Last week near this time, the event, the first ever held by our county behavioral health office in correlation of Autism Awareness Month for our county and as an individual involved in many facets of the behavioral health office was on the committee for the event.
Recently, I have begun to see the importance of all facets of wellness as it relates to me and my journey that I am on. I am realizing that it takes all facets to work in harmony to be well and the result will provide me the best experiences and opportunities possible
CHICAGO — Devon Price had a long list of rules for getting through the most ordinary day:
FRESNO, Calif. — Sheri Louie fell in love with Kristina the moment she saw her at the group home for medically fragile children in Fresno. A licensed vocational nurse, Louie had spent years working with children like Kristina who need special medical equipment to stay alive. But something about the fragile baby with expressive eyes felt unique.
As human beings we are often creatures of habit. We cannot often see beyond what we know. Change is often reluctant, being autistic further hinders it. But what if there is a chance to grow and change for the better. We have to sometimes have to lessen our dependence on the things that hold us together because we know it works, there’s a time we have to look beyond what works.
Sometimes after we grow, we begin to learn. We begin to feel confident about making sound choices and becoming less dependent on relying on others to accept or oblige by our choices. After all, as long as our mentality is stable, we are adults, so we should be able to choose what we want to do without having to rely on the approval of others.
So, you may have wondered in the course of the past week, you may have noticed that I have written a lot about wellness? You may be wondering, what does that have to do with being autistic. My answer to you is, it has a lot to do with being around longer and living the best life you can.
Note: As part of my Day Program, I contribure to the program's newsletter. In June 2021, that Newsletter transitoned to a monthly basis as much of the elements of the program are back to a in-person status.
I, like many, want to be well, regardless of years. I had a hard time accepting what I needed to work on and defending my harmful habits because I didn’t want to face the truthy and accept that I needed to make a lifestyle change because it isn’t easy.
Keeping on track with yesterday’s blog of accepting Reality, what often follows up is a cause to react when confronted of our realities that we immediately defend ourselves with why we do things the way we do or the picture we paint of what we want others to believe is the truth, but we are only kicking the truth further down the road and not accepting that we need to work on ourselves.
Accepting the reality of where you are in life and what you need to work on can sting worse than a bee. I know they are unhealthy for me and that they need to be improved, yet I continue down the same path because I don’t want to accept the reality of needing to do something because it is healthier for me.
Over the past weeks when being out and about, I have had to learn that regardless what someone ha cause me or what I personally feel about them, I musnt treat them differently because of that, I have to remember that they are just a person as much as I am and it doesn’t cost anything for me to be nice to them.
This past week, I have been realizing the need to be wise and mindful of what I am consuming both in the form of beverages and food. I am losing weight and moving more during the course of the week and it has been better as well.
For the month of April and Autism Awareness / Acceptance Month, I have been writing on how the acceptance of the autistic community has increased in the 23 years since I received my diagnosis under the autism spectrum. This past week, I learned that even more acceptance has been seen, but yet we still have a ways to go.
Over the decades I have heard that a perceived trait of autistic behavior is acting out inappropriate behavior to get what you want without accepting the consequences of said actions. While all autistics may have not had the ability to accept the fact that there indeed needs to be consequences for any wrong actions that complete, if not taught, it could lead to a very troubling adulthood in which can inflict gradually worse challenges if not instilled.
Most of the world's greatest entrepreneurs start at a young age. Whether running a neighborhood lemonade stand or selling handmade jewelry at the local coffee shop, those with an entrepreneurial spirit typically find an outlet.
Sometimes, living in the present moment where my life is constantly evolving it can be hard to realize how far I have come since getting my diagnosis 23 years ago. Sometimes it takes until you have a reminder of someone who has helped you get through the worst of times and only do what they knew what they could to try to help get through the day.
Life is challenging. For me being autstic, managing all of the challenges life brings particularly in being well and independent are especially challenging for me at times. It can be hard to fight the challenges that I presented with internally and externally and still keep it together despite a world that I am just not wired for.
Following up with yesterday’s blog where I learned that we must be in a dynamic at times that we may not want to be in. We must also understand that we cannot be in a rush to get where we want to go either. Whatever place we are in our lives, we must take advantage of what it has to offer and while at times it may seem challenging or we may want to regress to something unhealthy, we must persevere in the present moment while using the tools in our toolbox.
Part of maturing and adulting as you become independent is learning when you cannot feed into something because it isn’t beneficial for you to do so. Learning that you have to be the mature one in the situation regardless of how others react to things shows how much I have grown. Also recognizing those changes within myself makes me see where the world can take me.
Dustin's Dynasty 