It is a sad story. Tony is right when he says, if the person with ASD decides to stop using drugs of addiction they stop. Nothing stopped me when I had decided to stop using heroin. I was drug dependance free for 20 years but my circumstances changed and decided to smoke dope to relieve the depression. I was addicted again. I looked at my life a second time and said no. I don't want this and the people I have to hang around with and I walked away again. It wasn't easy either time though I know it was easier the second time even though I was giving up more (acquired possessions) but my sanity and my ability to chose was far more important to me than anything I owned. People with ASD can do (within reasonable limits) anything they decide to do. It just requires them to decide.
Stephanie Elizabeth Mann I totally agree with you. I’m in a family that consists of almost 100% autism. And if we decide we are going to change the world no one can stop us. Whether it is a small problem or a big problem. We are the ones in control and everyone else is just a bystander and will have to wait and see. Congratulations on overcoming your addiction. I wrote practically a book on the comments. Just want people to know that people with autism are extremely bright.
I think alexatxymia plays a role too. I know for myself that drugs, alcohol and games made me feel better but I didn’t understand the feelings I was having that drove me to them. I literally didn’t know I was anxious for decades, I didn’t know I was depressed because I couldn’t identify my own feelings. Now that I am better at knowing what anxiety feels like and depression feels like and overwhelm feels like I can make the effort to work through them and cope better. It still takes a while, my husband often recognizes my behaviors before I recognize the feeling. I think any treatment for addiction needs to include training on emotional identification, communication and coping specific to this ASD trait.
Hi, you might also listen to Dr Gabor Maté, who explains why we have difficulty understanding our depression, addictions, illnesses and disorders. Autism can be a consequence of childhood stress, which is far more common than we believe. It is not necessarily a genetic difference, although Maté explains how this can appear in families.
I think you're right, alexithymia feels like there's a split between your mind and your body, and they're both desperately trying to communicate to make sense of it all.
“When those with ASD do it, they really do it” Recovering alcoholic with five years sobriety. Fifty-seven and just recently self diagnosed Have two adult kids with ASD. Grateful for resources like this. Thank you!
Thank you for touching on even the most difficult topics, esp the ones that you're personally affected by, Dr. Tony! You talk with so much wisdom and clarity. This one was hard to get through. I always appreciate and am grateful for Craig's summaries (in the video and the descriptions) and transitions. He's an amazing host and it all helps me stay engaged and understand what's being talked about step by step. I wish you had your own full blown talk show for all things ASD! I binge a few of these every day and they help me despite how hard life is.
Bit late to the party but i wanted to share something. I was a youth worker for about 9 years on and off. Somewhere along the way a psychologist asked the question "why do people use drugs?" After many nuanced answers he stopped everyone and said it was much simpler. "People do drugs because they work". It always stuck with me and really helped with assisting young people explore feelings.
I'm a 41 year old female and I play video games. I have played mmorpg games where you have a massive community and I hated the community. The game was fine and playing with my boyfriend was a lot of fun, but when we got to max level I started too hate the game. I play a game now that you can play alone or with friends. I play alone. I stay far away from the servers where you don't have control over who is online at that moment. I've chosen a game that will challenge me intellectually and YES that is addictive. I've learned a lot from that game, because I have to ask myself the question "What Do I Want To Do" and trust and believe that my choice is not wrong. I have to solve problems, because I have to build a base (home) and take into account the limits of the game parameters. BUT, I have to do my "normal" day life first, then the game and I do struggle with that. That is also the reason I'm more scared of VR games. VR will be the end of me. I will escape into the VR world and will never want to come back. It's a double edged sword and I agree that when you have a child (even some adults) that you need to install a certain protocol before playing. First you do the "normal" day stuff and then you can play games. I wish there was a game that could be played and be used to help, by having a Conversation about the game and being asked why you did things this way or why you are having trouble doing things that will make you progress. I had problems progressing in building in the game for a week. I had one conversation with my boyfriend about what was preventing me from making a building and that night I started to build and I'm proud of what I made. It came down to me comparing myself to others and not believing in my own ability.
Thank you so much Dr Tony for your inspiring, giving hope to so many and having the courage and vulnerability to go in life with so much enthusiasm....grateful
I stopped with no detox, and as much as NA helped me, I always had difficulty making friends and fitting in there, like I had my 'own way' of doing things, which worked for me, but they don't like the concept of self-will and think that's part of the problem.
As an Aspie of IQ 167 and age of your son I admire and worship you Tony. You are a Deep Diver. Your son is like your exam and you try to make best out of it. I once got the blessing effect of benzodiazapines in a surgery. The doc assured me that I was going to remember nothing. But as it turned out I remembered every second of the surgery with joy. That's incredible. Like the saloon on my head became vacant for the first time in my life except myself. The noise and the worry makers abandoned. The genies left me alone. After the surgery I thought seriously about becoming a benzo-addict. I didn't knew the dangers then. And with my frontal cortext I just seek information, as I always do, and found the huge risks that come with benzos. And I quit the thinking and made a crazy decision to go to the highest and hardest climbing tracks of Turkey with no experience. Physical activity gave me what I need from the benzos throughout the years. In recent years I completely quit alcohol and reduced my caffeine and tea intake. Looking retrospect, it was one of the the best decisions I made. Nobody congratulated me. Nobody cares, nobody knows. Only people facing issues and close devoted relatives, dads and moms like you know this decisions' value. I admire your courage and wisdom. Even if you loose Will someday, you will be saving lots Wills somewhere.
@@ahk9838 you should detox. how : I dont know. maybe you should change your lifestyle drastically. for example sleeping in a cold cottage house 3 days in a row helped me to loose symptoms of Covid.
I'm a 48 year old autistic woman who is 22 years clean of heroin and speed. I game but not excessively, however I know that it would be very easy to slip into excessive gaming if I didn't have a young son and a family. Recovery of addictions is forever.
I'm a 40 year old self-diagnosed ASD (few weeks back!) with quite a hectic day job and find that micro-dosing on md ma helps me stay focused, productive and 'on the ball'. I also receive good feedback for my work. Also when on the substance and I'm dealing with people - friends, family, co-workers - face to face or in messages or mails, I find that I'm more engaging and responsive, saying the 'right' things without the usual sober anxiety or bashfulness. I also know that this is not healthy in the long term, but it has helped me so much! I would like to know how I can be equally productive and less anxious without the help of substances, thank you!
i drank so much when i was younger (to escape the abuse) that it resulted in a serious head injury. i'm now getting out the other side but the head pain is so much that i have returned to drinking. the added bonus is that it's slowing my brain down and i can think again (i have ptsd) i'm trying to moderate myself carefully but i am worried about my addictive tendencies.
Most people just dont have the money to support their child, let alone the mental effort, I myself am an aspie addict, diagnosed at 25, because my high intellect has served me up to the point of university where it all fell apart. The hardest part and what causes all of my personal anxiety or panic attacks are expectations. The expectations that others put on me that i never asked for. And the expectation I put on myself via others. How do you tell your parent that you dont love them, that you want them to help you but the anxiety of asking and admitting defeat is so overwhelming you feel like puking. And when you feel good go straight back into forgetting their birthdays. I need a calendar just to remember to show my family that i value them. Something i see with aspies rather than clear case autism is the expectation that somewhere in there is a normal person that can be fixed (My dads pov). When you have an autistic or retarded child that needs constant care you absolve that person of all wrongdoing. thinking they dont have much control of themselves. But at what point am i in control or "pre-programed" of apathy, decreased dopamine, nihilism etc. Things that from my point of view is completely normal. But that others (and we all are egocentric, not just me, but im self-aware) see me as the ass hole because i dont call back, I didnt remember your name even tho we met last night. And the classic "i just dont know", when asked for the 50th time if im happy, just because im smiling.
I’m starting my own note. I have too many around me that have autism including myself. Almost all of us are extremely high functioning and would be considered a genius. We do have one that was misdiagnosed and I strongly believe he has autism also. He is on Ridellan. I don’t know if I spelled that right but it is what college students use and abuse to get better grades. The one that takes Ridellan has a substance-abuse problem. when he is not on Ridellan he drinks much more alcohol and would take other substances. Ridellan does not make him stay awoke and study. It actually calms him down it has a complete opposite affect on him. He for the most part does live in a game. He is addicted to the computer. But with the Ridellan he manages to keep a relationship together, help watch his kids, he has a terrific job and yesterday he cooked us chicken soup with vegetables. Without the Ridellan he self-medicated! I have high functioning autism. I am 52 years old. Although it is in my medical charts that I have autism I actually diagnosed myself. I am a woman. I am actually smart enough to become anything. Including a rocket scientist. If I am interested in something I learn everything there is to learn about it. I do not bother to learn very much about autism. I am in the know. When I read other peoples comments or watch their videos I do not always agree with them matter of fact I strongly disagree with them most of the time. I have not watched many videos that doctor Tony has put out. The few that I did watch he appeared to be more knowledgeable than other doctors. I have learned how to copy everyone to act normal. But I no longer do this. In reality I really do not have any people close to me. What I mean by this is I do not have anyone that I could count on 100%. The ones that consider me friends are only in my life because I make their life better. In reality no one does the same for me. I live at the edge of the forest. I purchased a large section of Forest. I have a house that is in between small to medium size. It is made quite well. I virtually never had visitors. And when I do it is my companion’s visitors. When people are talking I am trying to figure out what I will respond and when I will be able to respond. I do have medication which helps me cope with anxiety. There are times that for no reason whatsoever my anxiety level is through the roof. I am on a generic form of zoloft and Xanax. I probably will be taking my medicine in a little while because I happened to know for a fact I will have visitors. I did not invite them here. I believe I will have six visitors in the house and only one of them does not have autism. People with autism tend to only get along with other people who have autism. My companion/boyfriend also has autism and so does at least two of his brothers. If someone is looking for a spouse and they have autism they should be looking inside of the spectrum. You can only have empathy for people that you can see their genius abilities/low points. we all get along quite well. That does not stop us from having our anxiety problems because that is an internal problem. Personally if any psychologist would diagnose me they would say I am in a narcissist. They would only say this if I actually showed them the real me. So my psychologist will never know the real me. They will only know what I divulge. When someone has autism and they are tired of a problem and decide to get rid of it it is gone. So if someone has an addiction and they have autism when they decide to change it it will be spontaneously gone! I want to tell anyone who does not have the brain of someone with autism this. I look at myself as the new age vehicle. I run faster. I have more/better accessories. But I also have a few factory defects. My brain is like a mainframe computer they can store everything in it. I might not be able to tell you. Some people with autism can’t speak. And even if they can speak they will not tell you. The only area I could really tell you where I am slow at is I do not truly understand electricity and things that other people talk about bores me to tears.
I am continuing my note. Because if I write too long of a note part of it will be cut off. It’ll show you that I have lots of activities going on in my brain. My daughter has autism and she is also on Zoloft and another form of an anxiety pill. Not exactly sure what kind she’s on. She has five years of college. She is only a couple of classes away from receiving three different degrees. She speaks four languages but understands at least six. I understand four languages, but actually only speak two. I would say my daughter is a musical and language expert. My daughter was going to school to become a professor of foreign languages. And she was at the top of every class she took. She is now a dancer, choreographer, and dance instructor. I am the mother of one of the best dancers in the world. She has now owned her business for five years. She is young. She is making approximately $60,000 a year, has her own house with very large property and drives an XC 90 Volvo. In future years I expect her to make a lot more money. Most dance instructors in our area had inherited their students from someone who was retiring. My daughter is quite shy and does not like to speak to many people. As soon as she started taking anxiety medication and would interact with other people her business started growing. I truly expect in the upcoming years her business will triple or quadruple.
My grandson is now 11 1/2 years old. He was able to read a college level at 11 months old. He was diagnosed with hyperlexia. That is when someone has a photographic memory. He excels in math and science. Although his math skills started showing itself when he could barely even speak, no one knew how smart he was because he really did not speak until he was approximately 2 1/2 years old. Kind of hard to convince someone he could read when he could not speak. Before he turned three years old he was multiplying numbers. He was counting in his brain into the billions. It is fun watching a three-year-old say the number 589,225,138,322. My grandson wants to be an engineer of automobiles. He speaks three languages. He is very soft hearted.
My granddaughter is 4 1/2 years old. She is the wild child. Super cute and very softhearted. She just received her first note pad electronic device. Almost everyone reading this will think this was a very bad idea. LOL she likes to run off and explore. With this notepad she will sit down and keep calm. When she is older she’ll probably need medication. She has anxiety levels are very high. She does not appear to be doing as well in academics as her brother or mother did as a young child. She likes to draw. I bought her an aqua doodle drawing mat for Christmas. Her brain is hyper accelerated. She does not have a problem eating certain foods. Her two brothers have problems. I believe my granddaughter is able to read. She did not really start to speak until she was three years old. Now we cannot shut her up. LOL
My youngest grandchild is about to turn two years old. He does not speak. He has probably only been able to walk for about six months now. The way he stems is he bounces repeatedly to calm himself. If anyone has someone with autism and you try to break them of stemming, you are increasing their anxiety level. My daughter‘s stemming is tap dancing. And she made a career of dancing. LOL. when a baby has autism they take longer to have facial recognition. I’m on my third grandchild and kids with autism do not even recognize their own name when it is called. I do believe if he was brought in to the doctors they would diagnose him with autism instantly. I do expect that he will probably be a genius that has anxiety and years to come.
My brother who is 50 years old excels in math. When he was 11 years old he took a comprehensive exam. He was slow at reading and had a speech impediment. But math he scored in college level. The only math problems he did not get the correct answers for where the ones that had written problems, because he has a hard time with the reading. His problem is he is several centimeters taller than a tall man and strong as an ox. It is not good to go up and fight with someone who is clearly physically superior to you. He is the size of an American football player. He lives in the middle of the forest in isolation. And he loves it. In my opinion he values the wrong things. He lives in a trailer. Trailers depreciate in value. He loves expensive automobiles. That to depreciates in value. When he was a young adult he would work on a boat for weeks at a time and then come home and buy an antique vehicle. At one point I believe he owned seven vintage vehicles. And I am talking about top of the line vehicles. He had two MGB’s and a Porsche and I don’t recall the others at the time. I’m not exactly sure how many vehicles he has right now. Some of them are beyond repair as far as I am concerned.
It is a sad story. Tony is right when he says, if the person with ASD decides to stop using drugs of addiction they stop. Nothing stopped me when I had decided to stop using heroin. I was drug dependance free for 20 years but my circumstances changed and decided to smoke dope to relieve the depression. I was addicted again. I looked at my life a second time and said no. I don't want this and the people I have to hang around with and I walked away again. It wasn't easy either time though I know it was easier the second time even though I was giving up more (acquired possessions) but my sanity and my ability to chose was far more important to me than anything I owned. People with ASD can do (within reasonable limits) anything they decide to do. It just requires them to decide.
Stephanie Elizabeth Mann
I totally agree with you. I’m in a family that consists of almost 100% autism. And if we decide we are going to change the world no one can stop us. Whether it is a small problem or a big problem. We are the ones in control and everyone else is just a bystander and will have to wait and see. Congratulations on overcoming your addiction.
I wrote practically a book on the comments. Just want people to know that people with autism are extremely bright.
Yees 😊
@@tracy08161967agreed
I think alexatxymia plays a role too. I know for myself that drugs, alcohol and games made me feel better but I didn’t understand the feelings I was having that drove me to them. I literally didn’t know I was anxious for decades, I didn’t know I was depressed because I couldn’t identify my own feelings. Now that I am better at knowing what anxiety feels like and depression feels like and overwhelm feels like I can make the effort to work through them and cope better. It still takes a while, my husband often recognizes my behaviors before I recognize the feeling. I think any treatment for addiction needs to include training on emotional identification, communication and coping specific to this ASD trait.
Hi, you might also listen to Dr Gabor Maté, who explains why we have difficulty understanding our depression, addictions, illnesses and disorders. Autism can be a consequence of childhood stress, which is far more common than we believe. It is not necessarily a genetic difference, although Maté explains how this can appear in families.
I think you're right, alexithymia feels like there's a split between your mind and your body, and they're both desperately trying to communicate to make sense of it all.
“When those with ASD do it, they really do it”
Recovering alcoholic with five years sobriety.
Fifty-seven and just recently self diagnosed
Have two adult kids with ASD. Grateful for resources like this. Thank you!
Hello, may I ask did you use AA?
Thank you for touching on even the most difficult topics, esp the ones that you're personally affected by, Dr. Tony! You talk with so much wisdom and clarity. This one was hard to get through. I always appreciate and am grateful for Craig's summaries (in the video and the descriptions) and transitions. He's an amazing host and it all helps me stay engaged and understand what's being talked about step by step. I wish you had your own full blown talk show for all things ASD! I binge a few of these every day and they help me despite how hard life is.
Bit late to the party but i wanted to share something.
I was a youth worker for about 9 years on and off. Somewhere along the way a psychologist asked the question "why do people use drugs?" After many nuanced answers he stopped everyone and said it was much simpler. "People do drugs because they work". It always stuck with me and really helped with assisting young people explore feelings.
WOW i dont know how i got here but ive never heard someone explain this so eloquently
I love these videos and you guys go so well together I hope you keep making videos together
I'm a 41 year old female and I play video games. I have played mmorpg games where you have a massive community and I hated the community. The game was fine and playing with my boyfriend was a lot of fun, but when we got to max level I started too hate the game. I play a game now that you can play alone or with friends. I play alone. I stay far away from the servers where you don't have control over who is online at that moment. I've chosen a game that will challenge me intellectually and YES that is addictive. I've learned a lot from that game, because I have to ask myself the question "What Do I Want To Do" and trust and believe that my choice is not wrong. I have to solve problems, because I have to build a base (home) and take into account the limits of the game parameters. BUT, I have to do my "normal" day life first, then the game and I do struggle with that. That is also the reason I'm more scared of VR games. VR will be the end of me. I will escape into the VR world and will never want to come back. It's a double edged sword and I agree that when you have a child (even some adults) that you need to install a certain protocol before playing. First you do the "normal" day stuff and then you can play games. I wish there was a game that could be played and be used to help, by having a Conversation about the game and being asked why you did things this way or why you are having trouble doing things that will make you progress. I had problems progressing in building in the game for a week. I had one conversation with my boyfriend about what was preventing me from making a building and that night I started to build and I'm proud of what I made. It came down to me comparing myself to others and not believing in my own ability.
Thank you so much Dr Tony for your inspiring, giving hope to so many and having the courage and vulnerability to go in life with so much enthusiasm....grateful
This is Spot on.
I stopped with no detox, and as much as NA helped me, I always had difficulty making friends and fitting in there, like I had my 'own way' of doing things, which worked for me, but they don't like the concept of self-will and think that's part of the problem.
I can identify with you.
BRILLIANT!!!
As an Aspie of IQ 167 and age of your son I admire and worship you Tony. You are a Deep Diver. Your son is like your exam and you try to make best out of it. I once got the blessing effect of benzodiazapines in a surgery. The doc assured me that I was going to remember nothing. But as it turned out I remembered every second of the surgery with joy. That's incredible. Like the saloon on my head became vacant for the first time in my life except myself. The noise and the worry makers abandoned. The genies left me alone.
After the surgery I thought seriously about becoming a benzo-addict. I didn't knew the dangers then. And with my frontal cortext I just seek information, as I always do, and found the huge risks that come with benzos. And I quit the thinking and made a crazy decision to go to the highest and hardest climbing tracks of Turkey with no experience. Physical activity gave me what I need from the benzos throughout the years. In recent years I completely quit alcohol and reduced my caffeine and tea intake.
Looking retrospect, it was one of the the best decisions I made. Nobody congratulated me. Nobody cares, nobody knows. Only people facing issues and close devoted relatives, dads and moms like you know this decisions' value. I admire your courage and wisdom. Even if you loose Will someday, you will be saving lots Wills somewhere.
Good thing you didnt. Im using 1mg daily for a year and barely makes effect. Cant imagine not taking tem anymore.
@@ahk9838 you should detox. how : I dont know. maybe you should change your lifestyle drastically. for example sleeping in a cold cottage house 3 days in a row helped me to loose symptoms of Covid.
@@kutay8421 It’s spelt ‘lose’ not ‘loose’ Mr 167 IQ. You made the same error twice. But felt necessary to claim a high iq. That annoys me.
@@buttercxpdraws8101 my Russian is not good as yours. Maybe I am not Russian after all.
I'm a 48 year old autistic woman who is 22 years clean of heroin and speed. I game but not excessively, however I know that it would be very easy to slip into excessive gaming if I didn't have a young son and a family. Recovery of addictions is forever.
I'm a 40 year old self-diagnosed ASD (few weeks back!) with quite a hectic day job and find that micro-dosing on md ma helps me stay focused, productive and 'on the ball'. I also receive good feedback for my work. Also when on the substance and I'm dealing with people - friends, family, co-workers - face to face or in messages or mails, I find that I'm more engaging and responsive, saying the 'right' things without the usual sober anxiety or bashfulness. I also know that this is not healthy in the long term, but it has helped me so much! I would like to know how I can be equally productive and less anxious without the help of substances, thank you!
I love this guy. I am Aaron Christopher Gibson Preece and I have Asperger's Syndrome, addiction, depression and psychosis 🤯
omfg you even have the gaming situation nailed, amazing, down to a T, i am impressed..
i drank so much when i was younger (to escape the abuse) that it resulted in a serious head injury. i'm now getting out the other side but the head pain is so much that i have returned to drinking. the added bonus is that it's slowing my brain down and i can think again (i have ptsd) i'm trying to moderate myself carefully but i am worried about my addictive tendencies.
very good advice :)
Very interesting. Thank you for sharing
people with ASD often have comorbid ADHD, maybe that's what you're seeing with ICE addictions?
Indeed😊
i just stopped 1 day, i had enough, it wasn't working..
This is so true. I have really bad anxitey.
I have Autism AD HD OCD, realy bad anxitey and depression.
Most people just dont have the money to support their child, let alone the mental effort, I myself am an aspie addict, diagnosed at 25, because my high intellect has served me up to the point of university where it all fell apart. The hardest part and what causes all of my personal anxiety or panic attacks are expectations. The expectations that others put on me that i never asked for. And the expectation I put on myself via others. How do you tell your parent that you dont love them, that you want them to help you but the anxiety of asking and admitting defeat is so overwhelming you feel like puking. And when you feel good go straight back into forgetting their birthdays. I need a calendar just to remember to show my family that i value them.
Something i see with aspies rather than clear case autism is the expectation that somewhere in there is a normal person that can be fixed (My dads pov). When you have an autistic or retarded child that needs constant care you absolve that person of all wrongdoing. thinking they dont have much control of themselves. But at what point am i in control or "pre-programed" of apathy, decreased dopamine, nihilism etc. Things that from my point of view is completely normal. But that others (and we all are egocentric, not just me, but im self-aware) see me as the ass hole because i dont call back, I didnt remember your name even tho we met last night. And the classic "i just dont know", when asked for the 50th time if im happy, just because im smiling.
your son was correct, i used to consume vast quatities of cocaine to slow myself down, to relax but is was not the answer.
I am not a group person.
Indeed😊
I’m starting my own note. I have too many around me that have autism including myself. Almost all of us are extremely high functioning and would be considered a genius. We do have one that was misdiagnosed and I strongly believe he has autism also. He is on Ridellan. I don’t know if I spelled that right but it is what college students use and abuse to get better grades. The one that takes Ridellan has a substance-abuse problem. when he is not on Ridellan he drinks much more alcohol and would take other substances. Ridellan does not make him stay awoke and study. It actually calms him down it has a complete opposite affect on him. He for the most part does live in a game. He is addicted to the computer. But with the Ridellan he manages to keep a relationship together, help watch his kids, he has a terrific job and yesterday he cooked us chicken soup with vegetables. Without the Ridellan he self-medicated!
I have high functioning autism. I am 52 years old. Although it is in my medical charts that I have autism I actually diagnosed myself. I am a woman. I am actually smart enough to become anything. Including a rocket scientist. If I am interested in something I learn everything there is to learn about it. I do not bother to learn very much about autism. I am in the know. When I read other peoples comments or watch their videos I do not always agree with them matter of fact I strongly disagree with them most of the time. I have not watched many videos that doctor Tony has put out. The few that I did watch he appeared to be more knowledgeable than other doctors. I have learned how to copy everyone to act normal. But I no longer do this. In reality I really do not have any people close to me. What I mean by this is I do not have anyone that I could count on 100%. The ones that consider me friends are only in my life because I make their life better. In reality no one does the same for me. I live at the edge of the forest. I purchased a large section of Forest. I have a house that is in between small to medium size. It is made quite well. I virtually never had visitors. And when I do it is my companion’s visitors. When people are talking I am trying to figure out what I will respond and when I will be able to respond. I do have medication which helps me cope with anxiety. There are times that for no reason whatsoever my anxiety level is through the roof. I am on a generic form of zoloft and Xanax. I probably will be taking my medicine in a little while because I happened to know for a fact I will have visitors. I did not invite them here. I believe I will have six visitors in the house and only one of them does not have autism. People with autism tend to only get along with other people who have autism. My companion/boyfriend also has autism and so does at least two of his brothers. If someone is looking for a spouse and they have autism they should be looking inside of the spectrum. You can only have empathy for people that you can see their genius abilities/low points. we all get along quite well. That does not stop us from having our anxiety problems because that is an internal problem. Personally if any psychologist would diagnose me they would say I am in a narcissist. They would only say this if I actually showed them the real me. So my psychologist will never know the real me. They will only know what I divulge. When someone has autism and they are tired of a problem and decide to get rid of it it is gone. So if someone has an addiction and they have autism when they decide to change it it will be spontaneously gone! I want to tell anyone who does not have the brain of someone with autism this. I look at myself as the new age vehicle. I run faster. I have more/better accessories. But I also have a few factory defects. My brain is like a mainframe computer they can store everything in it. I might not be able to tell you. Some people with autism can’t speak. And even if they can speak they will not tell you. The only area I could really tell you where I am slow at is I do not truly understand electricity and things that other people talk about bores me to tears.
I am continuing my note. Because if I write too long of a note part of it will be cut off. It’ll show you that I have lots of activities going on in my brain.
My daughter has autism and she is also on Zoloft and another form of an anxiety pill. Not exactly sure what kind she’s on. She has five years of college. She is only a couple of classes away from receiving three different degrees. She speaks four languages but understands at least six. I understand four languages, but actually only speak two. I would say my daughter is a musical and language expert. My daughter was going to school to become a professor of foreign languages. And she was at the top of every class she took. She is now a dancer, choreographer, and dance instructor. I am the mother of one of the best dancers in the world. She has now owned her business for five years. She is young. She is making approximately $60,000 a year, has her own house with very large property and drives an XC 90 Volvo. In future years I expect her to make a lot more money. Most dance instructors in our area had inherited their students from someone who was retiring. My daughter is quite shy and does not like to speak to many people. As soon as she started taking anxiety medication and would interact with other people her business started growing. I truly expect in the upcoming years her business will triple or quadruple.
My grandson is now 11 1/2 years old. He was able to read a college level at 11 months old. He was diagnosed with hyperlexia. That is when someone has a photographic memory. He excels in math and science. Although his math skills started showing itself when he could barely even speak, no one knew how smart he was because he really did not speak until he was approximately 2 1/2 years old. Kind of hard to convince someone he could read when he could not speak. Before he turned three years old he was multiplying numbers. He was counting in his brain into the billions. It is fun watching a three-year-old say the number 589,225,138,322. My grandson wants to be an engineer of automobiles. He speaks three languages. He is very soft hearted.
My granddaughter is 4 1/2 years old. She is the wild child. Super cute and very softhearted. She just received her first note pad electronic device. Almost everyone reading this will think this was a very bad idea. LOL she likes to run off and explore. With this notepad she will sit down and keep calm. When she is older she’ll probably need medication. She has anxiety levels are very high. She does not appear to be doing as well in academics as her brother or mother did as a young child. She likes to draw. I bought her an aqua doodle drawing mat for Christmas. Her brain is hyper accelerated. She does not have a problem eating certain foods. Her two brothers have problems. I believe my granddaughter is able to read. She did not really start to speak until she was three years old. Now we cannot shut her up. LOL
My youngest grandchild is about to turn two years old. He does not speak. He has probably only been able to walk for about six months now. The way he stems is he bounces repeatedly to calm himself. If anyone has someone with autism and you try to break them of stemming, you are increasing their anxiety level. My daughter‘s stemming is tap dancing. And she made a career of dancing. LOL. when a baby has autism they take longer to have facial recognition. I’m on my third grandchild and kids with autism do not even recognize their own name when it is called. I do believe if he was brought in to the doctors they would diagnose him with autism instantly. I do expect that he will probably be a genius that has anxiety and years to come.
My brother who is 50 years old excels in math. When he was 11 years old he took a comprehensive exam. He was slow at reading and had a speech impediment. But math he scored in college level. The only math problems he did not get the correct answers for where the ones that had written problems, because he has a hard time with the reading. His problem is he is several centimeters taller than a tall man and strong as an ox. It is not good to go up and fight with someone who is clearly physically superior to you. He is the size of an American football player. He lives in the middle of the forest in isolation. And he loves it. In my opinion he values the wrong things. He lives in a trailer. Trailers depreciate in value. He loves expensive automobiles. That to depreciates in value. When he was a young adult he would work on a boat for weeks at a time and then come home and buy an antique vehicle. At one point I believe he owned seven vintage vehicles. And I am talking about top of the line vehicles. He had two MGB’s and a Porsche and I don’t recall the others at the time. I’m not exactly sure how many vehicles he has right now. Some of them are beyond repair as far as I am concerned.