The Autism CRC Adult Group Meeting Friday 30th May 2014

Last night a group of approximately 20 adults on the Autism Spectrum and myself attended an event hosted by Damian Santomauro also on the Autism Spectrum for the Autism CRC.  This event was both crucial and important because it allowed adults a chance to participate and provide feedback in research that is being carried out by the Autism CRC.  Such research would hopefully assist adults more and provide advice and feedback on raising better awareness and educating the community more. 


There are many advantages of having the meeting because it firstly establishes how our lives can be better accommodated and more importantly, necessary services to assist us in our day to day lives. While I write this post, Ben Wilshire who is an adult on the Autism Spectrum in Orange, in rural Australia has recently been offered a job a Pizza Hut in Orange.  Ben also is unsure about whether the job he applied for at Carewest is going to go ahead but is determined to apply for another position at Carewest.  Ben is still interested in representing adults in rural Australia and now that he has obtained employment, we hope to see him when he is next in Brisbane.  In terms of the Autism CRC Ben would be able to assist adults in rural Australia but this is something that we hope the Autism CRC may take on board.


It was great to be present with both Damian Santomauro and Chris Lovell in particular as they have important and responsible key duties in both research and facilitating respectively.  It was good to see them both as well as other adults mix and to furthermore harness our concerns and desires for ourselves and future generations of persons on the Autism Spectrum. 


In the next fortnight I will be meeting with Damian and furthermore meeting Kate Van Dooren from Autism CRC to discuss developments with future meetings and planning.  It is good that a pilot program has begun but more important that future meetings occur.  As with the meeting last night at the University of Queensland, the Central Brisbane Adult Group is also important.  Furthermore, our Facebook Group "Brisbane Aspie Adult Innovator Group" provides a base for adults to come together and to find support and social outings when and where social isolation may become a problem. 


I don't want to go too much into the results of last night's meeting as it is a pilot meeting but all I can see is that it was good to take part in it.  As I get older, life becomes harder and I just hope that future planning will pave a way for future and current adults like myself to have a better quality of life.  Should you wish to find out more about our meetings the best person to contact is Damian Santomauro or to contact us via our Facebook Page   Approval will be subject to admin approval which contact must be made in the first instance with a brief introduction so we know more about your situation and your reasons for wanting to join. 


I will be meeting with Damian again in two week's time but in the meantime we are trying our best to maintain and establish positive progress.  



Matthew and Damian at Autism CRC meeting. Good to see adults on the Autism Spectrum interacting more.

The Need for Better Adult Services

I really need to reinforce once again the difficulties, challenges and need for services as an adult on the Autism Spectrum.  What I find especially difficult is the absence of support when you need it.  Other people may say 'your scenario is not different to anyone else' or 'everyone goes through the same thing'.  I would like to correct such comments.  Not everyone does go through the same things because not everyone has the same mechanisms for dealing with difficulty.  When you have your own operating system it can be especially hard for other people to try and understand it. For instance the majority of people seem to need other people around them in times of despair or have a natural means or ability to seek help or assistance. They also may have a good or close circle of family or friends that can comfort them and provide support. However when people don't understand you this may be a different situation entirely.  Often I may receive criticism for showing a so called lack of empathy and furthermore being seen as cold and lacking emotion.  I can remember throughout my life being told that I was a failure and what I could and couldn't do without actually being asked to give the scenario a go. I have also felt I don't fit into Australian culture and wonder why I just can't seem to get anywhere.  I am just constantly worn down still with so called decision makers just not ever giving me a chance at having a go and asking for the assistance I may require in order to do so.  It at times is just immensely frustrating and I find myself often feeling both frustrated and angry.

In the area of relationships and dating there just simply isn't any help.  I am expected to do and know everything and not having a circle of friends just makes the whole process just instant torture.  I could just give up on the entire process believing that the stress is just to much to take and forever feel a loneliness in part of my life or I can just continue to try and even though it can be frustrating, just hope one day that success may occur.  Of late I have tried to continue with dating but I am finding that it is simply overwhelming. Either I am rejected, drained or not really knowing what to expect.  There simply just isn't the support that I need as an adult to assist me with the process.  I am expected as a man to know everything and exist in a blokey, sporting and drinking culture which idolises men as having good biceps and abs.  I just find such an image and competition just not to my liking and I really want no part of it.  I also feel trapped in Australia in a well that I find hard to climb out of as there just seems to be too many obstacles.  It is a culture or rather I say a lack of culture that I have never really felt I belong to or want to belong to.  I just wish that persons on the opposite sex would dig deeper than just a narrow desire in wanting something of image more so than quality. Better adult services would include counselling for relationships and how to develop better strategies.

Surely there is more to masculinity than abs and biceps?

On another note the thing that needs improvement is accommodation for adults.  If I as a low income earner am required to submit a tax return and pay tax, I would expect at least some of my tax go into services for persons who may require support with infrastructure?  I just have no security in terms of accommodation at all and furthermore I just know that the rental and housing market is completely out of my league. I know that I will never be able to live a reasonable quality of life and have to constantly deal with people who simply believe that I live the life of luxury on a part time income.  It just simply isn't good enough.  I have my own challenges and difficulties but I too exist as a human being.  For a person on a low income as most Aspies either are or are unemployed, we just operate differently with how we manage our lifestyles.  Some Aspies for instance handle money via different means but because we live in the majority of others who hold the decision making or controlled ways of thinking, we just don't have a voice.  A great deal many adults are still living with family or parents apart from the very few in marriages and or relationships just not getting the access to support and services which we require.  I am not asking for special treatment but simply the means of accommodation to be provided conducive of us. This may need to take into consideration whether a person can live independently or may require some form of assistance within a communal setting.  With an Adult Task Force one of the things we can advise government on is improved services and better support for adults so we can live independently and take the strain off elderly parents or busy family concerned about our future.  Furthermore siblings may not always understand and it just a matter of trying to survive as best you can.

The need for accommodation support 

The other issue is the requirement for improved transport.  Not all adults on the Autism Spectrum are able to afford car ownership and many don't want to drive or own a car.  In Brisbane for instance there is a strong emphasis on car ownership and many employers want a person to have a car as an 'essential' requirement.  I find congestion is just maddening and I prefer to either go early or find ways around avoid traffic congestion.  Added to this the cost of a car which goes up every year and a public transport system which just isn't good enough.  Why not introduce a traffic congestion tax and get people out of cars and put the money into improving public transport? Governments, especially local government need to look seriously at improving public transport and not be so much scared about losing votes.  Our cities are becoming just a car parking lot with too many cars on the road and polluting the atmosphere.  The priority needs to be to get people out of cars!   More importantly is the need to assist persons with disabilities and or challenges to move to areas where there is better public transport or regional areas where it is easier to get around accessibility wise.

Would a traffic congestion tax alleviate traffic congestion and direct money into better public transport?

The final area I wanted to touch on was employment support.  To get adults on the Autism Spectrum off welfare as many actually want to work, why not encourage employers to take on persons with challenges and abilities?  Why not encourage employers to see the benefits of employing an adult on the Autism Spectrum?  Employment agencies need to approach employers and employers need a better attitude to take on people within their organisation or business.  Quite simply an overhaul is required on providing support to employ people with disabilities with better measures to ensure workplaces are friendly, safe and free of toxicity and workplace bullying.  Surely this can be done?   

Employing adults with Autism Autism Works 

In conclusion I realise that I cannot change the world nor do I intend to but I really feel that in order to get frustrations off my chest that I need to write and publish them where I can.  I have managed to write a book 40 000 words in a week and appeared in some publications. I do this not because of publicity but more so just in wanting to get the message out.  If we want a society that better understands and accommodates adults on the Autism Spectrum then people really need to start to understand what it is like to be an adult on the Autism Spectrum.  Day to day living can be a real challenge with people not really ever understanding fully just what it is like.  I therefore try my best to tell it as it is in the hope that one day people will see it for what it really is and until this can be achieved, the only form of communication which I can best provide is to simply write and update blog posts like I am currently doing.  Please take the time to try and understand!  

   

Adult Autism Taskforce

We are in the very early stages of making significant progress in this country.  Although to succeed and to create more impact, we need the support of other adults to come forward.  As many of you may be aware there are adults undertaking awareness here in Brisbane.

I am currently working with very effective adults who are wanting and trying their best to initiate change and to raise more awareness.  This Friday 30th May 2014.  I will be meeting with Damian Santomauro who is undertaking a PhD in Autism.  Damian will be facilitating a meeting at the University of Queensland Department of Psychology. The information for this can be found below.

Damian Santomauro Autism CRC Event

We also have an adult group which meets in Central Brisbane twice monthly. However due to the venue not being available in June as the Brisbane City Council Library is unavailable, Chris Lovell who is is the group Facilitator has decided that the group have a BBQ on Saturday 7th June 2014 at Roma Street Parklands.  If you want to get in touch and find out more, please get in touch via my website www.garryburge.com  Chris together with Blake Connolly are doing a great job at running the group and the group has a lot planned for the months ahead. For new members, the group is a great way to feel human again and to think around like minded people.

Brisbane Adult Aspie Innovator Group

We had the pleasure of having Curtis Harrison speak at the group.  Curtis like many adults has participated in our 'breaking the ice' presentations.  These sessions allow adults an opportunity to talk about their own experiences and challenges.  The group encourages adults to speak with Blake and Curtis among a few adults who have already spoken.  We look forward to seeing Curtis upon his return to Australia from the United States and hope that he can assist us with more awareness.

Curtis Harrison speaks to the group about his experiences 

In March of this year, I met with Ben Wilshire.  Ben has a blog http://bensaspieblog.blogspot.com.au which he writes new posts and updates regularly.  I am currently trying to assist Ben to access better services and to obtain employment in a disability provider known as Carewest. Having a job here would enable Ben to assist in much needed work within a rural location and furthermore allow him to continue the good work he is currently undertaking. Ben also is currently undertaking Lifeline Counselling Training and has a Certificate of Mental Health in First Aid.  Ben finds weekends difficult in Orange and social isolation a real problem as a person on the Autism Spectrum.  He has concerns about Mental Health issues and wants to better provide both support and awareness to take the challenges confronted for many in a rural location.

Meeting with Ben Wilshire in Orange, Australia 

Over the coming months we hope that more progress can be made concerning adults with Autism.  The idea would be for more rural locations and towns as well as urban centres to come on board with the concept of starting adult groups.  Adults on the Autism Spectrum would act as mentors in such groups and provide much needed awareness to advise government and those in positions of responsibility a means of reducing unemployment, and to provide better awareness, support and services.  It is encouraging to see more adults becoming involved as we speak but we need more to come forward and to join us.  

I look forward to assisting Damian this Friday and connecting him with other adults.  We also look forward to Ben visiting us in Brisbane in August.  So please stay tuned for more updates.  

Kind and warmest regards

Garry Burge

www.garryburge.com 

Autism is not a disease!

It concerns me deeply when I here of Autism as described as a disease.  When posting on Youtube even the tags portray Autism as "Autism Spectrum Disease" etc.  This really needs to change as all it creates is just another negative stigma.  In defending Autism, Autism Associations such as Autism Speaks should quickly intervene and seriously take such negative descriptions to task but instead they and their mouthpieces only want to tell the world that Autism is a curse and needs to be cured.  Surely the real ignorance is those who simply don't examine their facts and should be taken to task in calling Autism a disease in the first instance?


How exactly would you define a disease?  Perhaps you may define a disease as an illness.  Something that causes the loss of life or debilitating side effects?  A disease is something that is not something you are born with but you get in a certain stage of life.  My impression of those who wanted to change the DSMV to remove Asperger Syndrome as a diagnostic criteria is that they are just so called experts thinking that with a stroke of a pen and a few alterations that Asperger Syndrome will exist no more.  Surely the focus should not be on curing but more so on understanding? 


In some aspects of my own life, I have come across people who not knowing exactly what Asperger Syndrome or Autism is, asking me such questions as "how long have you suffered this disease" or "is it something which can be cured?".  I think why?  What exactly is wrong with having Asperger Syndrome?  Just because I think and function differently doesn't mean that I need to be cured.  There are many positives to having Autism which are largely overlooked or stigmatised negatively in the media.  Surely this is something that needs to change? 


In the Autism Spectrum Adult Group that is now run by Chris Lovell and Blake Connolly significant progress is being made for adults on the Autism Spectrum. Together with Damian Santomauro and Ben Wilshire our influence is expanding further.  We are adults together making progress and pushing forth much needed change. 


In the adult group progress is being made to assist with university support and employment. Furthermore we are wanting to try and gauge understanding so we can assist with more awareness and more importantly provide services for adults.  Accommodation is one of the major issues with not enough available to provide an independent means of living and assistance in obtaining employment.  This is something we need to change.  I wish people would see Autism as something which doesn't need curing but more so awareness and understanding.  Together we can make a difference and we call upon people to listen and try and understand. 


We don't need negative newspaper stories negatively portraying Autism as a cause of serial predatory behaviour. We instead need stories that portray us in a positive manner and it is about time the media starts to listen!


Blake Connolly (left) and Chris Lovell (Centre) with other adults at group meeting

What is a Mind Control Bully?

It can often be misinterpreted when I mention bullying that I may sound paranoid or perhaps over reacting to things but what I wanted to discuss is what I call "Mind Control Bullying". Quite simply this is a form of behaviour where if you are in closed proximity that you really have no means of escape.  How such an individual and individuals operate is that that rely on other tactics to try and intimidate and control you.  For example within the closed or forced proximity they may block your means of access or try and watch over you in the attempt of making you feel uncomfortable or small. As I may experience or more so provide a strong attention to focus and may find their behaviours uncomfortable, I need or rather I say, I need to try even harder to use my intelligence to just get by. 




When there is a situation of incompetence at a higher level, this incompetence can stem or radiate itself to contaminate or influence other persons just trying to do the right thing and undertake what is required of them. It can often be difficult to try and resolve the contamination or toxicity because the individuals or individuals concerned may not leave the proximity and use their behaviours in a negative way onto others.  The concerning factor is that such persons may rely on other tactics within their toolbox to avoid facing disciplinary action or accountability.  It can really be difficult. 




Let us imagine that your own method of functioning and communication was to rely mainly on your intelligence.  Just for one moment think and imagine that you just want to get in and do what is expected of you and your means and pathways to personal productivity are interrupted or made difficult by others that obstruct your means of outcome.  What can you do?  In order to avoid being humiliated you just need to hope and rely on others to try and assist you so that you can at least survive and do what is expected of you.  Often the scenario may be that certain situations make you anxious and you feel that asking for help or summoning support may simply be impossible because you don't know how to deal with difficult scenarios. You just need to rely on your intelligence in the hope that it will get you through. 




Intelligence can be exhausting with a Mind Bully

For the perpetrator of mind bullying they may use a means of tactics in order to survive and manipulate their way to avoid complaint. Within a scenario, they may justify their actions so as to avoid accountability or poor direction.  It can often just be difficult pin pointing what I may term inappropriate behaviours because a codified means of rules may not hold such a person accountable.  Furthermore there may be issues where I may be expected to perform actions where toxic persons are within proximity and realising that if I may encounter danger that such persons may simply be unapproachable.  I really don't want to sound as though I am paranoid. 


It is important to have support and allies within any means.  As communication may be difficult for me as I operate on a different operating system, just asking for help may in itself must be seen as a call for help and not a sense of troublemaking.   It is always reassuring to know that there are people that are there for me should I need to call on them and to monitor scenarios which may trigger moments of stress or heightened anxiety.  It is also important that I rely on my own emotional toolbox so that I can get by.  It is essential to know and rely on a team or pillar of support so that I am not alone and that I am not treated as though I am inferior or worthless.  I just try and function as best I can even though my actions may be misinterpreted or that I may offend without knowing it. 




A person can feel uncomfortable if too many sensitive buttons are pressed and psychological levers pulled in order to feel humiliated so there also needs to be goodness and encouragement so that such mechanisms don't result in total despair.  Working in a good and supportive team is essential!

Judging at Face Value

It can be very difficult when you are judged at face value more so than what abilities and strengths you may offer.  Last night and previously I have been helping Ben with an application for Information and Intake Officer at Carewest.  Addressing Selection Criteria is not easy for anyone, especially when you are someone on the Autism Spectrum.  It can be a real challenge trying to describe yourself in words to others, especially when you don't know the person and focusing on so called attributes when all you really want to do is just do your best in a chosen field or position.  I have been talking with Ben on Skype and working through the Cover Letter and Selection Criteria with him.  Despite not wanting to show favoritism and apply for the position through the incorrect channels and means, I have managed to assist Ben as best I can.

The job would suit Ben because it is part time and furthermore it would allow him job security and a means to continue the much needed and valuable work which Ben is undertaking in a rural location.  The job would also provide Ben with the necessary support and services to assist him greatly as an adult just recently diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome within Orange.  To assist Ben, I have just emailed the contact person a supporting reference to assist him with his application.  I am not wanting to do the wrong thing but just help Ben as much as possible.  Like other adults who I assist, I really feel a lot of Aspies are let down by a process of applying for jobs in a way that focuses more on judging a person at face value more so than on performance and ability.  It is tough for everyone but even more so if you are on the Autism Spectrum.

I see similarities in both job applications and in dating.  Aspies have a hard time with both because I believe we encounter challenges of low self esteem and often a lack of confidence.  In my own case I prefer to just do my best and try and be on time and reliable within employment.  Over the years I have encountered low self esteem with being knocked back in all aspects of life while having a strong commitment to do better.  It is important to always be punctual and not create hassles and difficulties.  Just by being myself can often be difficult because I may offend someone without knowing it or only be told issues when I feel it better to receive praise.  Things though are improving in my life and I am starting to feel better than I used too.  At times I feel as though I am warned down but I try to pick myself up and work out what I should do to try and be better. The condition I have affects me in that my processes of thinking and routine can be unchangeable.  It can also be hard living with my elderly parents and just recently seeing my mother go through a traumatic experience of having an anxiety attack.  She encounters episodes of such disturbing duress and it is really hard to know what to do?  I have tried contacting her sister my aunt in Sydney, spoken to friends and even tried calling the doctor.  Mental health not only affects younger people but the elderly as well.

How often do we judge at face value?

For persons on the Autism Spectrum I really feel that we need to be judged and assessed more so on performance.  I find that social world often very overwhelming and furthermore just trying to get by can be a massive undertaking.  On dating websites and Facebook, I have managed to go on some dates but there are also rejections.  "Sorry you're not my type", "All the best in your search" and "Thanks. I am not interested in taking things further" are some of the comments I receive when I send kisses or contact requests.  Although it can feel like a body blow, I just see the only way to get ahead is just to try and deal with the challenges in the meantime.  I try to not take things personally and try to remain optimistic.  I know and try to be a good person but not boast about things which are not true about me.  I am not concerned with self image but do realise the importance of being fit.  I am also starting to make new friends and getting better understanding at work too.  The advocacy work I do in Autism I know is slowly getting better but at times I need to avoid burnout.  I know that there s only one and this way is to go forward.

I ask people to please allow people like myself a chance and others with Autism. We are not stupid or bad people, we just think and function differently.  Please just allow us a chance for you to get to know us.  Why not give an adult with Autism a go in employment and reach out the hand of friendship to us. After all you may find some of our special interests and abilities far more interesting.  

Being a social skills deprived Alien

It is often a real challenge when you try and go about your everyday life and being expected to think and function like everyone else.  I have noticed that among those not on the Autism Spectrum that the very social engineering which they follow and seem automatically to adhere just seems totally foreign to me.  For instance, when I was younger I received a lot of bullying just for being who I was and how I functioned.  Simply in just not being able to conform caused me to be pushed around and made a fool.

As I get older, I find I am often cynical of society.  There are many things and expectations that just seem to not work and in all likelihood to simply fail.  There are many important decisions and procedures that are carried out by those who are socially competent but in terms of practicality, things just seem to be problematic.

I tend to think that in a world comprised of largely those not on the Autism Spectrum that perhaps there is some kind of mechanism or realisation that things are expected to break down or need continual servicing.  For instance if you had an Aspie Mechanic fix your car, you probably wouldn't need to take it to the mechanic very much as it would be fixed and working properly, with an honest assessment when a car is needed again.  Perhaps if more Aspies were employed that non Aspies wouldn't be able to work as we would ensure things work properly and be rigorously tested.  Perhaps there is a fear of employing Aspies in that we may show up others through implementing a high level of competence and attention to detail?  Just we fall down and struggle on the social skills component.

The challenges I have is that people don't always understand how I think, perform and function.  I drive to and from places I need to go to avoid traffic.  I just cannot stand traffic congestion!  It annoys me and I think what sense is there to people stuck in tin cans, inhaling carbon monoxide and increasing their chances of cardiac arrest and other illnesses?  Surely there is a way around this?  Brisbane is a very uptight city because of its continuing problem with traffic congestion.  It just makes people uptight and when they come to their work, the anger no doubt manifests itself in other ways.  Surely it is wise to travel when there is less congestion and exercise if and where you can to stay fit?

As I write this blog post, I some good news in that an article I wrote is to be published in a French Magazine about Autism.  Finally I been able to appear in something abroad despite some other small entries I have featured in.  I have also written about other adults who are assisting me with Autism Advocacy which brings me to my next point.

On Friday 30th May 2014, between 6 to 7.30pm, Damian Santomauro will be hosting an event hosted by the Autism CRC for adults on the Autism Spectrum. I have included the photo to accompany this post.  We are really hoping that as many adults as possible will attend this event because it is our chance to talk about challenges, issues and concerns that affect us.  I don't know about others but I do grow tired of other people having issues with me and the way I am.  Well I tend to think the issue is with them more.  However, we really want as many adults and input as possible to assist us.  I am working with some great adults and we are starting to unite which is even better.  As I write this post, I am keeping my fingers crossed for Ben Wilshire in Orange and hoping that he may get the job in CareWest.  I also am trying to support Chris Lovell with the group here in Brisbane.  Things seem to be getting better and it is only a matter of time before things improve even more.

Event for Friday 30th May 2014 at University of Queensland

We look forward to your enquiries so please contact either Damian as shown or me via www.garryburge.com 

Warm regards
Garry Burge

Understanding the Autistic Brain

The question may be asked as to how and why the Autistic Brain is different?  Why are Aspies for instance different to other people and is having Autism a condition that needs fixing?

To answer this question from my own personal experience I would see myself as not being different but more so being able to think in other ways to others.  It is interesting that when a person supposedly dreams that another neuropathway opens up.  At the moment I currently find myself dreaming a fair bit.  In fact my sleeping patterns are somewhat unusual in that I feel energetic and able to think a lot in the early hours of the morning. As you may recall, Benjamin Franklin coined the saying "Early to bed early to rise makes a good man healthy, wealthy and wise". Perhaps there is some merit in this saying?

 I find that I am often over analysing thoughts and thinking to the point that my mind can develop a mindset for errors.  It seems that when people with Autism are described as being depressed that really this may be misconstrued as being critical and cynical?  As an Aspie myself, I find that I often look for faults more so than for perfection. Society often takes a very dim view of such an approach as I can be seen as negative and always dissatisfied with things around me.  Furthermore, I can be described as being a pessimist or wanting to be a perfectionist.    

What do we understand about the Autistic Brain?

There are areas within my own mind and brain in particular that I can notice when I am experiencing obsession.  This can be more so felt in the front lobe region.  It is a matter of trying to find switches within the cognitive sense to turn off and on various parts of the brain and dealing with emotions.  This in itself is not always easy but is possible.  When anxiety is experienced, mechanisms are required such as deep breathing and relaxation techniques to calm parts of the brain.  

In terms of day to day functioning, routine allows for an easier sense of performing tasks and getting through the day.  In some instances I am finding that I need to rely on my own intelligence just to get through a menial task which may be expected of someone with better social skills and little experience and or intelligence.  In fact existing as an Aspie uses a very large amount of intelligence to get through procedures which are seen by many as just a 'normal' way of existing.  It seems that for many people that automatic responses and actions are part of day to day living whereas as an Aspie, I need to rely more on intelligence in order to get through social situations which other people seem to take for granted. 

I find that within my own thinking that there can be times where I feel intelligence goes beyond a regular pattern.  I feel for instance that I can perform more beyond my current ability but such experiences don't seem to coexist with the day to day world. Furthermore when enclosed within forced proximity with little flexibility and too much social interaction, my mind feels often overwhelmed and wanting to shut down. Added to this the sensory issues can further make simple things a real chore.  

As I get older some thought processes are becoming automatic but others still require a great deal of mental energy.  I have always been punctual for instance but when it comes to be being on time, I can often over compensate by being somewhere just too early.  The clock face may indicate 45 mins but the concept of this becomes like 45 seconds and the anxiety sets in, demanding that I must not be late!  

The Autistic brain needs further discovery because by understanding the mind of an Autistic person can people better see through the eyes, which are the windows to the soul and though processes.  Only when more research is carried out can people better understand how Autistics think and function.   

The Aspie Advantage

Genius is 1 percent inspiration 99 percent perspiration. 

I don't think the world fully embraces what it is like for a person to be on the Autism Spectrum. For me being Autistic means that we are a unique species. What often though may be challenging is that we are all different and may not always get on.  I think being Aspie means that you can think outside the box and this in itself has many advantages. For instance in my own life I have provided thoughts and experiences which have not been fully examined in regular situations.  I think the main issue today is that Autism is seen as something to suppress, hide or even control.  This in itself makes it hard for Autistic people to properly function.  Why for instances in employment can't people with Autism be embraced to fully examine situations and seek out errors and offer improvements?

For instance why not have an Autistic adult provide or act as a reality checker? A thorough examination of items, devices or strategies to fully examine the situation.

In the dating and relationship stakes an Aspie can also offer many sterling and good qualities.  For men on the Autism Spectrum our unique thinking should make us an instant attraction as we are not on the whole like the everyday male.  Aspies can be obsessed but if a person of the opposite sex was to find out more about this, the person may go on a journey of discovery.  The challenge of being Aspie is that thoughts cannot always be enacted in every day situations.  This in itself making the social encounter not always possible.  Some strategies for a man on the Autism Spectrum may include the following. My own thoughts anyhow.

1. Allow us a means of communication which enables our self to express thoughts and feelings.

2. Suggest a time to meet up when it is comfortable mutually

3. Ask questions to seek clarification if we may do something you don't understand

4. Research more into men on the Autism Spectrum to get an overview of how we think and function

5. Understand that we are not all about image and appearance

6. We may experience low self esteem and need uplifting not rejection.

7. Get to see our inner self and realise that there is more to us than meets the eye.

Please feel free to provide your comments to this post so that they can be gauged and help to raise awareness.

Living in the world as an Autistic person is not a problem it is just a different way of thinking, analysing and processing information.  There needs to be no cure button pressed and the certain motives of individuals to apply the fly spray to cause and send us into extinction.  Imagine if you lived in our world and we tried to change you, I am sure you wouldn't like it as much as we don't?

I think being Aspie has many advantages but the world just simply hasn't caught up with our way of thinking and functioning.  We often, well this is how I see it at any rate, observe this world as having many flaws.  Things don't always work with goals and objectives often simply being unrealistic.  There needs to be a harnessing as one Aspie once told me of 'Intellectual Capital".  As an Aspie my mind thinks and processes information but for many not on the Autism Spectrum, the classic one line of "this happens to everyone" may not in it sense be true.  Aspies have more challenges in that we struggle more with the social component of social engineering in a world largely focused on this automatic process.  Why not simply see our underlying potential and not always accuse us as being lazy. We just operate on a different system.  Some Aspies have a strong cognitive ability and certain times of the day and more importantly can be fully focused and obsessed.  Why not harness this energy more so than try and conform it?

Why I think Alfred Hitchcock was Aspie

The Aspie traits of Alfred Hitchcock 

Intellectual thinking and over analyzing 

This morning on my way to work, I thought to myself whether or not Alfred Hitchcock was indeed Aspie and whether or not a "Theory of Mind" could be explained when attempting to analyse his films. In the movie Psycho you could be perhaps curious to wonder why in the following scene  that the perception of one person may have been entirely misread by another.  If you have watched the movie Psycho, the character played by Janet Leigh depicts two following messages. While this is how I see it anyhow. A young woman works as a secretary in a firm and she is given a large amount of money to take to the bank.  She thinks that the money is an easy taking whereas for the holder of the money, he may just so much he doesn't really think too hard to realise that a trusted staff member would bother taking it.  Thinking perhaps that she is a trusted staff member of the firm?

When watching Psycho apart from the lunacy of Norman Bates played by Anthony Perkins, again there is another mind reading exercise. While driving her car from Arizona where I think the film was set, the character played by Janet Leigh decides to take the large sum of money with her instead of banking it.  She tells her boss that she is feeling sick and needs to take the day off work.  The over analyzing begins.  She takes the money with her and as she leaves town she sees her boss look at her in the car.  What is he thinking?  If she has left work taking the money, why is she seen in the car and is her boss suspicious or perhaps just thinking that she can be trusted in being responsible with the money?  She then leaves town with the money driving a long a lonely road. A policeman pulls her over and for what reasons?  Does he know she has stolen money or is he just enforcing the law?  Finally when she arrives at the Bates Motel, you are left wondering if Norman Bates is part of the act of this money stealing exercise or whether he is just some weirdo misfit owning a motel with a deranged mind?  In the movie I have noticed like some other Hitchcock movies that I am left thinking about the characters in the movie.  What exactly are they about and are different messages being conveyed?  

To sum up the movie Psycho, I think I can safely assume that Alfred Hitchcock does possess Aspie traits for as an Aspie myself, my mind often goes into over thinking and misreading situations around me.  It is hard to know what perceptions are often right and whether what I think is the same as what the situation actually conveys.  Was Norman Bates aware that Janet Leigh was up to no good and was her character about to confront the ultimate fate?  When observing Alfred Hitchcock he tends to have Aspie traits in that he seems somewhat robotic and routine bound.  I can see similarities with my own grandfather now deceased originally from Bristol in England.  He spoke like Alfred Hitchcock and had the same robotic tendencies.  Life for him was very structured and orderly. He also couldn't stand noisy children and was often very blunt and critical. He also seemed to have met 2 of his three wives in situations where they lived with their parents and wanted an escape. My grandmother for instance living as a lonely young woman with her parents in a boarding house in Bribie Island and his last wife on Stradbroke Island who also lived up until middle age with her English parents in a Brisbane suburb.  

If asked to analyse Hitchcock I would say he had Aspie traits and I can list them as I have done previously.  His movies seemed to have a lot of Aspie thinking in them with a lot of mind reading, suspense and structure.  Was his movies also a means of expressing his own views which he could not do easily around other people?  It seems that acting is a way for many on the Autism Spectrum to act as chameleons because there is a script and in the script you can try and be like a neuro typical which you cannot do otherwise in public.  I find my means of communication is very challenging and often difficult with non Aspies and I find that withdrawing into eccentricity, special interests and some movie clips is a way and a means of escape.  In fact some good one liners can come from movies to assist me in certain situations.  I particularly like the scene in "Towering Inferno" where William Holden tells the gathered audience that there is a fire and is previously informed that when there is a fire that the Fire Chief played by Steve McQueen outranks everyone present in the building, even the Mayor. It is good knowledge in the event of a real fire as how many people are aware that the Fire Chief actually outranks everyone present?  

When watching Hitchcock perhaps you may yourself see some Aspie traits and tendencies?  Are there many actors, writers and film makers also on the Autism Spectrum living in a world where written scripts can greatly assist and aid communication more so than unconventional rules of behaviour?    

Where to from now?

This morning I had the pleasure to speak with Melanie and George O'Neill from Scotland via Skype. Both Melanie and George run a radio program and they are both keen to hear of the work I do in Autism Advocacy.  I have also mentioned the work of Ben Wilshire in Orange in rural Australia.  Both Melanie and George are hoping that Ben and I will be available for a radio program very shortly.  I have of course pledged my commitment to raise more awareness of adults with Autism in in Australia.

Tonight is budget night and of course like many Australians, I will be anxiously awaiting the outcome.  What really concerns me is the harshness which has been applied to some persons on the Disability Support Pension.  If the government is wanting to get people off welfare and into work, then it must firstly provide the necessary support and infrastructure to assist with this.  It must encourage organisations, employers and businesses to take on persons with a disability and Autism.  I watched with disappointment how an Abbott Government Minister, Kevin Andrews described people on pensions sitting at home and avoiding work.  I would like to reassure and enlighten Mr Andrews that people with Autism function differently and we cannot be accused of being lazy.  Many Aspies are unable to commit to work as there aren't the support and services available and more importantly workplaces need to provide both staff development and a workplace free of toxicity, bully and discrimination.  So in all honesty before criticism is made of people with disabilities not always wanting to work, please examine your facts carefully before you and your government make criticism or judgement on people wanting to work. Labor are also to blame as they took to making pensions harder to obtain and spent money recklessly often into programs that served no purpose and paying people who simply did nothing to assist those in need!

Autism Awareness needs to spread to encourage the employment of Adults with Autism

On another note I am still working my way through dating websites and treading very cautiously when I try to communicate with people I correspond on them.  I am getting to talk to a few people but often knowing what to say can be challenging.  I am determined to do my best and will keep on trying.  I think it is important to not give up.

I attended an adult group meeting on Saturday in the Central City Library here in Brisbane.  I was really impressed with the work of Blake Connolly. Blake is a young adult with Asperger Syndrome and he provided some very useful tips to deal with bullying, especially as you start to get older as an adult.  Meetings are going well but we still need your support as does Ben Wilshire in Orange. If adults are to change the world we live in, we must all work together to drive the wheels of change otherwise we will not get anywhere.  

Blake Connolly an adult with a positive focus on Autism Awareness. 

Please stay tuned for more updates. 

Hopefully a worthwhile contribution

I recently wrote an article concerning my own experience of being a person with Autism within the school system.  This article which I wrote I sent to an Italian University some months back.  I wrote it within a couple of minutes and then sent it by email never even for one minute assuming that despite it being for an academic contribution that it would be accepted.  A couple of months ago however, I received some good news in that it was to be accepted.  As it required referencing, David Zimmerman who is undertaking a PhD in Autism offered to help me with this, so yesterday I met with David at the University of Queensland. David assisted me with using the referencing and I submitted the article yesterday.  It is just a matter of time now to wait and see whether or not it will appear within this publication.

I have to report that Matthew is doing well.  I sometimes have students at universities contact me wanting assistance and now that the adult group is growing well, I can now refer these adults to the group.  It is great news to know that the group exists and that Chris Lovell is doing a great job a long with some others to ensure the group continues.  It is my role from now to let the group evolve in a way that accommodates its members and to provide a means of support for those who need it.

I am also noticing that parts of my brain are also changing.  Some things which I used to find required a lot of mental energy seem now to have a more automatic response.  In others words less over thinking and vast amounts of mental energy are not so much required. I am sleeping well and dreaming a lot and have heard that the more you dream, the more neuro pathways are opened within the brain to allow for better connection.  So things are starting to look more positive.

I recently caught up with a friend from school on Facebook. Facebook is good to link up with some old friends and I hope to catch up with him one time.

Meeting up with Ben Wilshire in Orange, NSW, Australia

As you are aware Ben Wilshire is doing great work in Orange in New South Wales.  Ben however is having some major issues with his employer as despite working very hard and having a good work ethic, Ben is confronting an end to his contract.  The person he has replaced is returning and Ben is aware that some of the people he works with are just not pulling their weight and furthermore his employer doesn't really seem to care much about the fact that he is always diligent and conscientious with his work. Like a lot of organisations there are sadly people who just don't pull their weight and often for those who want an opportunity at promotion, this in itself can become an obstacle.  Hopefully things will improve for Ben and we are keeping our fingers crossed that his contract will either be extended or that he will be placed within a similar role within Kmart?

One of the major concerns is the current government's attitude to slash pensions and start cutting back on spending.  We ask that the government think carefully about the NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme) and provide funding to encourage employers to take on people with challenges and abilities, not so much disabilities.  It will be a matter now of waiting to see what will eventuate.