A few months ago, I made the startling discovery that I don’t really know myself all that well. In fact, I didn’t even know what I liked to eat—not without considering everyone else around me. That even sounds weird to me. As I write this, I am thinking that I have …
Thanks to a wonderful commenter on my WordPress blog where I am blogging my book, Twirling Naked in the Streets—and No-One Noticed, a book about growing up with undiagnosed autism, I have found the Prolific Living website/blog. I have become engrossed in the writing and ideas that the author shares …
My little Santa Baby To all my friends old and new’ Before I embark on wrapping the rest of the gifts and baking the Christmas cookies, I wanted to say Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a very Blessed New Year to every single one of my new friends. I will …
I need to buy two books at a time! A few months ago I began reading the Sword of Truth series, by Terry Goodkind. Only recently have I begun to read so much fiction, and am glad that I have. Reading and writing fiction has been like therapy, and good …
“Everyone knows Jeannie; she just doesn’t know them.” That was the common phrase I heard in high school. A constant stream of hugs, smiles, and waves filled my days. I never understood how so many people who I didn’t know, knew me. Prosopagnosia, also known as “facial agnosia” or “face-blindness,” …
Let’s talk about control. Autistics have a deep seated need for control. A need for routine, and to control our environments is paramount. In fact, it is very difficult for us not to do things the way we have always done them; the way we know they should be done. …
Ever since I was a child I had an extreme need to know exactly what to expect. I hated surprises, and I still do! My mother often complained how I was a “little bitch,” her words because when someone gave me something I didn’t like I was not polite and …
Asperger’s Syndrome, PDD-NOS, and Autistic Disorder will be removed from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), which will be published and in effect in May of 2013. Those disorders will now be included under one umbrella diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). To be honest I am …
I read somewhere that the first thing a parent with children on the autism spectrum realizes is that other families do not go through the same struggles with their children as we do. We see other families in the supermarkets, the parks, and at school, and they do not …
In addition, to all I have to be thankful for, I am thankful for my autism diagnosis. Thanksgiving has come and gone. I am usually a panicked mess. I love the holidays but hate the madness. I obsess about everything being perfect, every bite of food, every part of the …
