Pressing Puzzles

I realize there have been several articles written on the connection between autism and the Pixar movie " Inside Out ", but I want to preface that you realize not all people with autism are the same so I can only write this from my own perspective. I have read through some of the literature on how the movie helps children with autism. I believe the movie gave many of the children a better sense of what emotions are and the role they play within our own minds. I have to admit that a few years before the movie came out, I actually came up with a manga story that had different characters as emotions inside of a young girl but, the types of emotions were a little different than the movie and the story line  was complete different. So idea was there and I felt it would have been an interesting story, I'm really glad Pixar stepped up to tell this kind of a story. Inside Out is a story about a young 11 year old girl named Riley where we get the chance to look inside her head fr...

As I'm writing this entry, my Kansas City Royals (baseball team) have won the 2015 World Series for the first time in 30 years! I realize as you read this it may not matter to you because when I look to see who have been reading my posts, many of you are not only from other parts of the U.S., but a lot of you are from all over the world! I can't tell you how humbling that makes me feel. The reason why I wanted to bring this topic to your attention isn't the fact that I was actually at game 7 of the World Series in 1985, or that afterwards we were the jokes of late night shows because we were awful after that, but what the win has done in general for the whole city.   Since I'm seeing this through Asperger eyes, I've noticed a lot of 'small' things that might not mean much, but I believe have a larger impact as I write this. The parade for the team will being on Tuesday November 3, 2015 and schools are actually cancelling classes for the parade. Back in ...

On HBO, there is a special program that comes on most Sundays called "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver". In one of his segments he addressed the very thing I'm going to talk about, but with a slight variation...mental health. John noted that it seems like the topic only comes up where ever there has been a mass shooting because the media has this sense that the shooter had a history of mental illness. Basically, John laid the cards out on the table and challenged law makers to do something to help the mentally challenged and give them the help they really need, not buses, retirement homes or prison! John's not kidding; a report put out by the Treatment Advocacy Center (TAC) found that there are ten times more mentally ill people behind bars than in State hospitals. Being put in prison isn't going to help anybody! The main topic I'm going to address is how the media and politicians throw around the term Asperger's like they want to use it as a label to j...

Came in from a rainy Thursday on the avenue Thought I heard you talking softly I turned on the lights, the TV and the radio But still I can't escape the ghost of you What has happened to it all? Crazy, some'd say Where is the life that I recognize? Gone away But I won't cry for yesterday There's an ordinary world somehow I have to find And as I try to make my way To the ordinary world I will learn to survive Passion or coincidence once prompted you to say Pride will tear us both apart Well, now pride's gone out the window Cross the rooftops, run away Left me in the vacuum of my heart What has happened to me? Crazy, some'd say Where is my friend when I need you most? Gone away But I won't cry for yesterday There's an ordinary world somehow I have to find And as I try to make my way To the ordinary world I will learn to survive What has happened to it all? Crazy, some'd say Where is ...

  I learned a new word! Reasonable! I have learned that sometimes it takes me a little while to catch on to the meanings of terminology. You would think that since I use to teach debate that I, myself would be able to define the terms being used in an argument! The Webster Dictionary defines 'reasonable' as:   not extreme or excessive . If anyone is a working person and you have a disability then the employer has to make an effort to accommodate the employee in a 'reasonable' manner. In an earlier blog, I did make mention of the ADA (American Disability Act) and how it affected me in my situation. It just took someone to hit me in the face with the most obvious about the term reasonable because if I had never caught on then I wouldn't know how to proceed.   The funny thing about how I've looked at my work situation is I always saw things as what the job can do for me instead of what   can   the job do for me. Yes, I have Asperger's Syndrome and I realize...

If you've read any of my previous posts then you know that November 6th is my birthday. It is a little ironic that I write this on my birthday. The reason I'm writing this is because as an adult with Asperger's, birthdays used to be very special to me, not just the fact it reminded me how old I was, but I guess I liked it because it was all about me. In some small way, I saw my birthday as a more special time than Christmas when I was young. For some crazy reason, I can still remember a moment when I had turned 7, I was climbing a tree in the front yard and just thinking that it was my birthday and I knew what was going to happen. I do remember a few times when I was little older, getting to go to Showbiz Pizza Place (it's now known as Chuck E. Cheese) and boy did I have a blast! Lots of arcade games, games that you could win tickets to get free stuff and they had an animatronic show with all the mechanical animals singing like the ones you see at theme parks. As for t...

A large gathering people didn't bother me too much, but as I've gotten older my opinion has changed slightly. Now granted, I'm not talking about getting in the right crowd or a bad crowd, but just a large mass of people in one general location. I remember going to rock concerts, sporting events, museums, conventions and not be fazed by extremely large groups of people. I don't know if it's my age. I don't know if it's the new medication that helps me be more aware of my surroundings. All I know is my views on crowds have changes quite a bit. The idea of this posting actually came to me when I was in an elevator. Since I don't ride very many elevators I never gave this a lot of thought, but other than family or friends I tend to dislike elevators if other people are in it too. I handle the situation well enough, but when I enter and I don't see any one around immediately then I'm pushing that close button as fast as I can. There have been sev...

Recently we had a tragic event happen here in Kansas City. A five-year old boy that was autistic, ran out past the fence and headed toward the neighbor's pond. Sadly, the authorities found that the boy had drowned in five feet of water. What I'm going to address is how we have a tendency to put an idea in our head and go with it until we accomplish our goal. Here was the news story: KANSAS CITY, MO. —The drowning of a 5-year-old Cass County boy with autism on Tuesday is raising awareness about the special attraction that bodies of water have for children on the autism spectrum. Statistics show that nearly half of all children with autism wander. For a child with autism, that type of wandering means the child is on a mission and knows exactly where he or she is going. Children with autism are often drawn to pools and other bodies of water. Experts said they find them beautiful and are fascinated by the way light sparkles on the water. Experts said that attract...

If I were to go back in time and tell myself something that would really shock me (other than being married), I would have to say that it is my significant weight gain over the years. When I was growing up I was often teased about me being really skinny. When I first met my future wife, I weighed 135 pounds and my height was 5'10". I was actually a little depressed that I wasn't a little taller and a little bigger. I was never a weakling because I worked out all the time and was very active; I just never showed it. I tried to pack on muscle thinking that would make me look bigger, but it didn't work. I was probably fortunate that I didn't know about those GNC muscles shakes.  I think I'd be a lot heavier now if I had started on those things! Nonetheless, I still felt like a 90 pound weakling and nothing was going to chance that. One trait that I always attracted me to women was their height. I liked women who were taller because I wanted them to be roughly...

This month May of 2014, will set a milestone for Jaimee and I; our last two daughters will be graduating high school. There are so many levels on which I could address this topic because there are several side stories to their rise of finishing high school. If you have read some of my previous posts, Christen and Sarah are both autistic so graduating high school is a great accomplishment in itself, but there's much more than that. They are both going to be heading off to an university and Jaimee and I couldn't be more proud. I think what you have to realize is that the four years my daughters have been in high school have not been easy sailing. They both have had their challenges. The biggest challenge for both of them was the adjustments they had to make when it came to high school. The school is larger, the times are earlier, and student population is higher and the expectations are greater. Christen had her hurdles to face due to the activities she was involved in like ...

I have to admit that I've been rather indecisive lately. I'm trying to remember a time in the past when I was so unaware in my life! I think the bad part is that by a certain point you should have reached were you wanted to be. Sadly that is not my case, because I always thought I'd be writing comic books, manga, novel or short stories. So far the only things I've "published" have been these blogs about my life with Asperger's. I don't know if it's the age or autism, but I'm at a point right now where I have no idea what to do. Honestly, I never thought at this point I'd still be teaching...in high school no less! Maybe college, but not in the public school system I can tell you that for sure. Don't get me wrong, I still love to write, but I feel like I've lost a little of my passion. I guess when you fight for so many years on stories and working with artists then the company either doesn't like your stuff or they go belly...

My wife has always been a huge fan of Eeyore the donkey, though I was never sure why. I can with confidence say that not all Asperger people ( Aspies ) suffer from depression, but I can understand the weight one would feel if they were under constant pressure of being autistic. I can find myself slipping into a depressive state if things aren't going the way I had hoped or wishing that my conditions would be better. My condition was Asperger's with OCD, but I've never been diagnosed with depression with the other stuff. My wife is a different story. I know depression can be very dangerous.   As I mentioned a second ago, my wife is a huge Eeyore fan, but she wasn't always depressed. If you go back and read "Tragedy and 2009", I think you might have a better idea why my wife has been depressed. I know she wants to feel better and I know she will, it just takes time, love and therapy to help get through it. I don't believe you can get over it completely, ...