I remember reading out loud to my parents when I was a toddler and preschooler. I remember being taught how to change my intonation depending on the punctuation and meaning of the sentence. I was specifically told to do this because it was boring to listen to words that all sounded the same in monotone. … Continue reading Flashback Friday – Inflection
*Teen Years
Body Language – When the Knowledge Doesn’t Transfer
Sometimes I say, rather hyperbolically, that I didn't know about non-verbal communication until I was nearly 29 years old. It's a nice sound-bite, but like most nice sound-bites, it's not strictly true. I did know about some types of non-verbal communication before then. I knew that shrugging meant "I don't know." I knew that nodding meant … Continue reading Body Language – When the Knowledge Doesn’t Transfer
Grieving
Content warning - death (both people and pets), grieving, depression; passing mention (no details) of being spanked/hit as a child This year, 2016, has been a particularly rough one for many people. More than a few beloved celebrities have died and many folks I know, including myself, have lost loved ones who were much closer … Continue reading Grieving
Flashback Friday – Imaginary Children
As a child I'd always gotten along extremely well with children who were much younger than I was and based largely on those experiences, I've pretty much always wanted to have children of my own. In fact, my longest-lasting childhood imaginary friends were my imaginary children. I had dozens of imaginary children from about the time I was … Continue reading Flashback Friday – Imaginary Children
One Person’s Twaddle is Another Person’s Roadmap
I grew up primarily reading classic literature. As someone who was hyperlexic and reading books at the age of 2 years old, I had many years during which to indulge my love of reading and my parents made certain that I primarily had older, quality representations of literature available to me. Unfortunately, my obsessive rereading of … Continue reading One Person’s Twaddle is Another Person’s Roadmap
Negative Memories and Confusion
So, I mentioned in my previous post, that it's easier for me to access my positive memories than my negative memories. I've spent some time since writing that (it was scheduled several days ahead of publishing, this post is not) in thinking about why that might be and I believe the answer partially lies in … Continue reading Negative Memories and Confusion
Deconstructing My Positive Memories
As I've been mentally sifting through my memories, particularly for my Flashback Friday posts, I've noticed something. Partially because I've been recovering from the stress of being evaluated, I've been focusing more on the positive memories I have. They're both easier to access and much more pleasant once I do access them. In examining them … Continue reading Deconstructing My Positive Memories
Flashback Friday – Vacuum Cleaners
My parents used to have the nicest vacuum cleaner. It was small and light, quite delightful to hold and use. It wasn't too loud for my ears to handle either. It was from before disposable vacuum bags were widely being used and we only had to open up the panel on the front to empty the … Continue reading Flashback Friday – Vacuum Cleaners
I am not a Body Hair Activist
The title might seem to be a strange thing to declare, but I honestly thought I was a pro-body hair activist for a while. I just happened to be an odd body hair activist who didn't like to show off my body hair because I didn't want to stand out as being much more unusual … Continue reading I am not a Body Hair Activist
Flashback Friday – Vinyl
It's always a neat feeling when I suddenly recall something I enjoyed as a child and realize that I likely enjoyed it as much as I did at least in part because I'm Autistic. These are generally things I enjoyed that were considered "odd" by most of my peers. Take vinyl records, for example. I grew up … Continue reading Flashback Friday – Vinyl