Awkward Autistic Adventure #2 Making Conversation and Asking for Help

Big old Water Dog at Girl's Camp 2011

The greatest challenge I face every day is having a conversation. it may be simple to you, perhaps it comes naturally to you, but its perhaps the most daunting part of my day. This is why I don't like to go places on my own because I know there will be an awkward somewhat forced conversation, but I try to make the best of it. You're probably wondering what those conversations are, well like talking to the cashier at the store, ordering food, getting tickets at the movie theater, going to the library to check out books ect. you never know what they're going to say or if you can associate. I am constantly making associations that's just how my mind works. A simple subject can remind me of a hundred things nothing is just straightforward its a complex web of thoughts and details that connect to everything in-between. When you mention dogs (that's why the picture is on the side) I think of my dog Sushi, these huge white dogs with muddy paws that I ran into at girl's camp, Westminster Dog Show, Hounds of the Baskerville, The Fox and the Hound, Where the red Fern Grows, Old Yeller, Beethoven, Spot, hunting dogs from Mary Poppins, dogs racing around a track, Burn's attack dogs on the Simpsons, Flight of the Valkyrie, and it goes on. Or you mention water I think of Muir Beach in California, Hidden Lake, an oasis, puddles in the street,  rain, droplets, mist on a windshield, CSI night scenes, Orinoco Flow,  Mona Lisa (there's a body of water in the background). I see and think in detail and sometimes assume that others see the same. Some are not visual learners, but kinesthetic they learn through physical tasks or the other learners are auditory they learn through sound. A conversation is a game to me you have to get in quick, interact, associate, and keep making connections from one topic to the next while trying to spend little time talking about yourself (people like me can go on forever talking about our favorite subjects). I guess the greatest fear of talking with people you don't know is that I hate asking for their help. People with disabilities love to be independent and I always thought asking for help was reveling a weakness, when in fact its a strength. We all need help sometime in our lives and we shouldn't be afraid to ask. The second greatest fear is when someone gives me instructions. I'm a visual learner so I like a list to follow and if I don't understand I merely repeat their words to make sure I followed them correctly. Overall making conversation is just like everything else it takes a lot of practice and trial and error. Thank goodness we learn from our mistakes :).

Fact of the Day: Beethoven wrote his ninth symphony while he was completely deaf. He only ever heard his symphony in his head.

Awkward Aspie Adventure #1: Driving Through the Snow

It snowed this morning and that means I get to wear my winter apparel and tug on my beartraps (yes that's why my boots are really called). The I put on my Gryffindor beanie and scarf, but too bad I'm not taking the Hogwarts express to a magical school. No I get to go on a less magical journey in a non-magical Carbecue. The Carbecue is infamously named because well in the summer the air conditioning panel does not work, but the side and floor vents work fine. When it gets to a hundred degrees in the summer it is no longer the Carbecue, but instead it has turned into Carmagedon. During the winter it is just the Tempo or the G-Ride since it originally belonged to my grandfather. After I got my stuff together it was time to go outside and freeze like the rest of the normal people, sometimes there are perks to liking the great indoors. It was the first the time I got to drive in the snow, which is a big deal considering that this is my first year driving. I had no desire to drive when I was 16 because I am one of those people who love to stare out the window and watch the world go by while taking in every detail I can. Besides nobody was really anxious to teach me, nerves I guess or maybe it was just because I didn't want to be taught. Eventually my sister-in-law Tiffany taught me in exchange for babysitting her kids off and on. Long story short I learned how to drive it just took time. Today I started on an entirely new adventure, but the roads weren't icy and it was just like driving in the rain, minus the wet windshield, plus it helped when the person in front of me was going 15 mph on a 30 mph road. Heck you don't see me panicking.

So in the summer its the Carbecue, in the winter...the icebox?

After I got to school I did my usual wandering around the library and I get plenty of strange looks from the Librarians. They probably wonder why I come in each day and never bother to check out a book, its great to have a mind that can remember little facts about things. After sauntering around the library for a bit I went to Fiction Writing class and got in 2,000 words for Nanowrimo. Nanowrimo stands for National Novel Writing Month and its a month where the very brave few decide to write 50,000 words (that's two hundred pages) for fun and its worth 500 points of our grade. Nobody takes Fiction Writing Class because its easy, but because its a heck of a lot of fun. After Fiction Writing Class I headed up to Humanities Medieval to Modern.

 

We end with our fact of the day with something I learned in Humanities: I've always known what the Night Aria is, but I never understood its importance because let's face it opera is beautiful, but very difficult to understand and its got a lot of high pitch sound that I think only autistic people can hear. Our teacher explained that the Nigh Aria has the highest notes ever to be sung in an opera. The high notes that he spoke of start at 2 minutes and 50 seconds in and ends at 3 minutes and 27 seconds. Let's admit it she's very scary and kind of freaky as the Queen of the Night. She rocks to the rhythm a bit, with her torso arched slightly forward to hit those kind of notes. In order to hit those notes you have to be a very special kind of soprano, you have to be a coloratura soprano they are defined by greats runs and leaps in pitch. Diana Damrau is one of I think eight people since the time of Mozart that can sing the Night Aria. If you can perform the Night Aria then you are automatically locked in to play the Queen of the Night until retirement. Diana Darmau is currently locked in to play the Queen of the Night for 15 productions. That's pretty incredible.

Graphite is in my blood

Dysgiraffeia

At the age of four, I was running up the stairs with a pencil and tripped. I impaled my left hand (not all the way through) and once the graphite hit my blood I guess, it never left.  I dreamed of becoming a writer, but as I went through elementary school, my teachers all had a similar complaint: my handwriting was terrible. Writing became something I hated ever since my 3^rd grade cursive drills, all those swirls and loops is bound to make anyone seasick (they should have had a life preserver listed as things required for the class). My teachers told me that I should never pursue writing. After the fourth grade, low and behold, I was diagnosed with Dysgraphia and I thought the social worker said dysgiraffeia.

Dysgiraffeia is probably a very special giraffe with violet spots, an eye patch, and two wooden legs. Dysgraphia however is another beast entirely. Dysgraphia is this invisible bolt of pain that starts in the thumbs and slowly inches its way up your arms into your elbow, only if you write too much (thank goodness for typing). The tremors are constant, so when I hold a pen in my hand and pause to think, you would swear that some was taping out Morse code to a covert agent across the room. After being diagnosed, I was considered “special” even though I can communicate just fine. Somehow, I ended up in the Special Ed Trailer out on the sweltering asphalt my first day of middle school. I thought it was a mistake, but I do not believe in coincidences and it was there that my unusual fate was sealed. We had a teacher, but she was unfortunately transferred and replaced by a man that I swear looked like a werewolf with a very angular face and these deep cold cobalt blue eyes. The first thing he asked us to do was write an essay and I refused.

Its funny because I can read my normal handwriting just
fine, but when it comes to cursive I'm at a lose for words

During an epic battle of wits, he was on the ropes. After several negotiation attempts failed he asked,  “How do know that you don’t like writing if you haven’t tried it?  Just pick up the pencil and try. I don't care what you write, just write.” I also imagine that he secretly whispered, “There are pirates in the pages.” Although I’m pretty, sure that was a figment of my imagination. He handed my first wide ruled cherry red notebook and forced a pencil in my left hand. I looked down at the small barely distinguishable dent in my hand where the pencil made contact so many years ago. I took the pencil and began to write. My teacher taught me all the basics and told me to run with it. I don’t mean to boast, but 27 short stories and a 300-page novel later (worst book I ever wrote) I became prolific in writing. After my worst attempts, I began to develop my writing and continued to soar. Writing to me is a challenge that I enjoy because it is about overcoming obstacles, coming into your own, strengthening your skills, developing characters, and discovering who you are. 

The Awkward Adventures of an Aspie

This is my first official post for Autisdom! What does Autisdom mean? Autism + Wisdom = Autisdom, abnormal is the new awesome. I am Diana Baer 21 years old college and honor student of Phi Theta Kappa, prolific writer, connoisseur of bizarre facts, and master of trivial knowledge.

This blog will be about the Awkward Adventures of an Aspie.
Three questions you probably already have, but I will answer:
Number 1 What is an Aspie? An Aspie is short for someone with Asperger Syndrome. We have limited social interactions, sometimes repetitive speech, repetitive speech, repetitive speech...sorry what was I saying...oh yes...difficulty picking up on nonverbal cues, they tend to focus on themselves then the needs of others (not true its all circumstantial), struggle with eye contact, have obsessions with a specific subject, awkward movements, and if they have too much social interaction can lead to a breakdown (well sometimes, it really depends).


Number 2 What counts a phenomenal aspie adventure? Pirates, swords mostly, and maybe a little of fun, No, anything ordinary from as simple as getting groceries at the store or checking out a book at the library. I like the new and everyday its what keeps life interesting and new...maybe. What may seem to be the everyday normal is my new everyday challenge. There will be quick quips, funny stories, and a daily fact that you might not know.

Number 3 If you have Asperger Syndrome how on earth are you going to communicate with us if you lack social skills? Good I'm glad you asked that invisible audience I have yet to acquire. After my diagnosis I made an effort to communicate ended up in drama all through high school while taking social skills classes during three long summers. I'm much better at communicating now then I was ever before

Final point: Above All I'm a literalist with obsessions mostly in writing, with a side of movies, a dash of

So Let the Awkward Aspie Adventures begin, I will be your guide

musical, a little bit of peculiar facts, and a broad range of history in-between. My main obsession is writing and I have been writing ever since the 6th grade, yes that's "write" (sorry I'm very literal) I've been writing for almost ten years now years. I wrote my first 300 page unpublished novel in the seventh grade, the sequel in the 8th grade, and the third book in the 9th grade. Looking back on them I realized how terrible they were, but I was only new to writing then so I try not to be too critical on myself. I continued to write new novels through highschool. This blog will focus on helping you the audience understand what its like to be in the shoes of a person with Asperger Syndrome, help you see through my eye as I attempt to brooch daily social situations (I'm much better at it). It will also focus yes on my obsessions  film reviews, art, architecture, animals, history, and a little bit of everything in-between.

Feel free to check out my boards on pintesest via this link
-> pinterest http://pinterest.com/baercub/

Fact of the day: Monogolians wore the first high heels so their feet coul easily slide out of the stirrup and Egyptian butchers invented high heels so they would not step in offal (I'll let you decide what "offal" means) ;)