The Autistic Me

A spinal nerve with its anterior and posterior roots. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) My MFA in Film and Digital Technology was supposed to be finished in December, 2016. It wasn't. Instead, I had one infection after another, anemia, emergency room visits, blood and iron transfusions, a pinched spinal nerve , surgery… and more infections. Add in a car accident and family things and life overtook my life plans. This happens, but I do not like it when a schedule slips. Unfortunately, lots of my scheduled tasks have slipped. Now, I need to finish my MFA paper and film, a screenplay that's past-due, and several other projects. Plus, I need to find a job after I finish the degree. When I feel well, I need to work a lot to make up for the time I have lost and will inevitably lose in the future. The panic caused by being off schedule causes my schedule to slip more, but I'm doing my best not to panic. It's hard for me to not be distracted by the distraction th...

The wedding vows are complete - you may now kiss the bride. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) When I talk to groups, the three lines of questions are generally: school , workplace, and relationship . There are plenty of books and experts on the school issues. Plenty of debates, too. Whatever you want to believe, there's probably an "expert" with that opinion. As an educator, I have plenty to say on the subject of school and being different. As with school, there is an abundance of expert opinion for parents, educators, and autistics regarding success in the workplace. Again, I have strong opinions and most of those are related to the social aspects of school and work dominating our culture. "Emotional intelligence" is given too much weight, in my view, as we judge introverts , creative individualists, and anyone not charming as being somehow defective. We've made introversion a disability — or at least a professional liability. But, the questions tha...

The headline is in jest, but "The Autistic Me" is closing in on 1000 followers on Facebook and I know the Twitter account has some traffic. I've updated the blog design, in another attempt to increase traffic. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/autisticme/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/autisticme Blogging and other forms of writing are what I do currently. The more followers, the more likely we gain some visibility out there. It's not easy to be seen or heard through the clutter and noise of the Internet. Blogs are trailing other social networks. That's why I need to consider a podcast or video channel. Traffic is survival for a blogger. Spread the word. Suggest blog topics. Maybe ideas for the revised books I'm hoping to (FINALLY) finish this summer. This blog is one of the oldest active autism blogs. I'd like to keep it going and still dream of it thriving. Thank you! Related articles Blogging Cycles No NeuroTribes, Not Much E...

One of our Facebook/Twitter followers asked: "Are you sick often? My son is." Ask my wife or my mother… or even my college students. Oh, yes. Definitely. I'm sick right now. It seems like I'm sick twice as many days as I am well. There are days when I believe I am never well. My colds turn into something worse most of the time. I have chest congestion, and have for months. It started as a cold, became bronchitis, and then a staph infection. Antibiotics and steroids have not cleared my chest. The coughing hurts, the gunk in my throat disgusts me. But, there hasn't been a good solution. The immune system overreacts to everything. A minor cold? Nope. My body rushes to "help" and ends up making matters worse. I realize this question was about illnesses, but physically I'm fragile, too. When I have an illness, it makes it harder to ignore the leg, back, shoulder, and neck pains. I was in a back brace for scoliosis and there are some permanent...

Networking is part of developing a career. This is true of any career, including that of writer / scholar. If you want someone to publish or produce your works, you have to be social. You have to be known. Yes, there are exceptions to this rule, artists able to succeed without social skills, but generally you cannot escape the demand to network. Playwrights and screenwriters are invited to social "mixers" with potential producers, directors, and the like. We are expected to pitch our ideas and somehow collaborate well despite many of us preferring solitary creativity. I've skipped most local events for the last two years. I simply cannot bear to be in social settings, much less tolerate the drive towards the city. The cost of my lack of interaction with others: no productions. No readings. Nothing. If you aren't "out there" with something in hand, as well as attending the shows of other writers, you aren't going to be produced. Again, there are ...

Some books and noted speakers make the case that academia is one of the better career paths for autistic adults capable of completing the required education. I'm unconvinced this is good advice for anyone, much less autistic individuals. Let me begin with the academic job market. Even within STEM fields, which have lower unemployment and better prospects in general, the academic job market is lousy. Data show too many post-doctoral workers and too many professors in these fields, while demand is high in private industry. Because industry now engages in research, especially in fields with perceived imminent returns such as automation, it might be wise to pursue private industry positions. Cuts to science funding at the state and federal levels also make the sciences a difficult market within academia. University posts exist only when research funding is secure and plentiful. When there are too few funding sources, universities and colleges quickly shift the teaching of undergra...