Mini Rant: I recently learned that I am autistic.
If you talk to anybody who is in the autistic community, most people will tell you it's not a disorder. We're proud of how our brains operate. Even though we stumble and we have difficulties. It's not necessarily a linear spectrum, either. In my opinion, it's more of a three dimensional thing, and each person is almost a collage of their strengths and their difficulties. Right? That is amazing
So I'm just going to wrap it up here. And I'm just saying, if you've listened this far, if this long, I'm grateful, and I'm hoping, oh, there come the tears again. I'm hoping that maybe just maybe either because you've interacted with me in the past or this particular swell broadens your idea, too. A little bit of what autism is. Yeah. I'm in a really great place in my life right now as I leak
Zara Lisbon
@ZLisbon · 4:09
And I have a friend who was diagnosed with autism who was telling me all about these traits that are common for neurodivergent folks, and I related to so many of them. It never occurred to me that I might have autism, but because we're told sort of that autism is just this inability to communicate with other people normally relate to other people normally, and I can pretty much hold my own in social situations
Deborah Pardes
@DBPardes · 2:31
And, Christina, I've listened to you for over a year and probably more than almost two years, and you've sort of opened up conversations for all of us to drop into. That have been so expensive and incredible. I wouldn't have initiated this conversation. So I want to honor your feelings right now, and also your proclamation, your declaration that you are you and you're so okay. And your tears are also filling up something that feels fertile that will grow
And so anything I might say is dismissed and not valid, et cetera, et cetera. And I think some of that comes from this idea. That because it's considered a, quote, unquote disorder, it's considered a disability, and in some ways it is a disability. But because of these things, it's seen as only something an expert or specialist could diagnose inside the community. It's a very different perspective. It's 100% valid to do self diagnosis
I started finding rooms on clubhouse to have conversations or at least listen to conversations with others who were autistic. The first room I went into was a room full of autistic individuals who work in Hollywood. And, of course, it's only audio, and you can sometimes hear individuals that you were like, okay, they sound like the stereotypical idea I have of what autism is. But several of these other people did not. Most of those people, but not all were officially diagnosed
And so those kinds of things would adversely affect my work experience. But I had again, great employers. And so I didn't need an official diagnosis or an official like, quote, unquote doctor's note to get assistance with making adjustments there. But I can definitely see how that would be helpful for others if they need it. Okay. And I think this wraps up the conversation and diagnosis. I have other thoughts
Oh, my goodness, I have to make eye contact and I'll bring it back. But this is making them uncomfortable. And so this is constantly happening in my head where most people don't have to think about that, right? And then there are times when I'm like, okay, count so that you're not looking for too long. But if I'm speaking, my eyes are all over the place
And again, because these things are a spectrum, it can vary widely of how someone may have difficulty quote unquote looking or presenting as a neurotypical person versus someone who is not. And so although I'm sharing my experience with some of these things, it may be very different for somebody else who is autistic. I've heard similar things when it comes to the imagination. Autistic people are not imaginative. Well, I have talked with some who are officially diagnosed
And so sometimes it's clear and sometimes it's not, and it's constantly trying to figure out. Okay, I'm having more difficulty with this particular book because I feel out of my current time, and so it's harder to distinguish whether it's literal or figurative. And of course, because it's Sci-Fi, not real life. Another topic is stimming
Thank you. Deb, you have this soup of Deb. This made me grin. And I love it because you're reminding me that although I feel this occasionally to explain myself and I've just gone on and on and on here. It's okay to just rest in being me. Just rest in being. And I just want to say thank you for that
And they were actually honored in this religion, and they were given full support and love. And this I wrote, by the way, after I volunteered at a blind and deaf orphanage in India, and I spent time with them and recognized how brilliant these kids were when they were given the chance to evolve with their stuff rather than rather than being thought of as being helpless
Indy. I love this short story idea or concept so much. I don't know if you were familiar, but there was some sort of a study or experiment or something that was done where regular students were in a classroom and were supposedly all given a particular test and the test results. Then the teachers were told that certain students had excelled at this test
Charlie Floyd
@damonnomad · 2:09
It seems that we are so ignorant of ourselves and others that we're not willing to extend compassion unless we have some kind of definition that we know or diagnosis to explain the phenomena that's going on with other people and that we're not willing to extend ourselves. I can only imagine how many children were mistreated said to have been mischievous ornery stubborn bad because they did not have the words to tell an adult that they were autistic
I think it will become more impactful when it either ends up in the DSM or the DSM is completely rethought. So instead of describing what is observed from the external, actually understanding what the lived experience is, because if we define everything by how someone doesn't conform or isn't, quote, unquote normal, that's not helpful to anyone, right? Because in trying to encourage or force someone to become, quoteunquote, normal, why would we want to do that?