Experiences With Autism

Yes, I have a good measure of many features Chris mentioned. Rather than trivia I excelled in finding lost things. I was the family go to whenever any thing got misplaced. I can remember finding a lost ring in a large vacant lot of sand on a island for a neighbor as a child too. My ability in this arena has diminished as years march on sadly.

I was always a collector of all things trivia however, and amassed an impressive rock collection in my youth that my parents allowed me to keep when we moved (poor movers). I even have a folder of photos of neighbors I have found over the years in places like inside books in a neighborhood book exchange box. I plan to make a collage out of them. I have collected my family's cast-offs over the years to the point they avoid giving them to me now. I repurpose them as a hobby, a sibling says I am very good a repurposing things.

Writing and spelling has always been a struggle for me. I was diagnosed with dyslexia first. I am able to look at a word and know I have misspelled it though. Overall, I have used avenues such as I've mentioned to fill my days, avoiding writing and interacts with others often. But now due to the pandemic less interactions is no longer considered out of place!

My family called my home, the mom house. Because I learned to save and reuse everything from my grandmother who went through the depression. We aren’t hoarders, we freely give away most anything that someone needs.
Surprisingly to most folks, I can pretty much pinpoint the location of almost anything in my house, or in my shop.

I laughed when you said "Surprisingly to most folks, I can pretty much pinpoint the location of almost anything in my house, or in my shop." My family is the same way - if I can't find it, it probably was already shared and I just forgot. But, I am paring down. My sister always called it my "OCD gene."
Sue

Good morning, everyone! It's time to move onto our next question from the article referenced in this discussion header!

"What’s a myth about autism you want to debunk?"

Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend our little town's Halloween Happenings held at the elementary school. This included kids in costume [mostly] ages 0-17, plus family groups dressed alike. The usual costume contest, pumpkin decorating contest, a song-and-dance show by the local music company. Fortunately I was able to sit behind the sign-up tables, and help out, so I had a physical barrier to help keep me distanced. Lots of noise and stimulation in an enclosed area.

It was enlightening. While there was one young gal [about 8 ] who came early with her grandmother, she displayed the classic juvenile symptoms of autism, failing to make eye contact, non-verbal, physical movement not associated with current surrounds [flapping, picking, etc.]. She had a beautiful butterfly costume on, which spoke volumes; her grandmother was dressed as a flower! As I watched several other youngsters, I could pick out other more subtle signs of societal/autistic challenges. It was disheartening to think that some may have been forced into participation, as they looked simply miserable. And yes, others have already started learning the art of "masking" that many of us do.

There is no magic pill for autism. There is no "one size fits all". There is no "here take this/do this, it will be better."

What are your thoughts, please?
Ginger

Hi,
My name is Eileen. I have a 26 year old son with autism. he was diagnosed right after we turned two. he was non verbal at the time and pretty severe. the young man he is today doesnt even resemble that 2 yr old. we started with early intervention and ABA. We learned alot. when he was 3 after several months fighting the school district we got him into a ABA school. he said his first word at 4 1/2 after i hired someone who did applied verbal analysis. he was pretty much in private placements throughout his school years graduating from easter seals in 2017. he doesnt talk much, a little and only with his father and i. he doesnt speak to people outside of us but he knows how to. if anyone would ever like to talk, im here for you.