As you may know, I have PDD-NOS, which is one of the ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorders). Today is World Autism Awareness Day, and even though I usually don't join in for whatever-day-it-is-events, I wanted to make an exception this year. When people think of autism, they often straight away think of classic autism, and the movie Rain Man. They don't think of a young woman that comes across as normal, and doesn't seem to have any issues at all. But there's a lot more to autism than the standard image that a lot of people have, and I think it's a good thing to become more aware of that, so that's why I'm joining in today!
Essence Enter Wonderland with saran wrap-sponged Essence Chuck and Essence Absolutely Blue, with China Glaze Scandalous Shenanigans and Bundle Monster BM-319.
I hope people will realise more that, just as with a lot of disorders or diseases that can't be seen on the outside, there might be a lot going on that's simply not visible for them. Now I found it pretty hard to write this post, should I explain what autism is, should I just leave it at the mani, should I explain what having autism means for me? But since it's awareness day, I'll go for a personal example which hopefully will make people more aware of some things:
I recently went out to dinner with my family for my dad's birthday, and what you'd see is a normal woman having dinner with her family. What you don't see, however, is that my parents booked the restaurant and requested a table in a quiet part, near a wall, so I could sit with my back against the wall and prevent even more information from coming into my mind (I process sensory information different). You don't see that I looked up the restaurant way before the actual date, the menu and what to choose, images of the interior if possible, that I decided on what to wear, and in general try to come as prepared as I can be. You don't see that I find it hard to keep a conversation going, and that I'm often thinking ahead in my mind about what to say next. You also don't see that I go home completely knackered, and often go bed straight after and hide under the blankets to make everything as dark as can be, and that I need up to a couple of days to recover and deal with all the information my mind took in that evening.
Please don't jump to conclusions when someone has autism and it doesn't show to you, that person might've learned to hide it well, like I think I have. That doesn't mean I don't need support or people around me that try to understand my story, quite the opposite even! I'm blessed with a wonderful family and boyfriend, who support me and think along, making a lot possible that otherwise wouldn't as easy be possible for me ♥ And how I described that dinner might sound like a huge thing for something so simple, but with the support I have, it's not. For example, I don't need to ask my parents to book a table like that or where we go, they tell me in advance and arrange that without me asking. With such support, I have more energy to do other things, or to do/deal with unexpected things. And that's just 1 small example of how the people around someone with autism can make a big difference with little things!
Simply put, don't judge a book by its cover, and if you know someone with autism, you might be able to help them more than you realize. Thanks for reading my post :)
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