Component 10. Reducing decision making.

10. In Dr. Shah's book, this component is called "reducing decision making." I want to focus on this advice as I understand it. She writes, 

"The ability to make decisions and choose between options seems to get worse in many autistic individuals when they develop catatonia. It is helpful and actually beneficial to the individual if other people make the decisions on their behalf. The dilemma of making a choice or a decision seems to cause stress and anxiety and can increase shutdown and freezing. Reducing or removing choice goes against the principles of humanistic, positive support and care providing so understandably, carers and professionals feel unsure and uncomfortable applying this recommendation. However, this becomes easier when they understand the reasons and are reassured that it will help the individual and that they can gradually increase choices when they make progress. A gradual approach of limited options can be introduced and progressed according to the individual's ability to cope with decision making." (160-161)

I did not, at any point, understand this book to be telling non-autists to take over the lives of autists. Instead, I believe that this "component," or guideline, focused on eliminating the need for people in autistic catatonia to make relatively trivial decisions (or, to make major decisions until the catatonia has passed). Effectively: Dr. Shah encourages caretakers not to ask burned-out, broken-down autists whether they want to eat at 5:00 or 5:30; what they would most like to eat for dinner; or what color shirt they might like to wear, if they are relying on others to dress them. The idea is not for caretakers to dismiss the preferences of autistic individuals. On the contrary, it is to observe the preferences of individuals--doing their best to take care of the individual, just as they would have or might have requested--even while saving them the emotional labor of expressing preferences they might not hold very strongly.

I am reminded a bit of the famous account of President Obama's blue and grey suits:

"President Obama always wears the same thing. Which is part of his secret to getting so much done. As he told Vanity Fair:

'You’ll see I wear only gray or blue suits,” [Obama] said. “I’m trying to pare down decisions. I don’t want to make decisions about what I’m eating or wearing. Because I have too many other decisions to make.'"

https://www.fastcompany.com/3026265/always-wear-the-same-suit-obamas-presidential-productivity-secrets