Autism

[Rev. Rye]

Here's the gist f what I went through as a kid and how it relates to the autism spectrum disorder I have: imagine being thrust into a sporting event where you don't know the rules and aren't even sure you want to play. Now imagine that th other people on the field are more interested in punishing you for not playing by the rules than letting you know what those rules even are. And then they decide they'd have more fun punishing you than actually playing and the referees only have a problem with it when you try and defend yourself. This was pretty much my experience as a kid on the spectrum in a grade school where nobody seemed to care. I came in as a kid just wanting to know what the Hell was going on and I ended it as a messed up kid who was so damaged he was convinced he was a ticking time bomb waiting to happen.

Of course, all this has been tempered by time, an environment that has been, at the very least, less consistently shitty in the past 13 years than before, therapy, and me giving myself time to learn how the world works (to an extent, anyway) .

Does autism get better as a person becomes an adult? Despite all the trouble you had as a kid, it seems you are a very well adjusted adult now. I had no idea you were on the spectrum.

You have to live with it, but it does get better, but the crucial thing is finding help so you can understand the world around you, and personally, in my case, a combination of therapy and a lot of time watching films and reading books (naturally, supplemented by the internet) so I can get a big, general picture of the world around me. A lot of people tend to not figure out I'm on the spectrum until they notice I don't really look them in the eye.

It doesn't really go away, but improvement is certainly possible, and, especially since my therapist actually has a grandson on the spectrum and he seems to be having a better go at grade school when I did, I suspect the next generation of kids on the spectrum might be less likely to go through what I went through.

I discovered one British PIF and, while it doesn't mention autism, it does really resonate with my past. Admittedly, my abuse problems were in school and not really at home (unless well-meaning-but-frustrated-and-out-of-their-element parents count as abusive)