Taking Stock of Things, 2018

Happy New Year!

I think this Taking Stock of Things is going to be a yearly piece, at this rate.  This entry covers who I am, why I feel like I'm qualified to write this blog, and what I hope to accomplish by doing so.  Previous years' Taking Stock of Things are here and here.

2018 was kind of a challenging year, between moving into the new house, doing two rounds of government work, and juggling my therapy, marriage, and dietary requirements.  Still, I seem to have survived.  So, once more:

Hi, I'm Sarah: Aspie, artist, advocate, and perhaps most of all, aspirant. I aspire to improve myself, my situation, and (if I can) the small piece of the world I can touch. I'm a fairly self-aware person for a person on the autism spectrum, and it's my goal in life to understand people and help people understand.  

It seems like a lot of people don't understand autism, and that leads to confusion, dismay, and frustration on all sides.  This blog is my answer to that disharmony: a chance to share perspective and ideas with people on and off the spectrum.

Quick Facts

• A/S/L: 30 years old (Oh no, my lost youth!).  Biologically female, identifies as agender. Resident of Michigan (US).
• Education: Graduated high school, then college, earning a BA in psychology, with a minor in information systems (business crossed with computer science).
• Marital Status: Married for 2 years to my spouse, Chris, who still hasn't run out of patience with my weirdness.  Props to him.  
• Residence: After years of renting apartments, now living in a 2 bedroom condominium (bought early last year).  The condo dues cover external care (roof, siding, lawn, snow), but internal care (carpet, walls, appliances, possessions) is our responsibility.  Since neither of us likes or is good at yard work, this suits us very well.
• Transport: Still driving myself around in a minivan, which is all paid off as of this year, yay!
• Diagnoses: Acquired at age 20: autism, dysthymia (low grade, long lasting depression), generalized anxiety disorder (everything makes me anxious), supremely terrible visual processing, and mild-to-moderate light, sound, and touch sensitivities.
• Employment: Thoroughly self-employed: doing everything from pet-sitting to autism consulting.  Contact me if you're interested in having me speak on autism or related subjects!  Also planning on volunteering more at Autism Support of Kent County this year.
• Dietary Weirdnesses: Low dairy (ideally, no dairy).  Conditionally vegetarian (the meat industry is horrifying), but making more allowances for local farms these days since they're not part of the problem.  I also need to be cutting down on sugar, because it wrecks my colon pretty good.  It's just so tasty and hard to avoid.

Therapy List

• LENS (low energy neurofeedback system)- a type of passive neurofeedback.  The theory is that it changes the connection strengths in the brain, prodding your brainwaves into healthier patterns.  In practicality, it's lowered my anxiety levels and raised my overall mood climate.  It's also made it possible for me to smile for cameras, at babies, and just in general, which doesn't sound important until you recognize how often people smile at each other.  
• Supplements- multivitamins are only the beginning here.  Vitamin D, magnesium, zinc, iron, time-melatonin, CoQ10, and N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) are the rest.  The vitamin/mineral sounding ones are mainly because I was deficient in them, and the melatonin is to help me sleep, but the NAC is to help detoxify my system from mold and... whatever else is in my house that's messing up my mental state.  There's something.  
• Chiropractic care- my neck had been trying to be ramrod straight, and it was causing tension headaches and bad moods.  I'm tapering off this particular care, because my neck now has its proper curve and I've acquired proper pillows for supporting it better.  
• Specialized Products- Mixed nut butter instead of peanut butter, a specialized electrolyte powder instead of gatorade, almond milk instead of cow's milk, aluminum-free deodorant, extremely gentle shampoo, and many others.  

Why Me?

Well, first and foremost, because I've lived this.  I'm autistic.  There's no one better qualified to discuss what it's like to be autistic, than an autistic person.  I know the subject in a way professionals never will.  I have firsthand experience to most parents' secondhand experience.  It's not always possible to get a clear and understandable answer on a subject from an autistic person, for various reasons... But because I'm verbal, I can often give one.  

Second, because I have the mind and the background for the work.  I went to college for psychology, and earned my degree.  But in truth, I started studying people and systems over a decade before I attained that honor.  I knew, from a fairly young age, that I was different and didn't fit in.  But I had no idea why, so I set about learning what I didn't understand.  I was reasonably successful, considering I was trying to learn an entire curriculum's worth of missing information.  

Even with all that, though, I recognize my learning is never going to be over.  There's always new therapies being developed, and since I never had an IEP or any kind of supports in school, I missed a lot of the essential "growing up autistic experiences."  I read new research and books on autism regularly, and attend a parent support group to help keep abreast of the challenges facing families with autistic people.  

Last, and most importantly, because I care.  As an undiagnosed autistic person, I suffered a great deal for lack of knowing what was going on, and why I was different.  As much as possible, I'd like to help parents and fellow autistic people avoid that needless suffering.  Answers and help are out there.  As much as possible, I want to be part of that.  Educating people and humanizing the condition seems to me like one of the best things I can be doing right now.  

So, here I am.  Let me know if you have any questions, would like to hire an autism presenter, or if you have book recommendations.