Recently, a Facebook follower asked what interests me. What are my passions? Some are surprised to learn that my interests and passions don\u2019t include autism. I love music and art, but I\u2019m great at neither music nor art. I am good with technology and love all things computer-related. So, naturally, I love using computers to experiment with music and art.<\/p>\n
Topics I consider interesting, in something of preference:<\/p>\n
You get the idea. Autism isn\u2019t on the list, and I could add more topics without reaching \u201cautism\u201d as a topic of interest. It probably isn\u2019t in my top twenty topics about which to read or discuss.\u00a0I love reading and learning about almost everything.\u00a0Yes, I have researched autism and I am interested in how autism might relate to my passions. But, I\u2019m not consumed by autism.<\/p>\n
In past posts, I\u2019ve explained that I want to be known as a writer and a teacher. And I don\u2019t want to write or teach about autism specifically, neither as a creative writer nor as a non-fiction researcher and theorists.<\/p>\n
Why Blog about Autism?<\/strong><\/p>\n I have explained why this blog exists several times, too. It started as a school project in 2007 and I simply kept it going because people said they learned from it. It helped them, somehow, even though I\u2019m not writing what many autistics write or share on social media.<\/p>\n Other autistics embrace their \u201cautistic\u201d label more enthusiastically. They sometimes argue that autism is merely a social construct, not a disability.<\/p>\n I\u2019m disabled and often wish I had normal social skills and self-control. I\u2019d love to have a better executive function and fewer triggers.<\/p>\n The Autistic Me<\/strong><\/em> exists because other people read it and follow it via social media. I\u2019m not sure why, but I feel obligated to answer questions and explain my perspective for those interested.<\/p>\n This doesn\u2019t make sense to me, either, but when someone asks a question, I feel compelled to answer. When someone emails a question, I try to respond. One reason I limit social media interactions is that I struggle to stop engaging when someone keeps asking questions or making claims I consider inaccurate. It\u2019s best not to even start down those paths.<\/p>\n It seems good to me that this blog helps anyone. I\u2019m not sure how it helps, though, since it seems unlike what other autistic self-advocates write.<\/p>\n Two autistic traits are honesty and a need for order. An unfinished answer bothers me. An incomplete explanation feels wrong.<\/p>\n As long as there are a lot of readers and followers, this blog will limp along. The podcast will return, too, when the time is right.<\/p>\n I know that if autism topped my lists of interests, I wouldn\u2019t be able to push the blog and podcast aside. By comparison, I continue to study and write about technology and economics. That\u2019s how I recognize my passions: I cannot set them aside, even during a pandemic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Recently, a Facebook follower asked what interests me. What are my passions? Some are surprised to learn that my interests and passions don\u2019t include autism. I love music and art, but I\u2019m great at neither music nor art. I am good with technology and love all things computer-related. So, naturally,…<\/p>\n