Annie is 30 years and old and eager to gain blogging experience. She’s also an aspiring artist learning to make jewelry and other crafts with the hopes of one day sharing her creations with the world online. Annie’s a hard worker and is always there for her family, whether it’s helping out around the house or just curling up on the couch with them and their pets for some relaxation and bonding. You can always count on her to quote movie lines just to make you laugh or to learn new recipes to share delicious food and baked goods with you.
View all postsMy Life with Autism
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This blog will highlight my experience with autism. It’s not that easy being autistic. There are some people out there that don’t really understand how it feels dealing with the challenges that come with it, nor do they understand what it’s like being an autistic person. Autism is not a disability that is black or white but it’s an issue that is rarely discussed. So this blog is going to show this through my experience with this disorder.
I have been living with autism my whole life, however, I didn’t get diagnosed until at least 4 years old I think. It’s been a long journey since then. Although the time of diagnosis is not crucial for understanding, it gives insight on how I experienced it. Even from a young age, it shows that this disorder didn’t start affecting me at the time of diagnosis. I was born with this. The problem with being different at a young age is that, at one point, I was bullied for being who I am when I was in school. This isn’t the only problem, there are other challenges I face when dealing with autism in my daily life that affect me. One of those issues is having to look at people when it comes to conversations. I don’t feel comfortable looking at people directly in the eyes when they are talking to me. I have to work on my social skills a little harder. That is the goal for me from here on out. Another problem is the driving situation. I would love to learn how to drive because I know the rules of the road and would love to drive myself places. There are times I wish I could drive like everyone else out there, but I don’t know what to do and how to react if someone were to cut me off. When it comes to reactions, I will admit that sometimes it gets out of control. If I could learn how to do that then I would be ready and set.
The third challenge I face is that I have this particular routine that I follow and that always feels a bit stressful for me. It’s almost like I can’t break out of my routine. I wish I could change that but it’s hard because it’s like a cycle. I don’t deal with change very well and if anything changes, I get anxious. I also live with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), which is also common with my disability. I do try to make a few changes here and there but I tend to fall back. Personal space is also a problem, as I do not do well with my reactions and I need my space, but I also know that crowds are unavoidable. I have been in crowded places many times in my life and don’t have issues with that or people. My only pet peeve when it comes to people is boundaries and when people disregard them. These are just a couple of issues I face but there are good things about having autism too, and I want to share the positive side.
One of the good things of having autism, is having the ability to meet people and make friends. To be a part of a community. I met people through a group in the Harrisburg area and now I have friends after almost two years of being in the group. I go with these friends on trips and have conversations. Another is being successful in certain areas. I am striving in certain skills and I am going out and trying new things. I have succeeded in learning how to cook, going to new places and socializing more than I did before. I have accomplished more things in two years than I ever did my whole life. I am good at problem solving and planning things out. Now these are just a few of the advantages in regards to living with autism. What I have learned before is that even though I am autistic, I also can be and do many different things just like those without autism can. I never thought that I would ever have friends because honestly, it’s hard for me to make friends. It’s been that way for me growing up, but I can see myself improving.
My goal was to share my story about my daily life with autism and I was able to in this blog post. Thank you for letting me tell my story. It means a lot to me to talk about it because I want other people living with autism to know they are not alone in facing obstacles. We don’t always have it easy, as you can see, even if there are those that believe this is the case. This blog and writing, I hope, shows the struggles but also that perhaps my disability isn’t black or white, there can be good sides too.
This post and writing blogs matter to me greatly and I am truly grateful that I have the opportunity to write them and talk about what comes to mind. I hope you enjoy this post and have a good day.
Annie Snow
