??

Always goes down well with the lunchtime sandwich doesn't it ? (or even in the lunchtime sandwich if you're classy)…… or with a beer down the pub with your mates.

Ever thought about the process of opening the packet ???If you have, it's probably only extended to whether you should open it fully and lay it flat if you plan on sharing (does anyone still do that ?).??99% of the time, it's just a case of two hands, opposable thumbs (thank you, evolution)….. pull… pop…… all done in about 3 seconds.

Now imagine if the single most important thing in your world at 5:00 PM on a Tuesday was to eat a packet of crisps.???But your mind tells you that you have to get someone else to open them in order to be able to eat them.???And that person has to open them in a particular way in order for them to taste right.???

You're locked into a process.???Step 1: selecting the bag is the first challenge if it's in a multipack…… it's got to be removed from the pack without disturbing the other bags.??And you can only eat the one flavour.???But it’s stuck at the bottom of the bag.??Once you get past this, Step 2 is selecting the person that's going to open them.??That person may not be the closest……. or even in the house at the time.???What if you can’t find them???Assuming they are there, Step 3 is determining how the bag should be handed to them….. eye contact or no eye contact…… handover with your right to their left or vice versa…….. verbal communication (by way of stimming) or silence……lifting the arm fast or slow.??Next is Step 4……….the really hard part……. finding a way without being able to speak and clearly communicate what you want……. to get the person opposite to mirror your expectations………they have to receive the bag, open the bag and hand back the bag ………. in exactly the way that your brain tells you it has to be done.?????

The longer the process goes on, the more distressed you become.???And if things break down at any point during Steps 1 through 4, you have no choice but to start the process all over again.????

Your brain does not allow you to understand the suggestions of the other person……… however helpful they want to be, or however closer they may get you to your goal….. eating the crisps.

You are locked into a process and the only way out, is for “Mission Impossible – the ‘Crisp’ Protocol”…..to become “Mission Accomplished”.

A process that takes the average neuro-typical person 3 to 10 seconds………could take a neuro-diverse person (in this case one with OCD) up to 40minutes………by the end of which both you and?the neurotypical person are feeling a mixture of frustration, distress and anger.

As a parent of a?child?with various complex medical conditions, including autism and OCD (immune mediated), the crisp experience and many others like it….is a common one.???A third party looking at the situation would consider it hopeless.?????But that same child can also sing her favourite song in 6 different languages, all self-taught through her iPad.???The obsession with detail which drives the OCD ‘crisp’ tendencies, also allows the child to learn language, tone, pronunciation and musicality……… in a manner which would take years of conventional teaching.

There has to be a better way to make the most of these hidden talents.??Yes let’s help to mitigate the source of these frustrations but recognise the huge advantages they can also bring when suitably harnessed.?

I work for EY and I am an advocate of my firm’s Neurodiversity campaign.? Let's make the world of work more accessible to all.?Learn more here.

?EY launches first Neuro-Diverse Centre of Excellence in the UK to boost client innovation | EY UK