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Adults On The Autism Spectrum

Autism (ASD) | Last Active: Jun 19 1:34pm | Replies (1156)
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@artscaping

@mamcita, Thank you for responding. Like you, it is the children and grandchildren that mystify us. Their struggles are painful for us. I have a lovely granddaughter. She just turned 21 last Saturday. Even after 6 months in residence at Rogers Hospital, Wisconsin her OCD issues of perfectionism and scrupulosity are still playing havoc with her chance to pursue a college education or have a normal young adult life. And as you said, even though I don't always agree with my daughter, her strength as a single parent and her total commitment to two girls to the exclusion of her own life is admirable. Have some joy today, Chris

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Replies to "@mamcita, Thank you for responding. Like you, it is the children and grandchildren that mystify us...."
Mamacita, Alumna Mentor | @mamacita | Jul 24, 2019

Chris Trout, Volunteer Mentor, thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and reflections on what I discussed earlier today.

I love how our thoughts are translated to words on paper, sharing our deepest hopes and dreams for our loved ones. And also for ourselves.

It is interesting to me how you mentioned OCD. My Mother suffered terribly much of her life with undiagnosed OCD. It was only when she was elderly and in a nursing home that she was able to finally get treatment for it. She became a totally different person. Full of sweetness and joy.

My heart breaks for your Grandaughter. OCD has left it's imprint upon my character, as well. I am a cleaning madwoman. My Grandson lives with us, and He is always telling me to quit cleaning so much. He doesn't understand how important it is to my mental health. Somehow my response to child -hood trauma has left me with quirks that others dont usually notice about me.

I am so much better with OCD than I used to be. I used to clean right in front of people when friends would come to visit me. I am embarrassed to admit that a bit, but it is true. I clean when I am in a particular room, not on certain days or on a particular schedule. It's not a fear of germs for me. It's more a matter of controlling my environment. Making sure that things are orderly and look nice, smell nice, feel comfortable. And I'm ok with that.

I do count things. And I get nervous about leaving the house and forgetting to turn things off, like stoves, etc. I watched a series of videos on OCD on YouTube. They were very helpful to me, even though I do not consider myself to have quite as advanced a case as they did.

I do hope that your Grandaughter is able to find some answers for her OCD, and then, some peace of mind. Mindfulness, meditation, and prayer are my mainstays for everything these days. If you don't mind, I would love to pray for her and to send energy and light her way.

I know she has to be pretty special. Her Gramma sure is!

So happy to have you here! Love and light to you, as well

Mamacita Jane

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