As an autistic person, our brains can constantly be in overdrive. It can be constantly brewing thoughts that can sometimes be negative and if they are allowed to spiral and obsess out of control. Having a healthy balance of when to entertain and rest your mind is key in living independently as an autistic person.
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.
Since the onset of social media, I am learning more and more about others from their experiences. It is knowing which sources are reliable and valid. Overall, it has made me know that I am not the only one that has traits or similarities in some ways to other autistics.
It can be hard for me sometimes to see through the mind fog that I am doing well for all the challenges I face in my life.
As we near the end of the year and work our way to ringing in 2023 in a few days, a few weeks ago I have accepted the fact that doing what I need to do in order to protect myself is OK, acceptable and sometimes appreciated in order to maintain optimal wellness and protect others.
To my loved ones throughout my life, I was often considered lazy. This continually-fed train of thought led me into the current chapter of my life thinking that until I learned about the amount of energy needed for me to endure the motions of the day.
If you noticed in my feature blog last week, I titled it “Why Can’t I just be happy? It goes without saying that as soon as I wrote that post, I began to feel better about myself and have a whole different outlook on life as a result of seeing life in a different way.
As I continue this journey of independence as an autistic adult, It can be frustrating for me to try my best to be an adult when others that have known me prior to my independence see me as the person of my past and continue to think of me as my past self.
When you move out of someone that takes care of all your needs, many times it requires you as an independent person to become responsible for being able to make sure every need you need to have met is met. Having additional challenges such as autism can make things like being independent realize the importance of following through with the things that you need to be responsible for on your own.
Today, for what I feel is one of the most genuine times ever, I recognized that I had my fill of irrational thoughts and negativity entering my head space. I also know that being in the environment that I was in that moment wasn't doing me any good, no matter how much I thought I… Continue reading Understanding Your Breaking Point
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.
Throughout life, I have been taught not to counteract things that I may not agree with. In the self-advocacy movement, the view can always be conflicted with arguing or complaining to get what you want like a spoiled little brat. As I continue to grow older in life, I am learning that unless there is a significant need to speak up, which I can cautiously do, then it is best to be a good sport and go with what is moving forth.
A few weeks ago, I made the opportunity to do some of the things before things changed drastically in my life in 2020. It felt good in a way, but I do know that I need to continue to work on things and get back to where they should be from years ago,
Being an autistic adult and knowing that after you try something and realizing that you are not ready to make that change on a consistent basis is something that can be hard to digest. It makes you feel guilty because you are being selfish, but then seeing all the things that happened over the past few years and even in the past few weeks makes me realize that it is Ok to accept that everything doesn’t go exactly to plan or fall back into place.
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.
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.
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.
In recent years, there has been much divide between self-advocates and family members of autistics about the advocating for all autistics. Sometimes when either side is advocating for things that they are passionate about, it must be understood that it is their experience and that everyone experiences things differently as autism is indeed a spectrum disorder.
As part of experience, a recent journey of self-discovery and acceptance has made me realize the fact that I can only have the physical and mental capability to only withstand so much. I have begun to accept the fact that at times we cannot do what we intend or want to do and while being independent comes with a sense of responsibility, we must learn to properly balance our lives in order to maintain optimum wellness both mentally and physically.
Dustin's Dynasty 