Skip to main content

Things I Like

I have more trouble writing at length about happy things than issues, which results in a lot of difficulty-related posts. So, I'm going to try for a positive post, but I'm pretty sure it will just be a disjointed list of things that make me smile.
  • I love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love my service dog.
  • I really like being in the forest, especially when there is a waterfall or racing stream a distance away but just audible, and you're not near a busy road. I love sitting on firm, cool rocks and hugging ancient trees while imagining what they've seen. I love the smell of the forest. I like to close my eyes and use the proximity sense that a lot of blind people and people who don't see super well have to just feel everything around me. I used to love to climb, and I hope I'll be able to do that again by the time I finish rehab from breaking my knee.
  • I love my autistic and mentally ill internet friends who are super accepting of everyone and willing to stand up for what's right.
  • I like logic puzzles and books: fantasy, text books, science fiction, number puzzles, MENSA puzzles. It's all great. Surprisingly, I'm not as good at language puzzles. 
  • I love my mom. She's great. I love that we're getting to have a relationship now that we didn't get to have as much or as well in the past. 
  • I like my dad, Nathan, too. I like nights on the patio playing music together with Kim, Grandma, and the cat.
  • I like kids. :)
  • I like watching the same shows and listening to the same books over and over and over. I like that nobody gives me grief for that now that I'm an adult.
  • I like dreaming. I have more nightmares that good dreams right now, but I still have the ability to create entire worlds, work through complex problems, and even speak more of languages than I knew I spoke, in my sleep.
  • I like cats. I like everything about cats. I like when they're anti-social. I like when they're cuddly. I like that their body language is easy for me to read, far easier than humans' or dogs'. I like to pet them. I like how they smell and feel, and I enjoy the sound of their purring. I love it when they rub their face on you. I dig that they're calmer than dogs. I don't even mind cleaning up their litter boxes. I am a cat person.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Increasing my Testosterone Dosage

TW: Body changes, sexual changes, suicide mention   I started low-dose testosterone on February 1, 2016 . My step-dad had just taken his own life, and I felt the need to take control of mine. I was on testosterone for a long time before I was sure that I really wanted to be on it- that it was the decision that would reduce dysphoria the most for my nonbinary self. Part of this indecisiveness came from my autism; I've always had trouble making decisions due to being overwhelmed by the options and fearing regret. I talked a lot with my therapist about my uncertainty around testosterone, and the ongoing theme was that I was happy about the current changes; I was just afraid that I would regret future changes. So, I stayed on testosterone, reasoning that I could always go off of it if the changes started causing dysphoria from being too masculine. Since then, I've started trying my hand at online dating. Through answering the many, many questions on the sites, building my profil...

Autism and Teaching English

In many ways, autism makes me a good teacher. I explain things clearly and systematically. I keep detailed notes on each student because I have to do so to remember. I have formulas for everything and provide data-based feedback on student progress after every lesson. It also makes me a good English as a Second Language teacher. I pinpoint specific, recurring issues in students' speaking (accent, pronunciation, and oral fluency) and take a structured approach to addressing these issues. I do the same with academic writing (structure, grammar, vocabulary, spelling, coherence and cohesion). However, it makes me a lousy literature teacher. I'm good at poetry, but stories are not my thing. I take them at face value. It's hard for me to see symbolism behind the words. A story about talking rabbits ( Watership Down ) is, to me, just about the talking rabbits, and I'm totally into the narrative of those rabbits. I also cannot empathize with character emotions unless I...

Head Hitting and Self-Injurious Behaviors

I see a lot of articles written by neurotypical people trying to explain head banging and other self-injurious behavior in autistic children, and I want to offer my own perspective as an autistic adult who still engages in these behaviors. There are a number of reasons and circumstances that lead to self-harming behaviors for me, despite my efforts to avoid doing them. Sensory input needs not being fulfilled: Sometimes, self-injurious behaviors feel good. I like the pressure of hitting my head or the tingling sensation of scratching my skin, even though I don't like pain. I seem to process these sensations differently than neurotypical people. I've been able to reduce these behaviors by finding similar sensory inputs: body brushes instead of scratching, weighted blankets and lap pads instead of hitting, deep pressure therapy, etc. Too much being demanded : When a task or person places demands that cause distress that exceeds my normal coping skills, these behaviors result....