A lot of people think of autism as an excuse or as a drag or as something negative.
The problem with that is there is SO MUCH good about it!
So I'm going to tell you how it adds to my life, how it makes me a better person, and that yes, I recognize it as a disability, but at the same time, it's given me awesome abilities.
For me, Autism is like a super power that the world will never really recognise.
I connect to animals and plants more than I do to people, but that gives me an amazingly different view of the world we live in, a different dimension to how life is seen.
The way I write isn't always in grammatically correct form, it's sometimes just the way my mind flows, and I find that that is so much more appealing to readers BECAUSE it's the way they hear it, too. It isn't stuffed into a box of rules, it's just how we think and feel.
I've always been one of the nerd kids that never fit in anywhere, but that makes me happy, because I don't NEED to fit in. I am unique and different and that's a GOOD thing. Human acceptance is a farce anyway.
I organize things in ways that aren't normal. But they are seen as "I wish I would have thought of that", or "that's an interesting way of doing things!". My brain doesn't work like other people's, and I've become okay with that. I used to find it embarassing and childish, but the more I accept the ways I do things as OK, then it doesn't matter what the general view of it is. I have my ways of doing things, and they work for me, and they are sometimes unintentionally inspirational.
My main stim is touching my skin, mainly touching around my neck and face. This has inspired me to find ways to take better care of my skin. Because if i'm going to be touching it, then I should always have something in my line of vision to add value to that movement. I have lotions and oils around the house, i have weights in view to help my need for touch (helps my strength, too!), my bookshelf is stocked with multiple choices, my friut bowl is always being filled with easy foods, and i have a new habit set up to do the skin care that works for me. So i'm able to take control of my health BECAUSE of my stims.
If something doesn't feel right to me, I try to find the answer as soon as possible, so i'm advocating for myself mentally TO myself in order to not procrastinate. Why would I sit here in clothing that doesn't feel right when I have the opportunity to change it? Why would I leave something where it is when it's easy to put it away, especially when I am the one who created the organization system? Why would I not use the yoga mat before puting it away when I am the one who put it out to use? Why would I not go outside and take care of my garden when I know I love it, it needs it, and it's a beautiful day?
I can give myself excuses, but there are too many "why not's" that I think of myself. It's not someone else's idea for me to do something, it's my own.
I might try something even if/though I know there's a possibility of failure, but I know frmo past experience and from a quote I found online that you won't know unless you try, and failure just means you have to find another way, or raelize that you did it. You did something you were afraid of or worried about. So I am capable of pushing the envelope on the little things that are "in my way".
I was a business owner. I had my own sewing business for 9 years. I sold things that I created, and people loved them. People like unique things, and that's what I do, that's who I am. So why not cash in on it? Especially since I can do all of it from my own home, completely behind the scenes?
I am great with people. I'm easy to talk to, I give great hugs, I am good at listening when people need an ear, and I am honest and real. That's a good thing.
I'm good at researching things.
I am multi-talented, a jack of all trades. Singer, writer, gardener, editor, nail artist, customer service, organizer, athlete, advocate, student...
... Just to name a few...
An autism diagnosis is not a death sentence.
It's knowing better about the life you live.
It's knowing yourself, and realizing how much others miss out on by not seeing the world... differently.
