By Nikki J “I’m an adult with Asperger’s Syndrome/ASD…and I have a lot to say! It’s both a blessing and a curse; and I don’t mind finding humor in it while teaching folks who aren’t autistic about it, and allowing others who have it to feel they aren’t alone.” AuTalkz Nikki JeanetteNikki is the creator of the webcomic “AuTalkz”. SheContinue Reading
This comic actually touches upon two things (though, I hadn’t intended to do that). My main point is the “mask” we put up, and then I realized that it also lightly touches upon taking things/expressions literally. On the shorter note, people on the spectrum have difficulties distinguishing between normal tones and sarcasm. There’s also trouble understanding expressions (like “two birdsContinue Reading
About “Liar Liar” Lying doesn’t come easily to me, and is probably the same with a lot of people with ASD. As for being blunt, there are times when I’ll say something without intending for it to be mean, but it can come across as being rude or hurtful. It’s not because I want to hurt someone or make themContinue Reading
Stimming is one of the “stereotypical” autistic behaviors. Many people think of people with autism as folks who constantly flap their hand or rock back and forth. Those behaviors are called “stimming”, which is a motion that interacts with the senses to help calm an autistic person down (self calming) if they feel overwhelmed by the environment. Stimming is harmless, and isn’t just hand flappingContinue Reading
Nikki J. is a comic artist that uses comedy to depict her personal experiences living with Autism. You can read more of Nikki’s posts on Aspergers101 here and find the rest of Nikki’s comics on her webpage here. Besides, this, there was another time I made friends with someone 10 years younger than me. It was fun to just forgetContinue Reading
Though it can be inspirational to hear that a celebrity has Asperger’s, it tends to be more annoying than anything else. Especially in the cases where someone admits it and was diagnosed long ago, but hasn’t come out and said it until now. There are a lot of breakthroughs being made in autism research, and psychologists are starting to understandContinue Reading
I’ve encountered a lot of people who hold me on the same expectation level as people without Asperger’s (ie, “normal” people). I don’t want to be treated too differently, but the general analogy is that if I’m a square block, I’m not going to fit through a circular hole. The first step to any sort of progress is for parentsContinue Reading
Hyperfocus is common in folks with ASD. This happens when someone focuses on one thing so intensely that the rest of the world is blocked off. Normal folks can also do something similar to a certain extent but when I hyperfocus on something, it’s pretty much all I can see and hear. That does mean being able to identify smallContinue Reading
A common mistake some people make is comparing an autistic meltdown to a temper tantrum in younger children. Often when someone is younger, they don’t know how to properly express or work out frustration which occurs during the meltdown, so there could be screaming, crying, and even thrashing. It might look like a temper tantrum, but it’s not being doneContinue Reading
Wandering is perhaps the least understood behavior of autism, and the most dangerous to the person with autism. Before I worked on this issue, I thought back to any instance where I wandered off, and what caused me to do so. I came up with the three listed in the second panel: Boredom (or lack of stimulation), Interests, and (over) Stimulation.Continue Reading
An amusing moment I recall is when I was home from school once in high school, and had the TV on as stimulation in the background. It was running an episode of “Blue’s Clues”, and they were covering emotions. I actually got one of them wrong on the section of matching up body language with an emotion. However, that doesn’tContinue Reading
Though it can be inspirational to hear that a celebrity has Asperger’s, it tends to be more annoying than anything else, especially in the cases where someone admits it and was diagnosed long ago, but hasn’t come out and said it until now. There are a lot of breakthroughs being made in autism research, and psychologists are starting to understandContinue Reading
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