Funkonovo/Allison's autism Blog

I have heard that autistic people do something called "scripting". It is a coping strategy that one can use in the proper context in response to something someone says. I had never thought about this, but I've done it over the course of my life. I've used mainly lines from movies such as.Forrest Gump, which still remains my favorite movie 24 years on. Recently, I've added vocabulary from one of my favorite TV shows, The Goldbergs. If my sibling tries to trick  me into believing something is true (in a good way), my response might be "Yeah, that's not a thing." I pull from movies like Office Space as well. I am told I do a good impression of Milton Wadams demanding his stapler. Knowing the proper time in which to script is something I've learned to refine over time. I learn by repetition, so binge watching a TV show or watching a movie several times in a row helps me to learn the situations and conversations and how to contextualize.  Sometim...

Purple and red were the colors I chose the day the classical music played through an old, slightly warped and scratchy sounding record player. Peaks and valleys gave way to holes in the paper made by too much pressure from my hands. Us six-year-olds were asked to draw how we "saw" the music. Sight wasn't the first sense that came to mind. It was my hearing. I used the crayons to illustrate the stabbing pain I felt physically in my ears that wound up in my shutting down, hands over my ears and face down on the desk, near tears. I had a kind first grade teacher who had something many other teachers lacked: common sense. She genuinely cared for her students. Noting my condition, she asked to see my paper. "Oh my!" she said, asking for the paper. She later called my parents, not to complain, but to tell them that something was wrong and that she was concerned. The matter wasn't discussed further. I wasn't blamed or shamed by my teacher or parents. If ...

I posted a side by side picture of myself on my FB page. One has me with no glasses, smiling into the camera. Another has me with glasses on and smiling, but my gaze is off. I wanted to show through photography the rediculousness of telling someone "they don't look autistic" or that they must fit the stereotype when they aren't making eye contact, but making ever effort to be plesant. That isn't hard to do in nature. I think the media created a stereotype at least over the past two decades that an autistic person must be white, male distant, apathetic and having a persistant, off gaze all of the time. I do have a slightly lazy right eye. When I am stressed or very tired, the eye does move off center. That is also my migraine eye. Sometimes, my ever buzzing mind distracts me right before a picture is taken. The smartphones can be hard to see exactly where the lens is, especially if I want a picture taken sans glasses. Sometimes, in the case of the selfie or gro...

The ugliest word in the English language You know the ugliest word in the English language? Some think it’s moist. It’s NOT. The ugliest word in the English language is PUCE. Puce. Why not PUKE? Well, might not sell at Sherwin Williams. Dictonary.com defines puce as being “ of a dark or brownish purple” in color. Ok. I get that. I never had a Puce crayon. Brown, purple, THOSE ARE COLORS. Not PUCE. How about using language that describes the thing you’re talking about? You know, adjectives and nouns. “Honey, let’s paint the baby’s room a matte puce.” Sounds a little gross and possibly nasty, too. “Honey, let’s paint the nursery eggplant.” And she says, “Oh, it’s so organic! I love it!” _________________________________________________________________________________ Superfly So I’m watching the news and I hear this low pitched hum. Hoping it’s not a small aircraft poised to crash land on my roof, I get up and look around. It’s springtime in the northern...

Dear readers, I have decided that the content of this blog has been very weighty and dark as of late. I am going to change direction a bit and focus on my more humourous side. I hope you enjoy. Note: some light and possibly offensive language. One shoe, no body A lone black sneaker in a dimly lit parking garage Photo courtesy of my sister Have you ever been driving down the highway and seen a shoe? Usually a sneaker. Of COURSE you have! It always weirds the crap out of me. WHY JUST ONE SHOE?! Then CSI kicks in. Where is that other shoe? Was it left behind as a clue? Maybe by the MAFIA? The message seems to imply this: “We have your loved one. Bring the shoe to us or we will kill him!” Because it’s always a man’s shoe. You can see that while you are at a red light that takes five minutes to turn green. It’s a size 13 triple E shoe. It usually is worn out and dirty. “We have your husband who just ran the 5K. Bring us 1, 00...

Concept: colors, lines, and squiggles with the word "Static" written in the middle I drew this using a simple doodle app. The wild squiggles and different colors represent the different sensory chaos coming from all around and bunching, clogging my filterless brain. I screenshotted this, so pardon the advertising.

Photo Gallery Photography, more than writing alone, helps me to share what my mind is seeing. I see beauty in brokenness. Like an “onion in a petunia patch,” as my mother used to say, any dilapidated, odd or misplaced object has value to me. Dilapidated old barns and blown out windows convey to me that, though they weathered greatly, they are still here and will live on after their demise in my photos. I have had the privilege of sharing my photography with MAAP Services, an Indiana based autism 501(c) 3. Donating my pictures and essays to MAAP  helped both MAAP and me. I have also had my photos published in the Daily Herald Newspaper and online @ Broken Light Photography Collective. "The broken window of opportunity" 2011 "Reaching Toward Heaven" 2012 "Water droplets on leaf" 2014 Next Steps 2016 "The key" 2016 "Sensory overload" 2014 "A family aff...

Chapter 4: Future Vision: My sensory friendly housing wish list I compiled a wish list regarding housing that takes into account the special need of the ASD individual with   life-limiting   sensory processing disorder (SPD). First, I state why, for me , living in an "anything goes" neighborhood (where most people live) is unhealthy and unsafe. -Randomness; lack of routine and predictability as faced in most typical living environments. - Chance for harm: victimization due to natural gullibility (lack of “street smarts”). - Lack of adequate transportation due to not being able to drive a car or tolerate the sensory overload of public transportation.   - Staying inside, isolated from the community due to auditory and visual sensory overload. - High blood pressure due to pervasive environmental stressors like traffic, dogs, and children playing. and underlying depression that paves the way for other health problems like heart dis...