Funkonovo/Allison's autism Blog

Chapter 3: Does autism get easier as you age? Based on my   personal experience:   somewhat yes and mostly no. Yes,   some   of my sensory sensitivities become tolerable. For me, this meant being able to go from screaming and covering my eyes every time a flash fired on a camera to being able to endure purple pupils following a photograph. By my preteen years, I was able to handle the doorbell ringing instead of freaking out by both the startle and the noise. What a relief it was that my mother could play the organ at mid-volume in the den next to my bedroom and I could handle it with my door closed. Being forewarned, I could even tolerate the vacuum being turned on and even being in the same room. But by the time I turned 14, I began to notice increasing sensitivity to other sounds   already too loud , especially when accompanied by   startle. I began to experience more meltdowns more frequently and much lower overall frustration tolerance. ...

Young female child crying First of all, thank you VERY MUCH for your thoughtfulness in choosing to remove your crying toddler from the OB/GYN waiting room. I am sure it was boring for your daughter to wait on top of being sick. I could hear the mucus rattle when she coughed. Being patient for a toddler is hard on a good day, but far harder when you are sick. My autistic brain can remember back to when I was a toddler. I was about to go in for my yearly exam. I had a meltdown earlier in the week and was dreading the pain and pressure that always comes from having a metal speculum inserted into my vagina. I have a very good doctor who is both practical and patient, but it is still a very uncomfortable experience. Not having to figure out how to run out of the office, possibly punch myself in the head or knock something over was a HUGE relief. I was able to remain seated and chew my stim pendant, filling out my paperwork (I wish they could just e-mail it-very stressful as I am ...

Chapter Two: Treatments I am wearing a tight-fitting skullcap. The things on the skullcap are injected with gel and then wires called leads are connected to them. Before the skullcap can go on, though, I must have my forehead wiped with a   gritty   cleanser that will allow the leads to get a "cleaner" picture of my brain activity.  The skullcap has two straps that my mom fastens to my chest. It is now time for my EEG. Unlike EEG's that map out images of the brain, this one will be recording my brain waves. The objective is to find out if there is any disturbance in my brain waves, and if there is, enough to warrant intervention. If you are touch sensitive, I do not see how you could have this test done. I am not touch sensitive, but I found when the gel was being injected into the little red things, it felt like my scalp was getting the injection. I even asked if they were giving me a shot in my scalp. They assured me I was not getting an injection in my scal...

Color wheel. Concept: autism spectrum redefined. Can an autistic person be both high and low functioning? Is this even the right question to ask? I've heard the term "high-functioning" and "low-functioning" used for autism for nearly two decades, when I was first diagnosed. I am not offended by the terms, but  confused  by them. What is in question? IQ? EQ? verbal and social skills? How about coping with co-morbids and sensory processing disorder? The autism spectrum is often seen as linear, with "low functioning" being at one end and "high functioning" being at the other. This is one dimensional and I think, misleading. My IQ has been tested in adulthood twice. Each time, I scored 110, considered a B+ grade. Intellectually, I could say I'm high-functioning. I can speak, though I sometimes have to stop and think about what I have to say or wind up repeating words while I try and think about what ones I want to use. I do well with wr...

Camera lens with breaks in it. Light and sound amplification This photo had some serious Photoshop performed on it. This is what the sensory filter in my brain looks like.  I have autism and SPD (sensory processing disorder). That means my brain doesn't properly process some information, including certain auditory input. I was diagnosed with hyperacute hearing as a child and as having "autistic features" in 1998. In 2004, I was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, now part of autism spectrum disorder. I read an interesting article on Wikipedia that explains sensory gating . My brain cannot perform this properly with sound. The "Cocktail Effect", a term used to describe how the brain filters out information it doesn't need, is pretty much absent in my brain. If I am around more than 4 people with 2 or more conversations, I feel like I am listening to 2 or more radio stations simultaneously. I use passive earmuffs and sometimes earplugs in public....

I have had medical therapy for my hyper-acute hearing. I also wear passive headphones and/or earplugs as the therapy could not help me 100%. It is called Tinnitus Retraining Therapy. TRT primarily helps those suffering from Tinnitus, but also benefits those with hyperacusis (I was diagnosed at age 10, but no therapies existed to treat it). To find God, I think He had to work all the distractions and perversions out of me. I have found the comfort and encouragement in Him that an autism support group never could have hoped to hold a candle to. All they did was cyber-bully me, parents of kids with autism because I politely disagreed with a speaker they wanted at a future meeting. There is much more I would like to touch on, and I have on my blog, “autisticaplanet blogs”. I began blogging on Blogger back in 2009 before moving to Wordpress and back to Blogger again last fall. It has grown to include my growing interest in nature photography. I hope you will visit. I am not a “long dist...

Early Years Back in 1979, there was no DSM IV. There was no Asperger’s diagnosis. There were no support groups for parents. No early intervention. After all, how can anyone intervene into something that does not yet “exist”? My mother used to tell the story of playing “Music Box Dancer”, a loud & lively tune, on the organ. She was 6 months along with me. As she played, she began to feel and see violent kicking in her womb. She called my dad into the room. When she asked him what he thought, he abruptly answered, “Stop playing!” My mom, very concerned, read an article in a magazine that mentioned the “difficult child”. This was a child who was hyper-intense to their environment from day one. It was hypothesized that the problem would solve it self by the time the child was about 5 years old. This obviously was not the case, and my mom thought so after reading the article. The rest of my story more than proves the point. I was born to older parents. My dad was 52 and my mom was...

I am releasing the PDF book I wrote in sections. It is a brief memoir about growing up undiagnosed with autism back in the 1980's and 1990's. I hope in disclosing this people my age will know they aren't alone. I hope there will be lessons learned for bullies and judges and pitfalls to avoid for parents raising autistic kids today.  Introduction: There is an old song by Arthur Godfrey called “I’m a Lonely Little Petunia”. In it, the little petunia bemoans its smelly fate living among the onions. My mother used to call me the onion in the petunia patch, and not just because I was a little stinker. I amused and angered the “perfect” people in my life due to the glaringly obvious fact that I didn’t fit in or belong anywhere outside my home. I rocked, walked “like a duck” as one classmate put it, and screamed, plugging my ears, when a teacher put on an old, scratchy record. More than mere quirks, my autism affected relationships with others, sensory input and ev...

I've heard it said that the best ideas often come when in the shower. The hot water massages my head and the steam opens my sinuses. What happened one June night back in 2010 is something that wasn't a byproduct of heat and steam. I had been under what I call "house arrest" since 2006, when a violent meltdown at the mall (which included screaming, swearing, self harm and punching walls), bringing many security guards. My mom had to pull me outside with all her strength. I was not mentally or physically able. A meltdown is such a horrific experience from the total involuntary loss of self-control to the days it takes me to recover. I also have fears based on reality about being arrested or taken, for short periods via ambulance, from my immediate family, which is now comprised only of my sister, whom I live with. Anyway, I pretty much avoided going out in public, to avoid sensory overload and keep both me and the public safe. It was a sad and boring period pu...

Autistic adults speak via Reddit about what they wish non- autistics knew. Rainbow infinity symbol, different, not less. http://blog.theautismsite.com/reddit-answers-own-words/?utm_source=aut-autaware&utm_medium=social-fbpc&utm_term=AUTAWARE-PC-reddit-answers-own-words-5cCPM-W35-KWaut&utm_campaign=PC-reddit-answers-own-words&origin=aut_autaware_social_fbpc_PC_reddit-answers-own-words What I wish others knew-that my hypersensitive hearing isn't my fault. Just because I have a neurological disorder doesn't give you the right to EVER take your frustration out on me, be it physical, emotional or otherwise. We live in a fallen world, and sadly, this means people are born with, among other things, wait for it...neurological disorders.

The following are things Santa can't fit in a stocking.  1. A friend. An emotionally  stable , laid back person who would always have my back and not ask dumb questions or shun me because of my autistic traits. I already have one true friend. However, she does live an hour away and travel is getting much more difficult for her, especially during the darker winter months. She is in her 80's, though she has the soul of a child, there are limits. 2. Purpose. It isn't uncommon for autistic people to lack meaningful relationships or purpose in life. It is sadly a stereotype of the condition. I am blessed to be able to make stretch bracelets, but I cannot afford to do it constantly, nor is there that high a demand for them. 3. Community involvement. Due to my severe SPD , I cannot function properly or safely for a prolonged period of time in most public places such as movie theaters, restaurants, grocery stores or anyplace where there is a constant, variable of c...

Child covering ears Family gatherings are noisey. There are a myriad of voices that range in pitch and volume. There is that one person who laughs so loud that tears well in my eyes. Boys yell and bang on the piano. Someone is taking a photo with flash. Greeting people is part of being polite, even when you are already in sensory overload. Perfumes and colognes combine and foods from the kitchen circulate. Men yell at the football game and women laugh at something funny.  All this is taken in at the door. There is a long way to wade through before I can put my coat in a quiet bedroom. I have to remember to smile and say "hello" as well as accept hugs. There are a few cousins who cannot stand my presence, though, at age 5, I don't know what I could have possibly done to upset them. I am asked, "Why do you plug your ears?" I am told repeatedly that nobody wants me here. I am the only one who isn't part of a group. Sometimes, I get bullied. A parent ...

The Onion in the Petunia Patch PDF This is my memoir compiled over the last 2 years. It is one woman's story about growing up with undiagnosed autism. Click on the link to view the PDF file. Thanks for reading! https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=https://www.freepdfconvert.com/result/downloadfile/fbe6b521-dd97-48b0-8086-388847c77bef

Recently, I have had the privilege of becoming a contributor to The Mighty, a blog of many voices on all kinds of illnesses, diseases and disabilities. Check out the link here:  https://themighty.com/2016/11/understanding-my-responses-to-sensory-triggers-related-to-spd/ I hope to get the word out about accepting and accommodating autistic people rather than judging and excluding them. The irony is that I do wind up feeling isolated due to the components that make up my autism. 1. My I.Q. is 110, but I struggle with sensory processing disorder in a very life limiting way. 2. Due mainly to the sensory processing, I don't get to do things like go over to people's houses (I also can't drive for the same reason) or go to restaurants. If there is a baby or a dog making noise, I must have a plan of absolute escape. 3. My meltdowns are horrors . They present more like a nonverbal, intellectually disabled autistic person's. Guttural screaming and hitting myself and ot...

I used to cry on long car trips as an infant up until age 5. It wasn’t due to boredom. It was due to sensory processing disorder than accompanied my (undiagnosed back in the 1980’s) autism spectrum disorder. My mom rode in the back seat to comfort me rather than quitting taking me out in the car.             I fortunately outgrew this around age four. I do remember telling my mother later that it was due to the sound of the tires against the road that set me off.             While I am blessed to have outgrown some intolerable sounds like the doorbell, others intensified as my brain continued to develop. Some examples include babies crying and dog barking.             Some experts have theorized that it was solely due to my dad’s sudden death in my teens, but if that were the case, how would one explain the extreme auditory sensi...