Autism Acceptance Month 2015!!!

Hello, everyone! It's that time of year again :) For this year's Autism Acceptance Month, I'd like to focus on the positives of autism. We all see and hear so much negativity attached to it, and it's time for me to shine a positive light on it, so here goes!

I was born unique. I have my own operating system. This all happened for a reason. I have a specific purpose, which I'm still finding and developing. I honestly wouldn't have it any other way.

I may have a horrible short-term memory, but my long-term is phenomenal. I was telling my mom yesterday how I remembered something that happened around my 12th, birthday, 20 years ago. I still recall my brother looking into the back seat of my mom's car and saying "look, a bag with a stuffed kitty!" It was supposed to be one of my birthday presents, and he spilled the beans :) It's amazing how I can remember stuff like that, yet I get appointment dates mixed up :P

I have a way with gadgets. Forget the manual; let me take things into my own hands! I'm also quite savvy in the Android realm. I'm constantly flashing ROMs, and I've "saved" my phone from what could have been a hard brick multiple times, through perseverance and determination.

I feel blessed to have the gifts I do. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. I also know never to take anything for granted. Well, here's to an ausome month! :)

Light it up blue?

I have some thoughts I need to get out. I want to make the world a better place for other autistic people. In order to do so, I can't be silent. I must let my voice be heard.

As many of you know, all the rage around April 2nd, World Autism Awareness Day is this "light it up blue" campaign. People are either posting things related to this on Facebook, choosing to wear blue that day, or shining a blue light outside their house. In theory, it's meant to be a way to raise autism awareness, and sounds like a good thing.

Now, for those of you who don't know, here's the other side of the coin. This whole campaign was started by an organization many of you have probably heard of: Autism $peaks. There's a problem with this. To the innocent bystander, the organization may sound like this wonderful thing that "helps" autistics. However, in actuality, they use scare tactics and are support eugenics. Saying that autistics are a "burden" or a "tragedy." That autism needs to be "eliminated." It does nothing in the way of supporting neurodiversity, and this needs to change. People need to be respected for who they are, and appreciated!

I'm not saying that autism is easy to live with. It's difficult when you can't read between the lines and are easily taken advantage of because of it. It can be an issue when executive functioning deficits cause you to forget to do important tasks. Misinterpreting things may make life a challenge. For those who have sensory sensitivities, the world can be overwhelming. However, I still can't fathom the thought of ridding the world of it.

The world needs autistics. It needs people all over the neurological spectrum. Without our differences, we wouldn't have many of the great innovations we have in this world. We need varying perspectives. That's why for this year's Autism Awareness month, or should I rephrase that to Autism Acceptance month, I'd like to highlight the positive things autism has brought us. I want to show people that there are positives, and in turn, hopefully make the world a more welcoming place for autistics.

Happy Anniversary!

Omg, it's finally here! One year ago today, I was officially diagnosed with ASD Level I, otherwise known as Asperger's. I can't believe it's been a whole year! So much has happened since then.

I still remember walking into my psychologist's office that day. After my other two sessions, he told me that after assessing me, he saw that I am someone who is on the autism spectrum. I asked him where I fell, and he replied that he would put me in the Asperger's range. He asked me how I felt, and if that answered my questions. I told him that it did, and I walked out of the office feeling elated. Finally. My suspicions were confirmed, and  it was now official: I was an Aspie! I called my parents and shared the news. They weren't surprised, as they knew what I had concluded for the previous 5 years.

In the past year, I feel like I've accomplished so much in the way of advocating and educating. I successfully wrote a blog post for every day of Autism Awareness month, April of last year. I've been published on The Mighty. I've made so many great friends via Facebook, and learned so much about myself. I am lined up to be a guest speaker at Makes Sense, the local autism supply store, to parents of kids on the spectrum. Life has been good, and I am very blessed!

This is only the beginning. While a year seems like a long time, it went by in the blink of an eye. My work is far from done. There are so many people I have yet to meet, and reach out to. My only hope is that I can help others to understand themselves like I discovered myself. It has been a very rewarding process. I will never forget this day! :)

My Special Gift for My Special Day!

Last Friday, I got myself a gift. It is an Embrace the Difference necklace. The creator of the line started it in honor of her son, who has ADHD and Asperger's just like me. I figured, what could be a more appropriate gift for my special day, March 19th: the day I was diagnosed with Asperger's? :)

I've been thinking about what I want to do for my special anniversary for almost the entire year since I've been diagnosed! What to do? Definitely treat myself with a piece of jewelry, one of my weaknesses, and something I will wear almost daily. This is the perfect addition to go with my other necklace that has my diagnosis date engraved on it.

What else to do on that day, to make it special? I came up with the idea of spending it in Rochester with my grandma, doing fun things. We decided to go with that plan. The next day, however, I found out I have a staff meeting coming up on that day, which left me a bit disappointed. This is supposed to be my special day! I quickly got over it, though, and my grandma and I just decided to do Rochester on the 18th instead. No biggie!

I'm looking forward to my special day. I can't believe it will be a whole year since I found my answers! I'll make this first anniversary one to remember!

Geekin' Out!

As I write this, I await for my Lenovo Ideapad to finish cleaning up my disk drive. My computer was seriously possessed by demons. Every time I would click on a link, a popup would result, saying my computer was infected, or something of the sort.

With the help of my bro, who is well-versed in Windows 7 and 8, my computer will now be popup free, and a lot of the junk will be cleared out! I'll be able to browse and click on things without worrying about a million popups!

Next comes one of my main motivators for getting a tuneup: updating my Nexus 5's bootloader! I noticed while trying to flash some of the most recent ROMs, that I would get an install error, stating that the file is supported by X bootloader while I had Y (I can't remember their actual names at the moment). So now goes one of my geekin' adventures....to get that latest bootloader! Fun times ahead :)