Lolcat,
Honetly, it makes me feel bettrer whe I tell someone lie that even if they don't believe me. Yesterday my old boss visited my job site. He is a great friend. He had not seen me since my break down. I was having a rough day after an enormous amount of stress recently. When I go through periods of extended sensory overload, my mind 'blips", my speech gets affected and I loose my ability to speak fluidly. My doctor told me that years of intense stress has killed off a lot of brain cells. I have an educational performing arts company and teach sometimes hundreds of students at a time. It can be very embarrassing to "get lost" in the middle of my performance. At times like this I can't help but to have my problem be obvious.
He saw it yesterday and didn't know about the AS or the brain damage. I told him after the event as a way to help him understand my challenges during the show. At first I received that deer in the headlights stare, Then it was a more understanding moment. He was my boss for many years. I guess it was a shock, but 5 minutes later we were joking about it. Not in a cruel way at all because he realized that I was still the same person he cared about. I just had an explanation about my challenges where I didn't before.
After I told him, he told me about his health challenges and life was as usual. I think it's up to us how we react to ourselves that is going to dictate how other people react to us. For me, it has just become a matter of fact. I have Aspergers. Period. That's just a fact about me. Just as much as my hair color and that I am a teacher. If I am comfortable with it, others will be too.
10 Jan 2014, 7:22 am
