You are perfect just the way you are.

It can be a common struggle for people who have autism. Wanting to escape from the diagnosis and be perfect. Possible to escape indeed and become someone else, but you still have autism. In this case, it can be very difficult to want to be perfect and to make no mistakes; Truth is, there is always going to be mistakes. Another truth to this is everyone that does not have autism also makes mistakes.

There is one thing I have always wanted to try out and see if it may work. Whenever mistakes happen and children know that they have made a mistake and beat themselves up for it, the idea that I came to mind is a series of videos of people making similar mistakes. Reason why I wanted to see how the strategy play out is so the children can understand that it it not just them that makes similar mistakes, a lot of people can relate, but one of the key parts of these videos is how do they handle these mistakes. Now that I think of it, if I...

Talking to myself. Talking for myself.

“You are the real struggle.”

No one had anything to do with the problems with autism. In fact, many of them have been there wanting to help. Already have chosen to move on from past mistakes, but I felt like it was necessary to share something like this to understand what may be a key challenge in what makes the diagnosis would feel like a struggle. The main key struggle (okay to disagree) is ourselves.

My parents always taught me to accept mistakes when things go horribly wrong, and that I know it would be my mistakes. Readers can believe me when I say that I have made many mistakes. May sound cruel when I said to myself that “you are the real struggle” as I see my reflection, but after staring at that person for a while, I had a feeling that this may be the reason why autism may be so hard for those who have it. No one had anything to do with it, to me, they are innocent.

May have limitations whether it is in speech,...

Little bit of a disclaimer here; I speak for myself. I am not advertising for any products, I am sharing insight for an interest I personally find extremely fascinating and may be beneficial. The Sims is the property of Electronic Arts and the image is free to share. All rights are rightfully reserved.

The hit computer game series, The Sims.

What is The Sims?

Why did the games become huge hits?

What are a few things can we learn from The Sims?

The Sims is a franchise developed by MAXIS and produced by Electronic Arts (commonly known as EA) in which the player can take full control on the characters in the game. You can make them go to places, you can make them eat, you can make them dance, cook, sing, swim, sleep, play games, show off, play a musical instrument, become a gardener, become a detective, and just about anything else you can think of that the game provides. Not only does the games encourage the player to make these characters and make them do whatever they...

Photo by me.

Ten years old, few years after Dad left, we have moved over to a log cabin in the island. I remember the time very well. We lived normally, I went to school, Mom was a medical assistant, and things have been so very well living in the cabin. I can even remember the dancing that we would do when the music plays in the log cabin.

The one part that I remember very well, was when Mom brought home a motorcycle. A good pair of wheels like that would make parking in the city a lot easier, and it's fun to ride on. She enjoyed the two wheels and wanted me to be on the motorcycle.

I did not want to be on the motorcycle, and I was not very welcoming for the offer.

I wasn't too worried about how to balance on that thing while Mom drove it, it was primarily all about the noise it would make. It's not like a car at all because many would get used to the noise by now whenever someone goes out to the supermarket; And most would be inside the car when the engine stars. A motorcycle...

Alternative title: What I have learned from Baseball during Elementary School

Still in the topic of autism, no worries here.

Baseball has been one of my favorite sports. I used to watch Ken Griffey Jr. on the television when I was very little when he played for the Seattle Mariners. Never really was in a team during school, but I sure do loved playing that game whenever we would have recces or when the P.E. teacher lets us.

Main reason why I wanted to talk a little bit about baseball is because to me, it has become a major breakthrough. A breakthrough in understanding a number of things.

• Fun
• Communication
• Teamwork
• Friendship
• Humor

How to have fun, how to communicate, what teamwork means, how to develop a mutual friendship with others, and what does humor mean? Developing a sense of humor was made possible partially by playing baseball.

You know the old banter. "We want a batter, not a broken ladder!" Yeah, that can get a cheap chuckle, the part that made me laugh with a lot...

It used to be wanting to figure out others, now it is wanting to figure out myself.

It is strange. For the longest time, I have wanted to know more about people. Was so determined to understand all there is to know about having social skills to get to know them that I have numerous of times couldn't figure out myself. Know who I am. There was a time not too long ago in Oregon where I have mentioned about being someone else for a change and my words would come out much more fluently. One little girl asked me if I ever woke up and then became another person every time. Casually said something on the lines of whenever I feel like it, but after a question like that, it really got me thinking long and hard the next day.

Some say I may have an identity crises. Even mentioned it somewhere in the second book I believe. Part time keynote speaker, part time author, part time this, part time that. It was a lot to take in. A lot to think about even when I was typing this out. Many times I would...

I really do not like talking about this topic.

It is not because isolation is a deep subject that can be saddening, but it is mainly because to me it does not deliver any awareness or impactful message when there are words being typed about the topic. Like to let pictures and motion pictures tell it like it is; Let the audience think. That's the way I enjoy doing things when it comes to my work. Let the audience think. I enjoy the idea of interacting with my audience in different ways. Whether in books, video, keynote events, and so on. Never really enjoyed demanding others to think a certain way. That'll make the world boring.

To think a certain way. Seems like the foundation of my isolation. Everyone's got their reasons to be isolated; I have mine. It is a light and dark situation to me. I hate it, and I love it. During school, I much would rather have that kind of isolation because then I wouldn't unintentionally irritate anyone; Much rather do things in private and then send...

I read before I talked.

 Wasn't the best at showing that I was listening or even looking like I was paying any more attention to whatever, in reality, I observed and absorbed everything. That included books.

Many have come to me wondering how I could read even though I could not speak. Answer for that is I knew what the words were, I knew how they sound, I knew what they meant; But I could not speak the words.

There were electronics such as computers and video games nearby, but I grew up reading books. I could read them by myself silently or I would have Mom read me some books to me before going to bed. Those nights were special. I understood what I was reading with my mom; When I had the ability to speak, we would take turns reading out loud each night.

I still read today. Most of the time I would read out loud much more clearly than I would do when it comes to talking freely. Back in middle school I would use a notebook to write down what I should be saying to someone trying...

Many children with autism have specific special interests and obsessions. These may change from week-to-week in general, but some interests stay with them for a long time. One of these interests may be a specific color, or more than one color. There is much research on colors and children with autism, and most of it points to the fact that many children with autism are very visual. When they look at something big, they may see only a part of it and focus on that, especially if it is their favorite color! Here are some ways colors influence children with autism and their daily lives.

That 64-Count Crayola Box!

I will never forget my child’s first words, besides “momma” and “dada”. One day he was in little toddler bed at the age of three, and had just woken from a nap. He was yelling out color words. I was astounded. He was not yelling out typical color words, but words from the 64-Count Crayola Box! He was yelling out Dandelion! He was yelling out...

Guest Blogger:  My mom. Kristina Tindall

Being the parent of an adult child who has ASD, I get asked a lot of questions. Many of them relate to my son when he was much younger, and I truly understand. We want to do our best as parents and we know that how we train our children impacts their future. Having a child with ASD makes things a little more challenging.

One of the questions I get asked a lot is: How did I teach my son how to play with other children?

My son Tyler had an extremely difficult time playing with other children. I don’t know if it was because it was too much stimulus for him, or because he just wasn’t used to being around other children since he grew up as an only child. Hard to say. But I was treading new waters back in the 90’s and there wasn’t a lot of information about ASD so I relied on my motherly instinct and what made sense to me at the time.

Going to the playground with a lot of children was extremely stressful for me. I...