autalkz___the_big_picture_by_mdchan-d6ta2a3

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

autalkz_ii___008___masks_by_mdchan-d9gsyc6

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 birds with one stone”), allegories, and metaphors. When I first heard the expression “apple of my eye”, I pictured someone’s eyes reflecting apples, for example.

When I had to read stories in high school on allegory and symbolism, it all went over my head. “Watership Down” is one of my favorite novels, but I still don’t pick up on the symbolism which is apparently in the novel. I’ll explain all that in further detail when I do a comic which actually delves more into the subject. The main subject I was trying to explain with this comic is autism vs society.Continue Reading

004_LiarLiar

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 them feel bad, or don’t have the ability to empathize, but because I either don’t realize that it’s rude/hurtful, or because it just feels more natural to tell the truth even if that means being blunt.

By: Nikki J. Creator of AuTalkz

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.

012_Stimming

Stimming is harmless, and isn’t just hand flapping or rocking. It can manifest in many different ways, but again, is all harmless.

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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.

015_PeerGroups

Besides, this, there was another time I made friends with someone 10 years younger than me. It was fun to just forget about the adult world and have fun wrestling on their trampoline or skating the local streets.

While kids can be very judgmental, I often found that the younger crowd didn’t care or question the fact that I was older than them, or see a problem with it. I never saw a problem with it, either. Friends were friends no matter what age they were.

It was also less social pressure hanging out with my younger friends.

by Nikki J

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.

010_Mainstream

There are a lot of breakthroughs being made in autism research, and psychologists are starting to understand it more and more. I feel it’s become “mainstream”, even.  The diagnosis rate is going up, and people are either getting diagnosed as adults or coming out and saying they’ve had it all their lives.Continue 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.

Fitting the Mold

The first step to any sort of progress is for parents to admit that their kid has ASD; same with employers and teachers. They have to be made aware of it and accept it. Unreasonable expectations come from ignorance or even ignoring the truth, which puts stress on everyone and is very frustrating to the person with ASD.

By Nikki J.

Aspie Artist Nikki J. is the creator and artist for “AuTalkz.” We are proud to display her insights into life on the  spectrum by way of comic strips. You can see more of Nikki’s work on deviantart.

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.

002_BigPicture

That does mean being able to identify small details over the overall “big picture” of a situation. I’m not completely sure if it’s related to hyperfocus, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was. I enjoy detective stories and the clue gathering, but have trouble putting together the motive and any larger plot which might be occurring at the same time.

By Nikki J.

Aspie Artist Nikki J. is the creator and artist for “AuTalkz.” We are proud to display her insights into life on the  spectrum by way of comic strips. You can see more of Nikki’s work on deviantart.

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.

016_Meltdowns

It might look like a temper tantrum, but it’s not being done for attention or to get something like a temper tantrum is done for.  It’s done because the child is overwhelmed and-or frustrated, and don’t know any other way to express it.

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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.

013_Wandering

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.

014_Emotions

However, that doesn’t mean that I can’t comprehend or understand emotions, or what other people are going through.  In fact, I tend to use some of my experiences to help other people if they’re having a rough time.  I enjoy helping people…that’s one of the biggest reasons I started to make AuTalkz, in fact!Continue 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.

010_Mainstream

There are a lot of breakthroughs being made in autism research, and psychologists are starting to understand it more and more.  I feel it’s become “mainstream”, even.  The diagnosis rate is going up, and people are either getting diagnosed as adults or coming out and saying they’ve had it all their lives.

Continue Reading