Sleep and College

First I would like to do an up date on my sleep problems and then about my first week of community college.

I had a sleep study a week ago and that was a rather uncomfortable night, because with all of the wires attached to me I hardly slept at all.  Yesterday I had a appointment with the sleep doctor to discuss the results and he thinks the problem is I am taking longer to fall asleep then I think and having trouble falling in to a deep sleep.  The treatment we are trying is one light to help me wake up better and a nother light for something else (I'm not exactly sure what).

I started my two college classes and so far I like it ok.  I''m not sure if it will be easier or harder then I expected yet as the first week wasn't a full work load.

I will end this post with a random picture. Please don't take my pictures with out permission.

Me and My Brain Filter

Like many people with ASD (and ADHD too) my brain filter does not work very well.  There are two types of what I like to call brain filters, there is the type that filters information coming in and the type that filters information going out, today I will type about the going out.  When I think of something to say or do a lot of the time my brain filter is paying no attention, and what ever I am thinking comes right out words or actions, this is very annoying to my family, and happens a lot well we're watching TV.  Other people just can't seem to grasp the concept that I can't really control it (I have tried).

If you have not seen Mozart and the Whale you can go to youtube and type in "mozart and the whale part 1" and its there.  It is a great movie and I highly recommend it.

Thankful Thursday

I know it's not Thursday for 28 more minutes, but I have a busy day tomorrow and I might or might not have time to post.

Today I'm feeling thankful for being home schooled

Not everyone is ment to learn things at the same rate or the same age and that is one of the reasons I am most thankful to be home schooled.

My brain just wasn't ready to sit still and focus at age 7, read at age 8, or understand the concept of a unknown in math at age 12.  But because I had a patient parent teaching me, and I wasn't being compared to 20 other kid my age, I was able to learn all that and more on my own timeline, with my self esteem still intact.

The Coordination of Saying "Hi"

It should be simple right?  I arrive at class, I anticipate that someone is probably going to greet me, but when the moment comes my brain often doesn't seem to get it quite right.  First I have to find out where the person greeting me is and look in there direction (making eye contact is a whole nother challenge) Then at just the right second I have to say hi.  I also have to say it load enough so they can hear me, but not too load either.  Add in other people in the room talking and taking in my surroundings and it's just too much for my brain to think about.  I do like it when people greet me though, and it's good practice.  Improvement is improvement no matter what speed.

I will end this post with a random picture. Please don't take my pictures with out permission.

The Summer of Sleepiness

Back in April I started being tired on and off during the day.  At the time I was doing listening therapy for the first time so we thought that's what it might be, then my mom suggested I take melatonin so I did and woke up the next morning having some sort of seizure during which my eyes move back and fourth, which had not happened since I was 4, and since taking the melatonin I continue to sometimes have those.  So now I will finally have a sleep study next week on Thursday, and then an appointment a week after that during which we will hopefully fined out what the problem is and fix it (or treat it) and the summer of sleepiness will remain just the summer of sleepiness.

Educational Plans

My educational plans for this school year:
1.  Take a couple of classes each quarter at a community college.
2.  Continuing violin and piano lessons, and pre college music classes.
3.  Continuing hapkido (its a martial art)
4.  Continuing any self directed learning I want/have time for.

The only activities I did last year that I'm planing on not doing this year are theater and OT (therapy).

I will end this post with a picture of two of the cats my mom and I have fostered for an animal shelter.  Please don't take my pictures with out permission.

That Strange Feeling of Empathy

I was watching The Matrix Revolutions for the first time in a few years (I'll try not to give away any spoilers), and there was a scene during which Neo was sad about someone else, and I actually felt really sad for him and not for the someone else, sadness that I don't remember feeling last time I watched the movie.  Feeling sad for someone else because they are feeling sad about something else is really complicated, but my brain learned how to do so (at lest for a fictional character).  This makes me hopeful that my brain development is headed (get it? my brain is headed? I think that's funny) in a good direction.

Khan Academy

I would like do a little review on one of my favorite educational websites khan academy. http://www.khanacademy.org/

Khan Academy is basically a online library of educational videos and it also has an interactive practise section for math.  My favorite part is the math practise section which covers both basic math and more advanced math.  It also does a good job of getting me to review the topics I've already learned.  The video part is good as well, it teaches with lectures that include drawing/writing on the screen, so you can learn both auditorily and visually.

I will end this post with a random picture.  Please don't take my pictures with out permission.

Animals and Autism

This post isn't really about animals and autism in general, but about there effect on my life on the spectrum.

When I was younger I usually had a special interest in some type of animal, anything from pill bugs to primates to rats to reptiles.  I would get lots of books from the library to research them and talk about them.  A few years ago my dad played a phone message he had saved on his computer during which I listed off all of the animals that my 8 or 9 year old self wanted to have as a pet at some time in my life.

Currently my family has 2 dogs, 3 cats, and a bird.  I am by far most attached to my cat Hans (also known as Kitty), I am more attached to him then anything or anyone else.

I will end this post with a picture of my cat Hans.  Please don't take my pictures with out permission.

Aspergers Wallet Card

This is a good resource I would like to share.

http://www.aane.org/asperger_resources/wallet_card.html

Until I started keeping one in my wallet I was anxious that if I had to talk to a police officer that they would think I was lying due to a lack of eye contact.

I will end this post with a picture of my parakeet pigwidgeon (we call him piggy).   Please don't take my pictures with out permission.

Getting Diagnosed with Aspergers

To make a long story short my mom and I went to my pediatrician and brought up my sensory problems and he said "just from spending 5 minutes with you it looks like high functioning autism". So he referred us to a psychologist and I had 2 appointments with her and got diagnosed with aspergers.

Now for a little back ground information.

When I was a little kid I was quirky but pretty (for use of better words) normal.  Though I was very shy around people I didn't know well, I was good at playing games, with toys, or any activity that had some structure to it.  I did and still do have problems with some things such as reading, writing, and fine motor skills, but I was home schooled so all that could be accommodated for pretty well.

When I got to be about 12, I started having some social problems.  Socializing became more about just hanging out and talking, and I started having trouble in groups of people I wasn't already comfortable with and making new friend.  This is also When I realized that most people make a lot more eye contact then I do.  I had always been a sensitive and spirited child but I started having more sensory processing problems.

I will end this post with a random picture.  Please don't take my pictures with out permission.

myself-ism

Hello to anyone reading this.

This blog will be about Aspergers Syndrome, and anything else I think of to type about

I decided to name this blog myself-ism because the word autism comes from the Greek word auto/aut meaning self.

I put what I think is a subscibe butten near the top of the page so if you are interested subscribe and let me know if the butten doesn't work.  Please ask any questions you think of in a comment.

I will end this post with a random picture.  Please don't take my pictures with out permission.