Since my late twenties, I’ve known I’m on the autism spectrum. Had I found out before then, I might’ve also known I had Asperger’s Syndrome; but the DSM-V nixed that diagnosis, so c’est la vie. Since then, I’ve been writing poetry and prose to promote the world of autism.
I’m not a psychologist, psychiatrist, therapist, or behavioralist. Everything I know about autism, comes from my experiences of living in the world of autism, or from books I’ve read, research I’ve done on my own time—trying to to understand why I’m here. Also, I am only one person with autism: I am not the all-compassing example of autism. If your friend has autism, he is still different from me. Neurotypicals are different from other neurotypical people. Women are different from one another. Different people of color; different elderly. We are only one voice within the din of our like-mindedness. So other autistic voices may disagree with my voice. But I am a person who lives in the world of autism, and I’d still like to offer that lens for you to look through: