The Benefits of My Autistic Brain

If you look online, you'll find lots of lists of the ways the Autistic brain is different and beneficial to the world. Not all of us are the same, so I'm just going to list some of mine for fun.

Memory: I was called "The Walking Encyclopedia" as a kid. I remember random facts. I remember birth dates of people I'm not even in contact with any more, celebrities, everyone. I remember conversations. I remember snapshots of life - for example when I used to study, it was easier for me to remember the whole page of notes than to remember each individual fact. In other words, my brain can take a snapshot of the page, almost like taking a picture, and during a test, I can recall the page and read it over again for the fact I need, in my head.

Hyperlexia: I wouldn't say I'm hyperlexic so much now, but I was as a kid. I still love words and languages and my major talent is spotting errors. If there is a spelling error on a page, I just have to look at it and it literally jumps out at me. It's useful (since I work as an editor) but it can also be crazy making. Because of that, I rarely have to edit what I write. I write pretty much just one draft and maybe edit for the way the sentence sounds, but very rarely for spelling or grammar.

Hypergraphia: I have a love/hate relationship with this! For example, right now I'm REALLY tired and should be in bed, but I can't stop writing, so I just keep making more posts. What you're reading now has probably been written a month ago, no joke!
I also write to process my thoughts and I just think I'm a better communicator through writing. In fact, even my hubby and I write to each other so we can communicate clearly. It results in very few fights or fights that don't take long to solve.

Sharp Senses: I see things people don't see easily, like small things on the floor. I'm the best at finding lost contact lens. Call me! lol
I also hear sounds people hardly notice. This can be annoying. Especially when trying to sleep.
I smell things quite strongly, which means I can smell rotting food easily, but I'm also sensitive to scents/perfumes and those can give me a headache. Can't have good without the bad!
I can feel very light touch and pretty much every hair on my body. Also annoying at times, but all these things make it very hard to sneak up on me. Also on the plus side, sex is amazingly intense and wonderful. (Sorry for the TMI, but it's hard to find Autistics talking about sex frankly and we do have sex, so I thought I'd throw that out there!)

Honesty: I speak my mind without a care in the world. This can be annoying to people who don't expect the honest truth from me, but those who can take it, appreciate it. I've worked hard over the years when it comes to my delivery, but I still slip up at times and cause offence now and then.

Happy Alone: Because I don't need the presence of people around me for validation or entertainment, I can happily go places alone. I don't need to wait for others to do things, which means I go out and enjoy life and I don't feel awkward or lonely doing it.

Extreme Focus/Obsession: Once I know what I want or like, I can maintain my focus on it easily. Like goals, for example. I achieve them because I am focused and tenacious. Some people call it stubborn - maybe it is, I don't know, but I get things done, so booyah! Good luck trying to stop me.

Ok, that's enough for now because I am REALLY tired and if I list too many, it will start to sound boastful and you'll all want an Autistic brain. :p

You Can't Censor Me

I found this badge on another site and decided to check out what mine would be rated. I got this:

I'm rated PG-13 apparently because of the presence of the words "penis," "hurt," and "queer" in my blog.

When did these become bad words?

I try to make sure not to swear (too much), but regular everyday words? No, I won't stop saying normal words for normal things. Sorry if that offends, but that's just the way it is. I tell it as it is.

The Honest Truth: What Happens to the Trinkets

Here's something I think all parents know, but nobody says anything about. People are always picking up kids little trinkets and things (maybe to placate them, I'm not sure). You know that little vending machine toy or DollarStore thingamabob you bought your niece?

Guess what happens to it?

About 5 minutes later, the kid forgets about it. Within about 30 minutes, I throw it in the garbage. Oh yes I do! I bet other parents do, too! If it's a bigger toy and not age appropriate, I give it away, but otherwise, it goes in the garbage.

Don't waste your money "spoiling" a kid with junk because our houses with kids don't need anymore junk. Most kids have too many toys in the first place!

I love Spongebob, but what are we supposed to do with this?

My mom took our son shopping with her and he came out with a $12 Spongebob plush toy basket  and one of those plastic balls from the machine, filled with ridiculousness. The over-priced plastic ball of ridiculousness had a tiny plastic dog inside and a laser beam that attaches to your finger. Oh great, that's EXACTLY what my kid needed! He'll blind us all in two seconds! Thanks mom!

Garbage. Sorry, but it's true. 

Early Honesty

This is actually my friend's three year old. Her father is big on art and has taken her to the Guggenheim many times. She didn't like this exhibit and had no problem expressing that.

The Line Between Honesty and Privacy

I've written before about the permanency of the Internet and how I think all bloggers should be careful about what they disclose about themselves and more importantly, their children.

While I believe in being open and honest in my blog (as I am in real life), I also ensure to keep a little bit of me and my family to myself. I believe that is the safest and most respectful thing I can do for myself and my family. So while the stories and experiences I tell are 100% truthful, I do leave out extremely personal details - there's no reason for you to know my address or exact location, for example.

Also, not everything in my life unfolds in the order seen here - I do auto-schedule some posts - partly as a safety measure and partly out of simple practicality. I have limited time in which to write, so in order to keep a consistent schedule (I've been aiming for Mon-Wed-Fri lately) it means I have to write things ahead of time when I have the time.

While I aim to help others on a similar life path as ours with the experiences we have, I also try to write in a way that is respectful to my son and hopefully will not embarrass him in the future. I want him to be able to look back at this blog and see how life was with him from my perspective.

I think most of this should be understandable or obvious to most people, but consider it my little disclosure statement and way to explain and maintain my integrity as a blogger.