Autism verses Neurotypical Embarrassment I read an article recently (see below) from an autistic adult who wrote about how neurodiverse people learn neurotypical social skills…and should they? How much do they need to know? Where’s the point when the neurodiverse gets to be the neurodiverse? Is it always appropriate that neurodiverse people (for this blog I discuss people with autism) learn each and every neurotypical social skill out there? And, always behave “properly?” How does this involve me? Just today I was reminded about this very … [Read more...]
07
Oct 2019
Autism and the Scam We were on vacation and there was a tiny incident. Not even an incident. Yet it could have been. What was it? My husband, son, and I were walking to the St. Louis Cardinals Busch Stadium in St. Louis. We had parked our rental about five blocks away from the stadium, checked out the famous Arch, and then headed to the ballpark. As we were walking, we had to walk around a building that was under construction. The city had constructed a “lane” for pedestrians that were heading to the ballpark. It was a rather narrow lane, … [Read more...]
22
Sep 2019
Autism and Neighbors You could say that this blog is a follow up to my previous blog, “Autism and Too Much Stuff.” Both of those blogs are similar because of two separate yet related articles (both with similar themes) that inspired me to write. The first blog was inspired about an article about a family with a bunch of play structures in their yard. The family received a letter from “neighbors” complaining that they had too many play structures. Apparently, the neighbors didn’t know (or didn’t ask) WHY the family had the play structures … [Read more...]
08
Sep 2019
Autism and Too Much Stuff I recently read an article about a family with a child on the autism spectrum. The family purchased a lot of play structures for their front yard. They did this because they have a child on the autism spectrum. They discovered that their child benefits from movement. They purchased lots of play structures and placed them on their spacious front lawn. This, apparently, irked their neighbors. Why all the stuff on your lawn? they asked and demanded it be removed. An eyesore, they said. This got me the thinking about … [Read more...]
01
Sep 2019
Workability and Autism What happens with a teenager with autism? Well, first they’re getting closer and closer to becoming adults. My son is only a year and a half away from eighteen. An adult. His first year in high school, as a freshman, we focused on the transition to high school. Getting comfortable. Adjusting to no longer having an aide and having a foreign language class for the first time ever. Big transitions. After the first month or two, everything settled down. He earned good grades in freshman year and ended up enjoying the … [Read more...]
25
Aug 2019
Household Chores and Autism I thought this was such a great perspective…And, it is only one perspective. This is a commentary from a young adult on the autism spectrum: “Neurotypicals who live with autistics, have you ever wondered why a sinkful of dishes just hangs out for days? Have you ever gotten irritated because unfolded laundry will stay that way for a week on the bottom stair landing? Have you scratched your head at the dust and dirt all over the kitchen floor that STILL hasn't been swept? You don't get it. There are chores to be … [Read more...]
30
Jun 2019
A Sad Story in our Autism Community I’m purposely going to keep this blog short, because this is not one that makes me feel warm and fuzzy. If anything, it makes me sad, and a little terrified. I’m blogging about suicide. One that affected our local autism community. What happened? In the spring, a seventeen-year-old with high functioning autism committed suicide on April 2, Autism Awareness Day by jumping from a parking structure at a Glendale, California mall. We didn’t know this young man, but friends of ours did. I remember hearing … [Read more...]
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