from physical clues in the Retina. Is there a likely physical marker for autism being researched right now? Recent studies are being summarized and new large number studies are being done to see if the results from “small number” trial studies can be duplicated and information refined. A year or two ago an optometrist wondered if examination of the retina might be a way to distinguish autistic individuals and to be non intrusive ( no biopsies, blood samples, hair, DNA etc taken) and used as a diagnostic tool to discover autism as early as in newborn babies. Studies have been done (and more ..read more

Its not always what people think! Hyperlexia and Hyperverbal defined Its all about words! Stereotypes of what autism “looks like” in the way autistic people behave, what we do or don’t do, etc. abound. There are so many misunderstanding about what autism “is” and how it might affect a person!!! Here is a look at the way a percentage of autistic folks experience their world. Most common ideas about autism include thinking that all autistic individuals are either genius/savant or that we are deficient intellectually. Of course, like all stereotypes, there are plenty of us “in between”. It ..read more

Mistaken thinking, ideas and concepts about Autism From the first discovery and attempts to define autism, its origins, and its struggles, there has been a natural human tendency to assign traits to all of those who are autistic. “autistic people don’t look you in the eye” “autistic people think in pictures” “autistic people have no empathy” “autistic people are ” “ “autistic people do ” ” There are attempts to define autism by traits of thinking, sensory issues, behaviors, and more. There are many mistaken ideas being perpetuated today, too. Here is what everybody missed from the beginning ..read more

isolation, loneliness, autism experience is likely different, or is it?  In searching for information about autism and older adults, I keep finding generic articles and “studies” aimed at proving that if we are not interacting with others socially on a daily basis, we are more likely to die sooner, more likely to suffer many illnesses, more likely to have mental problems, etc.   It doesn’t seem to have crossed any of the presenter/ researchers minds that we may have had these troubles and problems before, rather than as a result of isolation/ loneliness. It does not take into account at all ..read more

(when we learn to defend ourselves against life in unhealthy ways) Ok, so first, what does “maladaptive” mean? Maladaptive is a description which means “bad adaptive” and it refers to the unhealthy ways we may learn to cope with our life situations.  Maladaptive behaviors are those which might have worked at one time to help us escape some of our struggles.  We develop poor coping skills in self defense, especially when we must find ways ourselves with no guidance, input, insights or role modeling from others to help us.  Maladaptive thoughts or beliefs may be ones that we used to explain ou ..read more

happy birthday to this blog  I started writing here almost 5 years ago January 2019, in order to share details about the struggles an older adult goes through to obtain diagnosis of autism here in the USA, and to explain the need for such diagnosis even in those of us who are elderly. I hoped to attempt to share all the things I was learning about the nature of autism for those who had gone through their lives into old age without ever knowing they were autistic. The story begins on the last pages of this blog with my first entries, so to find things that happened in my adventure, you must s ..read more

autism and anxiety  The two most frequent co morbid diagnoses of autistic individuals are depression and anxiety.  Anxiety is present in the majority of autistic individuals, although it is not considered caused by our autism.  In effect, our anxiety is likely due to circumstances surrounding our autism, and related to having confidence ( or having no confidence) in our ability to handle situations that come up in the process of living our lives.   One theory which has gained understanding and helped many anxious people is “intolerance of uncertainty”.  In early 2000’s, a group of scientist ..read more

In our later years. Recent diagnosis at any age can be a relief, a shock, cause emotional pain and distress, relieve emotional pain and distress, all of the above, or none. For each of us, our perspective will likely be changed forever. Things we thought we understood may change, as we begin to sort our long histories and pasts and make sense of many of the “whys” of the long lives we have lived before we ever discovered our autism. Along the way, many of us may have learned ways to cope, adapted behaviors to survive and to get along, and many of these may not have been healthy! We may come ..read more

Autism and information sharing Have you heard that term? “infodumping” ??? It refers to information sharing. It seems to have its origins in negative attitude toward the autistic inclination to share information. I began reading in depth about infodumping or information sharing recently. Of course most articles were about children and how to keep them from “infodumping”, redirection was the most frequently advised response. I recently met a mother and her autistic offspring. Mother told her children directly, when I want to know about that, I’ll ask you. (a less direct way to say “shut up ..read more

The actual need for intervals of solitude ” I want to be alone” a famous line from reclusive actress Garbo years ago. It stands for most autistic individuals today and every day, too! Because of the high energy demands the every day world puts on our abilities ( or disabilites) in processing and focus, etc, we actually need time to “re-boot” after long periods of doing every day things. Dealing with the demands of daily living requires intense concentration, and coping with many stressful things such as sensory overload, requests as sudden demands for performance (answering questions, respo ..read more