Before school started, my wife and I purchased a bright yellow 49cc scooter that qualifies as a moped in Minnesota. This has a number of benefits, not the least of which is that you can park a moped in a bike rack legally, while a motorcycle must park in a…
The Autistic Me
I need routines, and this school year (as well as the move to the Midwest in general) has already been playing havoc with my routines. Plus, I simply don’t like the claustrophobia I am experiencing in the city. Today was tough. I held on as long as I could, but…
The line between anxiety disorder and whatever it is I am is often too blurred to matter. Since my first semester at the university fell apart, the second and now the third bring nothing but dread. A lot of dread. I wish it were different, but there’s so many other…
Having recently moved into our new house, I am finding it as overwhelming as anyone else might. Yet the things that bother me most are probably not the things that would worry most people. 1) Sounds. The house sounds different. The new new ceiling fan buzzes, lights in the basement…
We are in the process of moving, which is overwhelming for most people. In my case, it’s physically and emotionally debilitating this week. I am exhausted just thinking about all the productivity lost during the last year… and now I will lose at least another year. Worse, I know this…
“Did you know Bill Gates and Tim Burton are probably on the spectrum?” Only a mental health professional has the right to “diagnose” somebody else — and only when that person is a patient. Of course, a doctor would have to adhere to confidentiality standards. Can we please stop such…
Because I tend to observe the negatives around me, people assume I am a negative person. It probably doesn’t help that I don’t speak about the positives nearly often enough. I sometimes assume the good things are obvious to everyone and don’t need to be said. Who needs me to…
I hate road noise. I hate it a lot. It hurts my ears, vibrates my entire body, and makes me want to hide in a cave. I could hear the traffic noise in our previous apartment. I’d do what I could to close windows or hide in my bedroom. A…
I like my routines. Actually, predictability and safety are what I like. It isn’t that I follow the same routine every day, just that I like to have things available to me in case I feel stressed. I want my radio programs at the times I expect. I hate it…
I’m not sure if this is part of an atypical neurology or simply a personality quirk, but I definitely have problems reading people. The minor examples include not knowing when someone is initiating a conversation or ending one. I also don’t always notice what it is someone is really trying…