Experiences – Autistic Emmalyn

01Nov 2021 by autisticemmalyn

How Autism Affects My Other Conditions

Experiences

Hello everyone. Since autism is not my only disorder, I wanted to share how it affects the symptoms of the other conditions I have. A lot of the time, autism can heighten the feelings of oversensitivity and rejection that these disorders bring on, as well as have unique effects on specific conditions. I want to bring some awareness as to how these comorbidities work and how I try to heal. Generalized anxiety disorder. I have generalized anxiety disorder, meaning that my brain often misinterprets things as being more threatening than they are, causing me to worry excessively. Personally, I’ve found that my autism tends to make me worry more, since I’m already oversensitive to certain stimuli and situations and I often tend to doubt my abilities to make it through…

27Sep 2021 by autisticemmalyn

Autism and Assertiveness

Experiences

Something I’ve noticed within myself and other autistic individuals is that we don’t take ourselves seriously as others. We’re more prone to believe what someone else says about us and our situation than what we think on our own. Whether it’s our condition, our circumstances, or a combination of both, autistic people struggle with assertiveness. I’m 20 at the time of writing this, and only recently have I realized that other people can be wrong about me, no matter how insistent they are. Growing up, my autism made me naive in certain social situations. Along with that, I had the feeling that I had to go along with what others wanted all the time in order to avoid conflict. I had also been told my whole life that I needed…

06Sep 2021 by autisticemmalyn

Autism and the Pressure to Perform

Experiences

The preschool class had an annual performance at the end of the school year. I remember mine. We all shuffled across the stage, shyly looking out at the dim figures in the audience. Bright lights illuminated our faces, and music pushed through the speakers. My classmates began to sing and mime the movements demonstrated by the teacher. I went solo and covered my eyes. Newly five-year-old me had never been onstage before. She’d never had to hear that soundtrack so loud, never had light shone on her, never had to stare directly into the eyes of hundreds of people, all the while being expected to perform. My parents laughed. I started getting into theater around second grade. First, I was a mouse in a day camp production of The…

23Aug 2021 by autisticemmalyn

The Importance of Comfort Characters and Media for Autistic People

Experiences, Feelings

Hey everyone! Today I’m going to discuss comfort characters and media and why they’re especially important for autistic people. What is a Comfort Character/Piece of Media and How Do They Help? In essence, a comfort character, book, movie, etc. is a person or work that helps someone calm down and relax. Anyone can have a comfort character or piece of media; however, in this post, I’m going to be writing about how they’re helpful to autism specifically. These creations are beneficial for autistic people in a variety of ways. They make the person happy. When you’re reading a book or watching a movie in your spare time, the overall goal is to feel good. Whether it’s comedy, fantasy, or even horror, the media you’re likely to choose is enjoyable to…

19Jul 2021 by autisticemmalyn

The Big Secret

Experiences

There was a secret I used to keep for a long time. I kept it hidden in the back of my mind, disguised in my behavior, and wiped from every introduction and small-talk conversation I had. If anyone found out, my fear would absolutely skyrocket. Audio coming soon! You know it already. It’s in the title of this blog. Yes, I’m autistic. It’s pretty clear now. But only a few years ago, that would never be the first thing you knew about me. When I was first diagnosed around the age of ten, my mom came to my fifth grade classroom and did a presentation about autism to teach them more about me. I have to admit, it was a really cool day. For once, all my classmates seemed genuinely…

28Jun 2021 by autisticemmalyn

Autism and Athleticism

Experiences

Hey everyone! This post is about my journey with sports and exercise and how I became physically active without caring about fitting in. Want to listen instead? Check out the video! https://youtu.be/ad_dQpAYdgE My K12 school system focused heavily on sports. Athletes were praised, rewarded, revered. The high school football field was the cornerstone of the whole community. It seemed as if you even put so much as your pinky toe on that sacred ground, you were a hero. Sure, football was the main sport, the pride and joy of the district, but that’s not to say that the other sports were neglected. If you partook in pretty much any athletic activity, you automatically rose in the social hierarchy. I was short and underweight with barely any muscle. My days were…

Category: Experiences