April is Autism Awareness Month

[Deleted member 277500]

Tell us about your personal experiences of having it or knowing someone who does. I'm not going to talk about mine because I've already done so in other threads. Here's one story provided by a local Ace Hardware: https://www.acehardware.com/heartwarestories/stories/heartism

 

[GarnettRose]

I was diagnosed at a pretty early age and that definitely made growing up pretty hard. Growing my social skills and empathy was definitely a challenge, but im at a place in my life where its gotten a lot easier. I'm actually pretty good at reading people now, though I will probably always hate big groups.

My husband is also on the spectrum so it's nice to have someone who gets when I am having a sensory overload and I understand his need for a lack of change. I tend to be the more outgoing of the two of us, but with how girls are socialized differently, autism tends to present differently. I actually work with a kids now. Some autistic, some just generally having a hard time, and it's nice to be able to offer a supportive adult presence that communicates to these kids that they are perfect the way they are. As an aside, I absolutely despise Light It Up Blue day, but that's mostly due to how much I despise Autism Speaks.