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

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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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.

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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.

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.

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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.

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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