Autism/Aspergers Disclosure

I for one am rather partial to partial disclosure.

It is very common for people to ask me about why I do something that is symptomatic of autism. The most common thing people ask about is my sensitive hearing. Because I usually do not know the person asking the question very well, I usually say something along the lines of "I have sensory problems". Which is true, and does a fine job of addressing the behavior that they were questioning.  What I find is good about this type of disclosure, is that people don't seem to think much of it, which is nice.

As for people, such as teachers, who I work with regularly, it depends on how much I feel my autism will affect my participation in whatever they are teaching. 

I still have a lot of trouble just saying “I have Aspergers” mainly because it is difficult to predict how different people will react.  Most people do slightly change how they treat me once they know that I have Aspergers.  Which is not necessarily bad, but you know what people like me think about anything changing.

For anyone interested, I just started a Twitter account https://twitter.com/Elainaism

Fun and Function T-Shirts

Allow me to introduce you to my most worn t-shirts http://funandfunction.com/sensational-hug-tee-long-sleeves-navy-p-2033.html

They are a very reasonably priced t-shirt for sensory sensitive people. I wear them most days a base layer, underneath a regular t-shirt, or in the summer as I would another t-shirt.

They seem true to size as I am a skinny 5'6" person and normally wear adult small and (apart from the long sleeves being too short) I fit the 12-13 size. Which, according the website, is "compared to a size small adult"

The only quality problem I have had with them, is the threading on the seams tends to come undone.

Long Time No Blog

Long time no blog.

I have been busy getting acclimated to college work, but I will try to blog every now and then and during summer break.
 

I will leave you all with one of my writings from English class.

I am Different and Normal

By Elaina Franklin

Tears are often the result of sadness, which for many people comes about when they don’t quite fit in to what is considered typical.  I think that such a person would feel better if others would just accept him or her as just a regular person.  Whereas, when others keep trying to suggest to such an individual that their difficulties are just problems that everybody has, then it only reminds the individual of how very difficult their differences can be to live with.

Just like the cheetah in a traditional Zulu story, I started the long and occasionally tearful journey of realizing that I would not just grow up and be (for lack of better words) normal:

One day, the cheetah, with its great eyesight, spotted some large cats off in the distance and eagerly went running as fast as she could toward these cats. As she was running toward them, one of the cats, which was much larger than the others, stood up and roared. The loud noise frightened the cheetah and she dug her claws into the dirt and came to abrupt halt. The cat was a big male lion, and he roared out to the cheetah in a very low booming voice, “Who are you and what do you want?” (How the Cheetah Got Its Tears 2)

“Who was I and what did I want?” I thought to my 11-year-old self.  Just like the cheetah in this story, loud noises frightened me and I seemed to be a bit different from other kids my age.  I had just started to realize that I went about the world in a slightly unconventional manner. 

Fast forward six confusing years, and here I am diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, which is a type of autism spectrum disorder and affects social skills, communication, and many more areas of life.  I found out that I might have Asperger’s Syndrome when my pediatrician suggested that I might have it, and then I got evaluated and diagnosed.  In many ways, being diagnosed has been helpful for me and my family because now I have a better idea of what is happening in my brain, and I can get the help I need to reach my potential.

I have felt, on some occasions, excluded from being treated like a peer but, thankfully as far as I know, have never been bullied.  I have zero developmentally appropriate peer relationships, and I have trouble understanding what other people are thinking or feeling.  I am generally a happy person, but just like the cheetah, who “…thought about how the lion roared and did not want her, and how the wild dogs yelped and bit at her feet, and she felt sadder and sadder.” (How the Cheetah Got Its Tears 3), I do get sad about having trouble making friends.

Some people try to relate to my troubles by talking about how they think that the movie theater is too loud or that they “suck at making friends too”, when really they have what doctors would consider normal peer relationships and their brains process information just fine.  When people say things like this, it just reminds me of the troubles that I have.

It would be a lot nicer for me if people would just accept me, rather than trying to relate to me.  I feel the most comfortable around people who treat me as they would treat any other person.  Everyone has different strengths and weaknesses.  “Each animal had to get used to its own body, so the cheetah started running and found out it could run very very fast” (How the Cheetah Got Its Tears 2).  People tend to see what is different about other people before they see how they are the same.  However, I assure you that I really am normal in at least as many ways as I am different.