All hail the nerd culture.

How's y'alls November going?

Did you know that Kindle let's you download a bunch of classic books for free? Guess who has 40 new books to read?

As you know, I claim to be a nerd.

I'm also on the spectrum. I have a shinny certificate from a nice lady doctor who told me I was different.

Unfortunately I don't have a certificate for my nerddom, but that's okay I know you all will believe me.

offensive/awesome?

 

Today I want to talk about a very special nerd who is also on the spectrum.

You must be familiar with 90s cartoons and The Big Bang Theory to find this amusing.

Have y'all seen this show called the Big Bang Theory?

I know you have a life so let me tell you a little bit about it.

It's a show about a group of super smart nerd  scientists and the waitress who lives next door.

Mostly, waitress says boring blond things and some downright weird things about being from Nebraska.

I do not like the waitress character but maybe you do, so I won't say anything mean about her.

BUT I DIGRESS.


The best character on the show is totally one of us.

His name is Sheldon, he is an awesome scientist.

But How Do I Know This?

I did scientific research for you.

Your welcome

I watched an entire season and took  notes.

Sheldon is from East Texas, he graduated college at 14 and is a theoretical physicist living in California.

"I'm not insane, my mother had me tested"True story.

He has a spot that no one else can sit in.


He gets mad and no one else can sit there. Like ever. It's his spot.

He does not understand social things, sarcasm, or people in general.

But we already did that, for example, once I learn Finnish I'm not going to learn it again.

Here, his friend is trying to convince him to hang out with girls again.

He doesn't touch people on principal.

He loves comic books and video games. 

He is super smart!!

He has problems with situations that are unfamiliar to him. He has a set rigid schedule. He knows he is smarter than most of his peers. He does not temper his language to social situations.

However, the creators of the show continue to deny that Sheldon falls anywhere on the spectrum.

BUT!!

How can this been when we have overwhelming evidence otherwise?

I have some theories.

1. The writers of the show don't know what ASDs are, they didn't have anyone to use the Google for them.

2. They didn't want to offend people who are on the spectrum because they were using what could be a serious disability as part of their comedy.

3. They are waiting to reveal that this will become a major point in future seasons.

I think that theory one is possible, but theory two is the most likely. I've thought about emailing the writers and creators of the show with a list of helpful and informative links to eliminate theory number one from being a possibility.

But even without my super creeper status it seems pretty far fetched that they would have no idea about ASD. I think the only people who are super ignorant of ASD are elementary school teachers and administration.

That's a story for another post.

Here's why theory number 2 is wrong.

Sheldon is pretty self sufficient, he lives away from his parents, has a job that he gets to everyday, has friends, and feeds himself.

SEE! Food and Friends, Functioning Adult!!

There are very, very few NNTs visible in popular media, and even fewer that are portrayed positively.

Off the top of my head I can't think of a single person who is in the public eye who is NNT.

The only one who comes to mind is Temple Grandin, while I'm appreciative for all that she has done gaining publicity for ASD and raising awareness, cows kind of scare me.

A Google search turns up Jett, John Travolta's son who died after having a seizure and Dan Aykroyd, who might have been kidding about being on the spectrum.

It doesn't really give me, or any other young person on the spectrum a whole lot of  hope for role models.

Sheldon may not be the best role model, he can be inflexible and come off as uncaring, but he has friends and a job and is mostly a functional adult. He even has a girl who is a friend starting in the 4th season. I would rather admire Sheldon for the things that he has done then think about how he could improve.

I wouldn't mind if I grew up to be like Sheldon, I think that would be a pretty awesome goal.

 

GOODNIGHT PUNY HUMAN

The big issue is that we aren't seen. We are invisible.

And life is hard when you're invisible. It's hard when you don't see anybody like you on TV, hear about them on the radio or read about them in books or magazines.  You end up (at least I do, I obv don't speak for everyone) feeling very, very alone and like no one in the whole universe understands you. Which is why it was really refreshing to see Sheldon and have ( kind of for the first time)  someone I could really relate too. 

It was really nice to see someone on TV who is like me, at least a little bit.

But doesn't he get laughed at by the other characters for being different, or being Other?

Yes, it's true that his weirdness is often used for comic humor.

But the show is a comedy

And the other character's weirdness is also used as comedic relief.

For example, one of the other characters can't speak around women. He whispers to the other characters when there are women folk in the room.

The other characters are just as weird and nerdy and different as Sheldon. It's not as though Sheldon is the only comic relief.

Penny the waitress really bothers me.

I think it can be really good to learn to laugh about what makes you different, sometimes it keeps you from crying.

Watching the show there were so many moments where I could relate to Sheldon and a couple of moments where I've said the same thing as Sheldon.

Learning to laugh at yourself makes the disability seem less serious.

Sometimes, it can feel like an all consuming monster that is going to eat my life. If you are NNT or know someone who is, you know this feeling. It is the single most awful terrifying feeling ever.

Seeing anyone, even a fictional character not be bothered by the disibility is really refreshing.

I was talking with my Mom and she mentioned that having a kid on the spectrum is hard because you never know how they're going to turn out. They might turn out to be like Sheldon, pretty happy and functional or, like so many with learning disabilities, they could end up in jail.

Thanks Mom and Dad, for always being awesome!

When I first wrote the letter to stark raving mad mommy the thing that overwhelmed me the most was the responses from moms who were just happy to know that someone with ASD had turned out okay.  I think it gave people hope that maybe they could turn out okay too.

Victory is mine!!

That's what's nice about the show: It's about a character who is smart, funny, has friends and has his own difficulties.

I would really like to see more sucess stories both fictional and non fictional.

What do you all think? Are their good NNT role models out there and I've just been living under a rock this whole time?

Video of the inside of an ADD brain.

So the internet has been out for many days. I have video of what it feels like when you don't take your ADD meds. This is what the inside of my brain.

Welcome to my chaos

Hey Y'all! Thanks for all your support during the LSATs. I stuck it to them.

Like this.

I'm hoping that you missed me. BUT I have a very good reason.  

My life has been in total chaos the last two weeks. 

Like This.

Let me tell you why.

My routine changed. 

I moved out of my dorm room, the place where I have been living for the last 10 months. This means I had to find a new place for all of my stuff. In the end, I went to the airport with two bags weighing more than 120 pounds total.

People were graduating, and moving on with their life. This means I won't see many of them for a very long time. Some of them I may never see again.

Classes ended, and along with them the predictable schedule of studying and classwork I love my predictable schedule.

My life has changed.

Which got me to thinking about a question I got from stark. raving. mad. mommy. 

What advice would you give a teacher about introducing new people and changes to routine in the classroom? About helping a student through upsets in class? 

Great question!

So, if you are NNT, the world is kind of unpredictable.

If you poke them, they will cry.

Honestly, things that most people find predictable, I find less so. I think this comes from the fact that I miss a lot of non verbal cues from people. They see things that give them a more complete view of the world than I do.

Once something new happens I automatically think about the worst thing that could happen. Then I think about everything  else that could possibly happen. EVERYTHING.

And then I'm exhausted.

Like This

The older I get the more I can tell myself

Self that is a dumb thought that is not helpful. Squids will not walk out of the ocean because you tried calamari.

If you know this reference, we are friends.

But as a kid, it's a little harder to predict what is going on in your world. You simply don't have the same amount of experience that you do as an adult. Also, as a kid you don't have as much control over what you do in your life. Parents, teachers and baby sitters pretty much control where you are and who your with all the time.

If I could go back in time and give advice to the teachers and babysitters who were in charge of me I would ask them to predict the world for me.

Microwave= Time machine

If you can make the world more predictable for those of us whose world is less than predictable then we will have less meltdowns and be happier.

Meltdowns in cases of changes I think come from the emotion and anxiety brought on by not being able to understand these changes.

I would start early, way before a major change is going to happen. I would also be prepared to talk about what is going to happen again before the change happens.

Discuss what this change means in a classroom. Does it change the hours that you do things? Does it change who gets attention from the teacher? What doesn't it change? Is lunch going to be at the same time? Where is the bathroom going to be?

Why are you doing that

Can you develop some skills that will help the child predict similar changes in the future? For example, if you have half days on the third Friday of every month, would setting up a calendar and marking off the days help make that more predictable?

The more you can make a child's world view complete, the happier they will be. And after all, happiness is the end goal.

AWW

Learn to Speak Body Tape 5.

So, when I first found this video I didn't realize it was a joke video (stupid literal self) and so I spent 15 minutes searching for the other videos in the set.

It's a joke video but I really wish that there was something like this available.

I hope your weekend was great!

If I should have a daughter

Sarah Kay: If I should have a daughter ... | Video on TED.com

If you haven't heard Sarah Kay's poetry, you really should. I really admire her work and this poem in particular is one of my favorite things she's written:

If I should have a daughter, instead of Mom, she's gonna call me Point B, because that way she knows that no matter what happens, at least she can always find her way to me.

TGIF y'all. Monday's Post: NNT have Jedi powers.

New Favorite Video.

Seriously. I haven't been so fascinated by food before.

NPR: Report says that autism much more common.

So this morning on Morning Addition, there was an article about ASD in South Korea. 

Because all Asian nations are the same right?

The study looked at 55,000 children in a medium sized town in South Korea. The team of scientists then looked and tested all of the kids for Autism.

They tested 55,000 kids for Autism. 

Do you know what they found? 

No.

 They found that rates of ASD are 2.5 times higher than in the united states. One out of every 38 children in the study was found to be on the spectrum. 

2.5 times higher than expected.

That is so much higher than previously thought. Even the scientists were baffled. 

Do you know what? This wasn't even the most surprising number to me. The number that wins that prize? The 2/3 of those with ASD that were in mainstream schools without any help. These children weren't diagnosed because they weren't failing classes, even though they were having difficulties with peer interactions. 

2/3 of those with ASD go without recognition and treatment.

 The study goes on to say that South Korea isn't unique.They think that ASD is probably higher in other places, but it gets missed because kids only get tested if they're failing classes or acting out annoying teachers.

The reason most NNTs get tested.

Further, the authors suggest that children who aren't failing but do have ASD would benefit from treatment. Especially from learning about how to interact with their peers.

This is how school made me feel.

 The take home message from the authors of the study:

"if you really go look carefully among all children everywhere, you find that things are far more common than you previously expected."

The part where I make a snarky comment.

DUHHbya

No really?

Of course there are more people out there that have ASD. People who are NNT and parents of kids who are NNT know this is true. How many times have you met another person and just known that they were NNT? 

Do you know how many people's lives could be improved by early testing and intervention?

Thousands.

Sorry! Here is the link to the article if you're interested in listening to it.

A much better conversation

So remember how earlier I had a really awful conversation? Well, I had a much better conversation today.

Actually, the circumstances were almost the same. It was at the cafeteria. I was eating with a group of Co-workers. The conversation came up around what high school was like for us. I took a deep breathe and I started to say that my experience was pretty was pretty awful because I was NNT and that I was really helped by therapy and pills. I was expecting them to look at me like I was crazy. But that's not what happened. Instead it started a conversation around what it meant to be NNT and how that has changed our lives. 

it turns out, I had nothing to be scared of.

It was awesome

  

As it turns out, this group of friends also had similar problems in high school. 

Problems focusing. 

Problems with teachers who needed a high five to the face. 

Problems with people not believing you when you said you were NNT.

Problems getting homework done.

It burst my bubble in the best way possible.

You see, up until this point, I assumed that everyone I worked with had the same view: that if you were NNT then you were clearly wrong/broken.

We had a great conversation about what it means to be on the spectrum. We talked about how not all drugs work for everyone. If the drugs work for you, you go Glen Coco. If they don't, then find something that does. Keep working until you find something that works.

I heart Mean Girls so much.

We talked about how when you get accommodations, sometimes teachers start to teach you like you're retarded. We talked about how frustrating it is.

How teachers look at you when they find out you need accommodations. 

It wasn't the perfect conversation, there were still some issues. My co-workers still said that they thought that ASD was just a fad. In fact, one of them said almost verbatim what my co-worker said last time.  But I can't educate everyone, I can only educate myself.

But they were willing to listen to me and hear what I had to say. It was marvelous. Taking the leap turns out well (sometimes)

PS. Today is Easter, being a heathen, I wish you a happy Zombie Jesus Day.