Because I want to contribute to our family, I value work. Even if I weren’t married with children, I would want to be employed and take care of myself financially. However, the emotional need to be productive often runs up against my physical limitations. If I could earn a living sitting…
Tag: physical health
Good people in relatively good workplaces might still fail to understand or appreciate the traits of an individual Neurodiverse person. Tangent: I have addressed why I prefer to “misuse” Neurodiverse instead of using Neurodivergent. I might shift to “Neurominority” in the future; “Autistic” remains the best way to describe my…
Offering excuses for not keeping up with The Autistic Me frustrates me, but life has a tendency to get in the way of personal projects. I failed to release podcast episodes for most of 2024. I blamed an overloaded teaching schedule and a two- to three-hour commute (each way, 115…
August 9, 2024, was my final day as an instructor at Texas A&M University. The university is considered one of the best in Texas, and I was honored to teach there, but I was unhappy and unhealthy. Those two probably go together, with some uncertainty as to which is the…
April brings “Autism {fill in the blank}” day and month. Is it “Autism Awareness,” “Autism Acceptance,” or something else? I don’t have the time or energy to care. Each year, I rant about the month. Most people are “aware” of autism, though I question if that awareness helps anyone. My…
Dear 2023, you have already been way too interesting. We’d appreciate a change to “boring” mode for the remainder of your days. And, definitely, no more near-death experiences. We’re disappointed in you, 2023. We’re already looking ahead to 2024. As 2023 began, we thought the year was going to be uneventful.…
Leigh has totally rocked her return to campus and even added her first major activity outside school: playing in a rock band. Her first show will even be in a local bar known for live music. Living in Austin, the home of “Austin City Limits” and SXSW, performing in a…
Podcast Episode 0078, Season 5, Episode 9; 30 November 2021 Running for Autism, a project of the Ordinary Marathoner Foundation. Dr. Scott Frasard is a Director, Vice President, President of the Advisory Council of the Ordinary Marathoner Foundation. Scott Frasard lives in Pflugerville, Texas, and is an avid runner/triathlete of almost ten years. He…
Podcast Episode 0066; Season 04, Episode 30; June 18, 2021 Gary Martinez is a fitness trainer and father of Monica, a 15-year-old autistic young woman. He describes his choice to leave a “Big Box” fitness center for independent fitness training as becoming “an athlete for life” focused on Monica. Gary integrates sensory activities into Monica’s…
Podcast Episode 0050; Season 04, Episode 14; December 15, 2020 Self-Care is Self-Preservation When does being autistic mean we’re disabled? Autism becomes a disability when we cannot perform routine daily functions, either for fun or work. Daniel Sansing and Ben Sorensen discuss the autistic need for self-care. Autistic masking and struggles to “fit” into groups leave…