Oh. My.
Ok, I know I'm hitting heavy on the Asperger stuff lately (that's what I do!), and I'm sending you here a lot, but really, it's just sooooo good!
I find it tremendously exciting when someone write so clearly and accurately of my experiences and thought processes.
Sometimes I get excited because once I see someone explaining my thoughts so well, as they are explaining autism to neurotypical (NT) people, fireworks start going off in my head and I yell (internally, of course) "You mean not everyone thinks that??!!"
And then dominoes start falling, connecting lines and making patterns and suddenly there's a picture where before there were only random dots and blocks.
Sort of like when someone connects the dots on a map of the sky to illustrate the constellations.
Other times I get excited because I've finally found the words to describe my thoughts or feelings to people that I want to tell these things to, but I just can't.
Like today.
I was reading, and this article got me so excited -BOTH ways, mind you! I realized that not everyone experiences things that way, AND I read the perfect words to describe what it's like in my shoes!- that I was bouncing up and down in my chair and grinning like a goofball. Finally I burst out laughing and grabbed The Mr. and said "Read that!! Please!!"
Patient, tolerant, loving man that he is, he stopped what he was doing and read it, gave me a smile, and went on his way. :0)
So now I'm grabbing you and saying "Read that! Please!"
and
Not every single word or thought there exactly applies to me, but so much does that if you're at all interested in me, how I think, what I think, and what it's like in my head, then it's definitely worth your time to read, and it's written much better than I have time for!
The part that was SO perfect that it had me laughing out loud was this line:
If you have something to say to me, then
say it. If you choose to be mysterious because you think we are sharing a
private moment, 9 times out of 10 you will be wrong. That knowing look on my face is me trying to mimic the look on your face and in most cases is meaningless.
Bwahahaha! Made me laugh again!
Really, the takeaway I wish for everyone, whether you want to get to know ME or not (and sometimes that can be confusing to me, although I am so grateful for and affectionate for the ones who have taken the time and dealt with the awkwardness and difficulties) is that if you are the parent, relative, teacher, babysitter, or just involved in the life of an autistic child, please DON'T only listen to the "experts" (who DON'T have autism!), but add in there as much from autistic adults as possible.
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