All systems must address the need of how to properly communicate sensitve information to not only the autistic community but all communities with communication challenges.
Category: Dignity & Respect
Wellness Wednesday: Getting Into the Community
As the weather cools and the height of the pandemic season looms again, I know that I need to get back out into the community and be less of a hermit. Being isolated does not do well for me and it results in decline of the work that I have done in recent years.
Adulting: The Importance of Friendship
One of the common stereotypes of being autistic is the fact that we do not want a friend or have difficulty in maintaining friendships as we struggle socially. While that may be a factor with some autistics, that is not always the case, there is importance of having and being a friend to those both on the spectrum or neurotypicals, whether or not they have challenges or not, all friendships are valid.
It Only Has to Make Sense to You
Part of being an independent person is that you have to be OK with the life choices that you make. It can be hard for those close to you to sometimes understand the things you once did while under the care of someone you no longer want to do, but that is because as an independent adult, you have the freedom to do as you choose for your own reasons.
Why I Keep On Going
Sometimes, I ask myself, why do I keep on going? Why do I never give up? I often make statements about not doing things in my life because of how I feel at that moment about them, yet I continue to do things because I know that they are the right thing to do.
Deciding For Yourself
For most of the 33 years of my life, I lived under my parents’ roof. As such I was often coddled because of my challenges in life. Oftentimes I followed suit in their choices they made for me. Now in my fourth year of independence, I am learning that I have to think and decide for myself what is necessary for me in my life, because I am the one that has to live with the choices I make.
Reflections: Awareness of The World
Recently, I have realized that there are things I am slowly becoming more aware of that affect my senses. Knowing this, I have to use the proper defenses to best protect myself from reacting in a negative manner that can cause unwanted attention or behavior and produce consequences that I will deeply regret.
Disability Pride Is Not Entitlement
32 years ago in the United States, then-President George W. Bush signed into law the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) to protect those with disabilities from discrimination. While many think being disabled has to be visible to the naked eye, it most certainly does not and while it can be easy to pass judgment when not being able to easily see the disability, it proves that we don’t have to know the specific disability but must honor the request that is being made.
Reflections: Pushing Myself Away From Social Connection
One of the traits of my being autistic is being socially awkward. While I have come a long way in understanding the social nuances of the world, there’s times of connecting with others that has caused a regression of wanting to extend myself out again with the feeling of being hurt or rejected for who I am, although in many cases, I am assured that is not the case and I am accepted for who I am.
What Everyone Else Does
In recent weeks, I have been accepting the need for free time where I am not engaged in an object or item at hand. For most of my life, until I chose not to have Cable TV in my own home at 35, when it has been all I know, I am realizing that I can choose and limit the content I watch in order to keep me entertained and not so much engaged in something.
Understanding What Works
Autism is a struggle, there is no denial of that. When an autistic person such as myself has to navigate through the motions in a world that isn’t necessarily designed for us, we can be severely affected as a result of many actions that we may not be able to control. However, for me, I had to understand what works and actually put it to use so I can manage the life I must endure.
Reflections: Cherish The Memories
Recently, I experienced a challenging outing with my mother. In having that experience, I learned from her that we need to cherish the memories we can have while we are still able to have them before we can no longer experience them.
Reflections: The Hard Truth
Many times growing up when experiencing life with my parents and seeing their faults or things they would do that I would react in a way that was not the proper way, they would often say “It will happen to you.” While many of those things haven’t happened to me yet, I am still realizing that my parents are not the same as they were when I was younger and they are getting older.
Adulting: The Struggles of Dependence of Independence
Being independent, yet not having total freedom to go the places you truly want to go can be rough to manage. Having to wait and rely on the help or services of others can make you feel like your independence is severed and dependent on whatever is available to you. While I am working on lessening this need, I must not give up while working towards that ultimate goal.
Reflections: Changes in Growth
As I have had some time to ponder my own thoughts recently, I began to realize how much I have matured socially over the years and how people realize that I can actually be someone who can carry a conversation for a long time and my ability to mask as a neurotypical when necessary.
Adulting: Navigating Negativity
Many times, those who do not know my whole life story approach me and say “you are such a positive person.” I acknowledge that but in reality, fighting the ability to remain positive can indeed be very challenging for me.
First Responder Awareness
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.
Reflections: We Change and Grow
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.
Adulting: Choices As You Grow
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.
It Doesn’t Cost Anything To Be Nice
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.
Dustin's Dynasty 