glider18's Wonderful World of Autism

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Hi Klom and welcome to the WrongPlanet. I'm glad you found this thread---I love when we can share gifts and/or experiences like this.

Hi Batz---I will read your latest post when I am thinking more clearly---I'm having an allergy attack today and haven't been on the WP much today. I should be able to focus on your story tomorrow or Sunday---keep up the great work .

Hi Sartresue---I am happy to help you out with what I can. I think test anxiety can be common amongst us---they can be very overwhelming and/or confusing.

I will try to post more later---but I am not feeling well with this allergy attack---and my psoriasis is acting up too right now . Thank you all for your participation on this thread, it truly means a lot to me.

hi all and hello to one of my favourite threads on WP. thank you glider.
good to say hello to you all.
great to read the dialogue between glider and sartresue. I can relate so very much.

Hi, Glider. I'm Aaron, and I'm a 28 year old college senior with a major in General Studies. What I want to do is help high schoolers with autism get a jump start into college when I am done. I guess my story is a long one. I was born on October 8, 1981. I couldn't talk until I was the age of 3. If it wasn't for my parents, I'd be stuck in an institution right now.

In elementary school, I often got teased by other people, because I was different and I didn't understand why I was teased. In 1991, I was diagnosed with autism, but my parents probably think it's Asperger's Syndrome, but that was my diagnosis because AS wasn't a diagnosis here in 1991.

I graduated from high school in 2000, with a 3.5 GPA and chose to go to Goshen College. It was a very difficult transition for me, and crying a lot my first days of going to school in a dorm. For the most part of my two years there, I did okay, until 2002, when I had a mental breakdown and left college.

One year later, I decided to transfer to Indiana University of South Bend, tried Computer Science, tried Accounting, and Math. The problem was, it got to the point where the subjects got too specialized and abstract. I eventually settled on General Studies three years ago.

In 2005, I was put in a group home by my mom and we haven't gotten along since then. I was so depressed I wanted to do myself in, because I felt so stupid, because of my immature behavior around my family. I felt that I didn't belong in a group home. Despite all of that, I still managed to keep my GPA around a 3.5.

I kept my job at Target, as a cart attendant, from 2004-2008, and lost my job because I got angry at a manager and ended up being banned from the place. I am currently working with a job coach to help me find another job. I have a hard time multitasking with things, but am great if I can do one task at a time. I also volunteer currently with Real Services, a program for the elderly and disabled and fold flyers and do a bit of clerical work.

I moved into my apartment last year and am very happy to be in there, with my cat, Rocco, who is 8. I ended also getting a tattoo of Otto Rocket, from Rocket Power, because that is my favorite cartoon. I am a kid at heart, and am also a huge Zelda fan!

I hope to graduate within the next year or two and being able to help out people with autism is my life's goal, to spread hope out there that anyone with autism can do anything they want to. In fact, with the help of last semester's psychology professor, we're going to start an autism support group, where I will moderate the group of 15 students that have autism.

Hope this story helps, glider! -Aaron

Thank you Aaron for your insightful story. Through all of your challenges, you have kept hope and a positive outlook. That is wonderful---it does help tremendously because I have been thinking a lot about people who are beacons of hope for others. You are on your way to being one of those people. Your Otto Rocket tattoo sounds great---I have 8 tattoos so far. So where does Otto Rocket reside at on you? My sons used to watch that show a lot---I haven't seen the show in awhile. I hope to hear a lot from you and how the autism support group works for you. We belong to an autism support group for our autistic son. He really enjoys being around the other autistic children there. I think it is vital to have autism support groups for college age too.

Hi Millie---it's great to hear from you again. I was thinking the other day that I hadn't heard from you in awhile, and I missed our posts. I hope everything is going great for you and your artwork. You are extremely talented.

Here is the updated list with some more additions of those of us who have found positives/enjoyment/talent/ability/etc. in autism:

Glider18
Garyww
SpongeBobRocksMao
Millie
Pensieve
DeLoreanDude
GeomAsp
BobTheMartian
Inventor
Sunshower
Outlier
Poopylungstuffing
Morgana
Fiddlerpianist
WaterWater
AnAutisticMind
Starr
Scorpileo
ProfessorX
Danielismyname (your poetry is a gift whether you think so or not)
CanyonWind
Sora (I think you have described autistic gifts in your life whether you realize it or not)
Itsallrosie
Gaya
Dustintorch
Ghfreak13579
TheDoctor82
Lionesss
ooOoOoOAnaOoOoOoo (in finding something positive about social aloofness)
Dianitapilla
Lita101 (I added your name because you stated that you want to find the good things in autism---that is positive)
Batz
Joshandspot
Prim8
SteveeVader
Tory_canuck
Alba
Odin
SplinterStar
Willmark (made comments about figuring out life---perhaps trying to look for the positives?)
Southwestforests (noted an interest in HO scale trains that is satisfying)
Seanmw
DarrylZero
LinnaeusCat
CockneyRebel
Dadsgotas
9CatMom
Ebec11
CerebralDreamer
AuntyCC
Visagrunt
Nightsun
TheLilAsimov
Sartresue
Klom
Ottorocketforever
MartyMoose
Maddino87
AtomicKaiju

Thanks to all of you who continue to keep this thread active.

Batz---I am still having that allergy attack and not thinking clearly. And I haven't slept much---but I will get to your story .

I look at it positively. I'm talented at many things and I often come across people who tell me they are jealous of me.

Hi MartyMoose and thank you for posting. I edited my list above and added your name .

Take your time, glider. I'm not in a rush or anything.

Besides, though I don't like college anyways. Most of the people are just unimpressive: either they're a buch of idiots or they're intellectual people who just play Magic: the Gathering and Dungeons and Dragons and read Traditional Fantasy. Or better yet, the peole here are left-brained, left brained to the point wherethey just conform with society.

Actually, hanging around with a bunch of NTs actually makes me sad how they conform with society as if it's the law or something (not including people with ADHD or other people with disorders since they're not considered normal by society.) It's all just a left-brained world.

What I mean is that they come up with cliche things and not thinking about how the world will be better. The Neurotypical NTs can tell you how to make the world better, but they don't do it or they have the inability ot do it based on their need to conform. They're jokes are cliche and most of the things they do are--well--mediocre. I mean like one time in my hallway these guys across from me drew on their markerboard a penis inserting a girl's mouth saying "Jordan likes cocksucking." And then they make jokes about teasing someone with homosexual or sexual jokes. Can I say cliche?

But anyways, long after this--and I mean long after this--I didn't take my medication, and when I don't take my medication I go into a creative yet insane and hyperactive temperament--my natural temperament. So I thought, "Hey, let's put something original and funny onto their board." Guess what I did? I drew a woman sticking a fork into her vigina behind a plate of eggs with a script saying this:

Child: Mommy, what are you doing?

Mother: I'm eating eggs for breakfast. Now go eat your sausage, bastard.

I wrote it on the board, and five minutes later it got erased. I asked them why they erased it, and they said, "It's socially inappropriate." I say, the hypocrasy. Drawing penises getting inserted into people's mouths isn't socially aprropriate, but they accept it, yet when I write a joke on the board people don't accept it. I guess they're jealous of me being too creative, or they thought the joke was strange (and I have a strange imagination when I don't take my medicine) and don't like things that are off the wall. Most of my ideas seems far-fetched to the NT, but I make them anyways.

Remember that I said I read a book called The DaVInci Method? Well, it said just that: Normal people don't like change conform with society and don't take risks, and the NTs are the Normal types. Extremely creative people, or people who think differently, however, take risks, are stubborn, and like change for the better. They're the first to discover the problems with society and aim to change it. THis is what the author calls The DaVinci.

Most people think of me as strange and hard to understand, but are most people with disorders since the Normal type is indeed mediocrea nd left-brained. Being left-brained shuts the door of your imagination and open-mindedness. THat';s why I think most people aren't impressive to me in college; what they find interesting I don't and therefore need more stimulation.

One guy told me if I'm feeling alright since I don't act normal if I'm off my medicine. I said I'm fine, and I'm finally glad to be free from once, but I think I'll finally be glad once I get out of college and join the Americorps and later the Peace Corps or something like that. At least I'll travel around the country for once and have many new experiences instead of just boring old college to hang around. Should be interesting. I'm not dropping out though; I'm just postponing college for now.

Can't take the linear learning of college; it's just like a factory only with school. I know I can do it; it's just that it's extremely boring to me and the people are boring and uncreative, even the artists and writers.

So much for the "best four years of your life" statement they give to every college student.

I've always loved your posts, Glider18.
My contribution comes from my workplace, a deli. I may be a part-time worker but I've been able to memorize many product codes, discover unnoticeable imbalances in machine operation before obvious signs of failure, train new employees to the point of them ready to take on anything, a lot of things. So far my bosses are majorly impressed with my work so I've fit in well with the environment.

I look at my autism in a positive way as well.

I enjoy having special interests, and supporting them as well.

Although I don't really have any talents, I try not to let that bring me down.

Even though I may get nervous in crowds and try to find a spacious area to pace in, I know that this awkward behavior is not entirely my fault.

Thank you for starting a topic that focuses on the positives of autism.

Hi Maddino87 and AtomicKaiju---thank you for posting. I am always happy when I see others like me who ,although realizing our challenges, are able to focus on the good. I believe interests and memorization skills are an important tool for our happiness (as both of you have mentioned). But even if those things aren't something others have, there are still plenty of good things to find.

Sorry glider for the previous post I posted. I felt a little anxiety and frustration at that time, so I posted it in an non-friendly way--and possibly a way as hatred toward NTs. THere are some idiots in here, and there are people who only play Macig and D&D, but there are impressive people, especially the people who aren't in the Honors College.

What I mean is that people in the Honors College are more left-brained than right-brained--at least, that's how I look at them when I see them. They have intellect, but what they don't have is creativity and that out-of-the-box thinking. In fact, I'm the only person with and ASD in the Honors College. I know this because in the Autism Program everyone else lives in a regular dorm while I live in the Honors College dorm. Most of the time those in the AUtism Program are more intelligent than those in the Honors College. It's probably has to do with that different view of the world, like I have when I view it.

Here's an example: while I am in the Honors College I used to play Magic all the time. THe first spark happened when I saw other people playing magic during the second week of October of this year. "Wow, this must be fun," I said, and no sooner did I buy a staarter deck and a booster pack to go along with the deck. Then I played while trying to learn the rules and had a good time playing. But what happened after that? After a while while the other players were having a good time, I felt bored. They asked me why, and I said that there could be more to it. My statement shocked them, but they kept on playing anyways and kept asking me to play day after day. I refused.

Then two days ago I decided on an idea on how to use the cards since I needed to get rid of them: I would use them to embellish a design someone put up. It looked generic to me, but I thought I could use some materials to beautify it. So with some Magic cards and paper and two thumtacks I embellished it into a Native American playing a game of Magic. he had his own deck and everything (of course, the design was on the wall, so I wanted to make it three-dimensional.)

Some of the Magic players tooked some cards from the design, which really pissed me off, and asked me why am i putting the Magic cards for a design when I could sell them.

"A non-creative person would sell his cards for profit for fear society would admonish treaten him with every arm it has (not with weapons, however, but with words), that is not true liberation of the soul; however, a creative person fears nothing society brings to him, and if he will forces him to let go something he truly loves or hates, he would rather use it in a artistic or creative way to liberate his soul; that is the true satisfaction one can have."

They still wanted to know why I didn't want to sell them, so I said, "A card is just a card--no value whatsoever except to the avid fans of the game. Why waste the money on a card game, only that you'll be a destitute man when you have so many and the game dies, making nobody buy any from you since the game isn't yours, when you can make a card game yourself and sell it to a company and actually become successful, only to delight the pleasures of many people with the new experience. Magic is going to die probably not in five years, but I'll say a decade or two later when some innovative game comes out because it [Magic] doesn't make new additions to the game like Yu-Gi-Oh!. That's dying too, but at least it keeps making new types of cards with every new series that comes out on TV and many more people playing it, so maybe it'll revive in a few years if the actors get their acts together."

They just said fine and continued playing. I eventually gave away all my cards to people, especially to this one kid who I don't like (I call him a pseudo-Renaissance Man since he thinks he knows everything but actually doesn't.) Actually, the last straw of me with him, beside he being one of the ones who took down some of mine cards in my design, was when They were playing Magic and this other kid who had no deck wanted to play since he never played, so the other kid gave him a deck with some of my white cards in it (the deck is white, one of the five colors in Magic) and put some of his cards in it. He gave the kid the deck and told him that some of them he had for free, but some of them he had to buy, so he would sell them to him for $5. I mean can I say he was giving them for profit. If it was the first deck someone had to give him, at least let it be for free. Besides, he has over seven hundred cards in his collection. Just give him some cards for free, will you. I eventually gave the kid some of my white cards later on for free since I'm not the type to sell you something if you've never played the game before, including some of my best white cards. He was grateful even though I didn't have enough white cards to make a deck.

Well, why did I say there could be more to Magic: the Gathering? Well, while I was playing I kept getting ideas on how to make it better, so many in fact that I just couldn't play it anymore. While others said it was the best game ever and had alot of strategy ever, I thought it didn't and that it was more based on power, strength in numbers, destroying your monsters, attacking, and other things, but they weren't enough.

If I get back into Magic, I Will, but only if they make it better like Yu-Gi-OH! (then again, I could have rose-colored glasses.)

As of right now, I'm trying to invent a game. I can PM it to you if you want.

Again, sorry for the previous posted rant, and see you later and hjave a blessed day.

Hi Batz, no problem with your post. It helps to rant from time to time---I understand perfectly. I'm still having allergy problems, but they are definitely better. I'm just not able to focus well when my head is congested. I've felt bad for not responding about your story idea. From skimming over it, it sounds very inspired and something that will be very entertaining to read. I like your ideas and think you have a lot to offer to the world. I am interested in your game---just don't let anyone steal your ideas.

I wasn't on WP yesterday. I am trying to get myself back into writing mode for my novel. I think I'm about to get back into the groove of writing. Something I did was buy the new Sims3. I'm going to try to make my characters from my novel into Sims3 characters so that I can view them move around. I hope I can make the characters interact with each other as they are supposed to in the story. But at least I should have a visual concept of them.

Keep me posted. It's always good to hear from you.

Hi glider. Here's something I recieved for Christmas: Dragon Naturally Speaking 10.

Dragon is a speech recognition software, meaning it can turn what you say into text. Preety cool huh? It also do commands on your computer and even on the internet or email, but I really use it for Microsoft Word.

Well, the reason why I bought it was because that during college when I had to write a paper I would just keep thinking and thinking about the project and how to solve it that I would eventually write it down at the last minute. Besides, the whole idea of typing gets me into a rut: I have to have more stimulation sense my mind travels like a jet from idea to idea, and typing it slows my brain down. So instead of typing a paper, I become bored and eventually quit writing the paper.

With Dragon, however, I've been able to type faster than ever before by speaking. Don't overestimate it, though, for it can make mistakes on your document. But the thing about it is is that when you correct a word, Dragon learns from its mistake andrecognizes your voice a little bit more.

If you want to buy it for you novel (as the reason why I bought it), you can, but it's pretty expensive. The one I bought cost $98.95 with no sales tax since I went to the PX/BX. I would advise you to do the short training process if you can, because Dragon will recognize your voice drastically if you do it.

Well, just something I bvought that you can buy and use if you want to.

Bye!