In order to understand why I stand up here today and talking about Autism, you must get to know me, first. I was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder at the age of seven but because I am so high functioning my mother heard many times that I could not be Autistic. I was so much older than the average diagnosed child because most children are diagnosed as a toddler. Also a lot of people, who know anything about Autism will tell you the fact that Autism is more common in boys than girls. Most people did not believe I was Autistic. The formal diagnose was PDD-NOS which is a catch all on the Autism Spectrum Disorder if you do not have Classic Autism (The thing most people think when you say Autism) or Asperger Syndrome (Another type of high functioning). I was so high functioning that I confused the local public school in whether I belonged in resource classes or the mainstream classroom. I have always been smart but because I struggle reading and writing, they thought I belong in resource class more than mainstream class. By the age of 12, I was being bullied so much for being different, almost every afternoon I came home in tears. So, my parents with a therapist I was seeing at the time decided I need to be taken out of public school and put in a private school.
This private school was supposed to be a place where I could grow into myself, which that did not happen until after graduating in 2008. A few factors play in to this. The first reason I was tested before I turned 18 years old was to make sure my accommodations were ready when I decide to go to college or if I decide to go college. I will never forget the doctor telling my mother because she was the only parent with me at this doctor appointment, I would most likely would not do college and if I did I would have to take one class at a time especially when it came to sciences. Second reason I was told by a teacher that I would not make in college so do not even worry about it. The last reason, the main way my autism affected me is when I am overwhelmed in sensory or in general... I had a teacher in high school yell at me for getting overwhelmed. The people at this private school were not accepting as we first thought just like public school, they even divided us in to a group of mainstream children and special education kids.
For more than 12 years of my life, I had the label of special education kid until I graduated high school and I finally was able to be like everyone else with a few differences. I enrolled in LFCC in Spring 2008, I did New Student Orientation on my 19th Birthday. The first semester was Fall of that year, I took Student Development Skills and Reading Development. It was not until that point in my life, no one had taught me the point of reading. Reading resource teachers could not figure out a way to teach me so instead of being bothered with that they just passed me along through the system. As I slowly got more skills over the years, I came more out of my shell. Around 2012, I had a friend suggest I join Student Government as senator. The more involved on campus I got the more I figured out my difference made it easy for me to look at Student Leadership situations differently, which is a great thing. And to prove the doctors and that teacher from high school wrong, this spring I walk across the stage, get my degree with a 3.5 GPA and Honors. When I was taking Biology 101 in Fall 2014, I figured out that the Autism trait rise is connected to rise in society use of Technology. Over the years, I have finally learned to embrace the fact that I have Autism and some abilities come with it. One ability that came with my Autism is my view of the world, which I show when I am taking pictures of the world around me.
Now that you know a little bit about me, I stand up to talk about Autism as someone who is on the spectrum because most people, especially those that do not have Autism, know what it like to have something in your body go haywire on you.
Most people with Autism Spectrum Disorder may experience the following: A heightened personal sensory system (Sensitivities related to hearing, brightness, touch, smells and tastes); increased sensory awareness (of the physical environmental); Not understanding and conceptualizing (Social language deficit and sometimes language deficit/delays); Lack social understanding (may misunderstand or miss what is going on social around them); Do not like unexpected changes; May over anticipate (worry about what is going to happen next); Weak fine/gross motor skills; Rituals or habits (embedded habits that may provide security to the individual); and obsessing on a thought/topic/ experience. For example as a college student, I dislike going to the testing center because I can hear every noise even if someone else can't. All the social skills I have as an autistic adult, I was taught over many years of therapy. I still have issues with being obsessed with a topic, this part of my autism that drives my parents crazy. I can watch the same episode of Television show many times and not care that I already know what is going happen.
Imagine this "The ammonia of glass cleaner, the smell of recently microwaved salmon advancing down the hallway, the staggered shock waves of closing lockers, a cold machine pulse of fluorescent lights, the blast of air conditioning, the loudspeaker announcement echoing through every solid surface, The scrape of a clothing tag, an unrelenting bouquet of perfume stuck on someone's jacket, the glare ricocheting from the passing cars through metal blinds, the person twenty feet away that seems an inch and a half from your face, the ticking on the clock no one else hears...awhile trying to focus on someone speaking to you."
This situation for a person with Autism is what it can feel like on a regular basis in the classroom. My teachers never thought about the fact when I would have a meltdown it was because I was overwhelmed with everything at once. I figured out when I have feel overwhelmed by too much going on in my environment, that is when I put my headphones on and to listen music and take a half hour break from what I was doing at the time. I have a video at the end of this presentation show what it like to go to Walmart or another store with the sensory overload.
The type of Autism that I have is PDD-NOS, which is Pervasive Development Disorder, Not Otherwise Specified. It is a diagnosis given to an individual, who displays some features suggesting Autism, but does not fully meet the criteria of Autism. Usually, an individual with PDD-NOS does not have intellectual delays, thus their behaviors are mistaken as being stubborn, selfish or defiant. However, it is a neurological and developmental disorder, and does not result from lack of discipline.
Characteristics of PDD-NOS include repetitive behaviors and activities, obsessive interests in specific topics, difficulty with interacting with peers, and/or impaired verbal and non-verbal communication skills. My communication skills still are affected in written form. When I write something I leave out words out and my brain puts the words back in at random spots or not all. My friends and family have figured how to make sense of what I am trying to say and most of the time I do not have issues with people being nasty about my communication issues. There are some people, who think I am stupid because I am autistic. I always say those are the stupid people in the world because they write me off before actually learning anything about me. In written form, my brain actually changes my writing to put words back into my writing and so many people in my world have learned to fill in the words that are missing.
Puzzle piece movement is showing that we each are a different piece of the puzzle and without your piece of the puzzle...the puzzle is not complete. I need the world to be aware of what it is like to have Autism. So, the Autism Awareness Ribbon is the puzzle pattern of this ribbon reflects the mystery and complexity of Autism. The different colors and shapes represent the diversity of people and families living with this disorder. The brightness of the ribbon signals hope through research and increasing awareness in people like you. There need to be more awareness of Autism because with more awareness comes acceptance. As a member of the Autism community, that is what I want more than awareness is to be accepted for who I am, a person with Autism. Thank you!!
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Autism, From Someone Who Is On The Spectrum
Non-FictionAutism from the perspective of a woman on the spectrum
