Adults On The Autism Spectrum

Posted by Mamacita, Alumna Mentor @mamacita, Apr 29, 2018

Maybe you were really shy as a child. Perhaps you took home a huge stack of books from the school library, read them, and returned them the next day. Or did your best friend find you crying in your closet, unable to answer the question "Why?" At any rate, your life could be traced to the Self-Help section of the local bookstore. Unfortunately, most of the books were not much help. ADHD seemed to fit, at times. Your shrink said you might be Bi-Polar, although she wasn't really certain. All you knew was that you rarely fit in, anywhere. One day at work, it hit you square in the face: I don't speak these people's language! Really, it was like you were all playing this game, and everyone knew the rules but you. You couldn't tell a joke, and you never "got" any joke your co-worker tried to tell you. People started getting annoyed with you, because you had a memory like a steel trap. They didn't appreciate it when you called them on the carpet. Who knew? This was my life, and worse. I finally aced several tests that pointed me to the answer to my questions. The Autism Spectrum. Guess what? Little kids with Autism grow up to be Adults with Autism. Diagnosed late in life? This is the place for you!

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Autism (ASD) Support Group.

In reply to @sirgalahad "hi mummy" + (show)
@sirgalahad

Hey,@sirgalahad, good to have you here! Hope your day was good. If not, hopefully tomorrow will be so much better. Today was very busy. My daughter is in very poor healrh. We have people coming from home health every day. Everything that can be done is being done. If you don't hear from me, don't be shy, give me a holler, either here or on social media. Have a good evening, and I hope to "talk" with you again very soon.

Mamacita

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@mamacita

Hey,@sirgalahad, good to have you here! Hope your day was good. If not, hopefully tomorrow will be so much better. Today was very busy. My daughter is in very poor healrh. We have people coming from home health every day. Everything that can be done is being done. If you don't hear from me, don't be shy, give me a holler, either here or on social media. Have a good evening, and I hope to "talk" with you again very soon.

Mamacita

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@teresa, thank you for checking on me. Always good to know I have someone looking out for me! "Talk" to you soon,

Mamacita

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@mamacita

@teresa, thank you for checking on me. Always good to know I have someone looking out for me! "Talk" to you soon,

Mamacita

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@mamacita

I am sorry that your daughter is ill. Praying for her and you! Love and blessings to all of your family!

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@mamacita

Hey,@sirgalahad, good to have you here! Hope your day was good. If not, hopefully tomorrow will be so much better. Today was very busy. My daughter is in very poor healrh. We have people coming from home health every day. Everything that can be done is being done. If you don't hear from me, don't be shy, give me a holler, either here or on social media. Have a good evening, and I hope to "talk" with you again very soon.

Mamacita

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bear huggies mummies and your daughter

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Watching Midsomer Murders on a Saturday night. It is very cold outside , but even if it wasn't, there's no place I'd rather be. Unless it's on the sofa in the living room, where I can look outside and see the sun shining through the windows. It is not unpleasant being a hermit. I enjoyed being out and about earlier this morning. I adulted my best even though it was rather peopley out there in the real world.

I enjoy people. I really do. But they are exhausting. All the feels, noises, and visual stimulation. It is both exhilarating and painful at the same time. I soak up every emotion like a sponge. It takes time and solitude to absorb and diffuse such intense feelings. I did not choose this way of life. It chose me. I would not change anything. I'm sure I am just as exhausting to my friends and family. I guess we all need a bit of a rest, eh?
Mamacita

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Happy Sunday everyone! When I was struggling to get fully awake this morning, I mumbled to my Grandson, who was playing on his "Switch." "What day is today?"

I was a bit confused, because, in my mind, it was Monday, and I could sense that it was much, much later than 8 o'clock. This could be problematic, because , we homeschool and if he was playing a game on a school day before finishing his schoolwork, he was in big trouble, mister.

Fortunately for me, and the Grandson, it is indeed Sunday, at least here in the U.S.. We do house work, go to the bookstore, do a bit of looking around at the stores, take care of business, and sometimes even make it to the 11 o'clock service or the 5:30 service at church. The Grandson is a gamer, and so is the Grandfather, my husband. The games they play are different, but the intensity is the same. Don't get between my boys and their games. Actually, they both know, and have known for a long rime, that people are more important than things.

Which gets me to my last point. People ARE more important than things. The "in" thing now is to unclutter one's home and life by looking at every single thing we have and ask ourselves the question "Does this bring me joy?" Now, I don't know about you, but looking at all my collected books brings me joy. I can rarely part with a single one. Same for my collection of song books. (I play the organ and the piano. My whole entire family sings.) There is a bookcase in almost every room of my house.

How about you? Are there memories or grudges, things from your past, that constantly "loop" and you can't seem to get rid of them? We Auties are notorious for having excellent memories, sometimes even near photographic or better. So what do we do? Can we go through each "room" of our "Mind Palace" (A la Sherlock Holmes) and pick up each "collectible." Can we turn it over in our hands, and see if there is any joy to be found? If there is any joy, keep it. If not, out it goes in the trash. We don't want to "donate" that kind of collectible to anyone else. It must be obliterated, destroyed, sent to the landfill, where it can never harm anyone again.

However you choose to complete this task, get ready to feel a weight lifted off your shoulders. Get ready to feel more joy in your life as you make room for positive change. If I can do it, trust me, so can you. Love you more than you know. And I appreciate all of you, so very much! Have a wonderful rest of the day. I hope something I said put a smile on your face.

Mamacita

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Well, guys and dolls, I peopled again today. I had a task to do, and I went for it, full speed ahead. My adult daughter is with us now and needed a recliner as well as a larger bed. I had only a certain amount of money and was not at all sure I would be able to get both for the amount of money I had. Fortunately, I was able to hit up a sale, and got a Lazy Boy power chair and a very good brand of mattress. Did it help that I noticed the sales lady was wearing an Autism Awareness bracelet? Did I get a good deal because I told her that my Grandson was Autistic too? Maybe. Maybe not. All I know is that every single time I get out and about, there is always someone who needs to hear about Autism Acceptance. And that is why we are here. Autism Awareness is commendable and wonderful and vitally important. That is where the journey begins. But it must not stop there. Autism Acceptance understands that we are all made the way we are made. We Auties are just wired differently. We are PC's in a Mac world. We have gifts and talents just like everyone else. Have a wonderful evening. If you are anywhere on this Autism Spectrum, we would love to hear from you. Your thoughts and ideas are valued here. Talk to you later!
Mamacita

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@mamacita

Well, guys and dolls, I peopled again today. I had a task to do, and I went for it, full speed ahead. My adult daughter is with us now and needed a recliner as well as a larger bed. I had only a certain amount of money and was not at all sure I would be able to get both for the amount of money I had. Fortunately, I was able to hit up a sale, and got a Lazy Boy power chair and a very good brand of mattress. Did it help that I noticed the sales lady was wearing an Autism Awareness bracelet? Did I get a good deal because I told her that my Grandson was Autistic too? Maybe. Maybe not. All I know is that every single time I get out and about, there is always someone who needs to hear about Autism Acceptance. And that is why we are here. Autism Awareness is commendable and wonderful and vitally important. That is where the journey begins. But it must not stop there. Autism Acceptance understands that we are all made the way we are made. We Auties are just wired differently. We are PC's in a Mac world. We have gifts and talents just like everyone else. Have a wonderful evening. If you are anywhere on this Autism Spectrum, we would love to hear from you. Your thoughts and ideas are valued here. Talk to you later!
Mamacita

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How great that you could connect over Autism and also get a bargain on some very important purchases, @mamacita
I just love stories like that!

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