Today I wanna talk about sleep since I feel it is not talked about enough. I can of course not speak for everyone but I found some interesting information and have my own experiences as well so let’s start with ADHD sleep
ADHD
The reason I want to meantion ADHD today is because of a recent text I read: Sleep it talks about that people with ADHD having 4 kinds of problems with sleep. 1. Difficulty at falling asleep, 2. Restless sleep, 3. Difficulty at waking up and 4. Intrusive sleep.
I think the 3 first is already know a lot since everyone can have those things I feel while the 4th one is what caught my interest. Intrusive sleep is something that can happen people with ADHD is suddenly bored or lost interest in something so the brain just shots down. Read more at the link and donate to the cause there since it is really good information.
Asperger’s
I have added Asperger’s since even we might not have the 4th one, I come back to that later, I feel we have a 5th thing. Getting drained from having to mask a lot just so we can function in life.
Myself
The link I share me think about me and some of the problems I have. I don’t and never had a sleep problem by going to bed or rather very rarely. But I am having problems with sleep sometimes since I experience the intrusive sleep since even I don’t want to sleep I sometimes just feel asleep and other times I just run out of energy like a battery because of masking I would say. The last thing I have problems with is sometimes waking up from alarm clocks, guess things just requires to much energy from me, which makes it hard for me to wake up again. I am not ashamed to say that I get my mom to call me in the morning when I have stuff like work. Maybe a girlfriend would help me with that if I had one. So I have 3 out of 5 sleep problems.
Well not much discussion came from this and I guess all I personally have to say is that I feel it describes me pretty well other than I keep calling myself Asperger’s even I am not sure what I think of Musk and such.
Today I did not have any idea what to post, so I decide to do something as a first for me. I have yet to use any AI like ChatGPT for anything so decided to make it tell me what Asperger’s syndrome is. It gave me what you will read in a moment and that gave me an idea, what do you think of what ChatGPT says about Asperger’s syndrome is, is it correct to you or do you feel it is miss something important? I ask because I am curious and will give my opinion in the comments if people reply this post while if not then I will reply it next week.
ChatGPT begins
Asperger’s Syndrome, often referred to as Asperger’s Disorder, is a condition that was previously considered a distinct form of autism. It is now recognized as part of the autism spectrum disorder (ASD) following changes to diagnostic criteria in the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition).
People with Asperger’s Syndrome typically experience:
Social Challenges: Difficulty with social interactions and understanding social cues, such as body language, tone of voice, or facial expressions. They might struggle to form and maintain friendships or engage in small talk.
Repetitive Behaviors or Interests: They may have intense focus or deep knowledge about a specific subject and can show repetitive behaviors, routines, or rituals.
Sensory Sensitivities: Many people with Asperger’s may be overly sensitive to lights, sounds, textures, or smells.
Language Skills: Unlike other forms of autism, individuals with Asperger’s typically do not have significant delays in language development. However, they may have unusual speech patterns or tone.
While these traits are part of Asperger’s Syndrome, individuals with the condition often have average to above-average intelligence and can lead independent lives, particularly if they receive the right support and interventions.
Since Asperger’s is now classified under the broader category of autism spectrum disorder, it’s considered a “high-functioning” form of autism, meaning individuals might not have intellectual disabilities but still face challenges related to communication, behavior, and social understanding.
Today I was reading up on Asperger’s to make a post here and I fell over a website which clearly told me the difference between ‘old’ Asperger’s and the new level 1 that has replaced it in 2013. Why Asperger’s Syndrome Is No Longer an Official Diagnosis is the link for those who want to read it and I just looked at the levels and reasons which made me wonder if I should change the look at myself and call myself a level 1 (DSM-5) instead of Asperger’s. I understand the reasons behind the changes but I am not ‘afraid’ to be called something a nazi doctor was name since no matter what he was the one who discovered it and second of all I am not always feeling that the new levels covers me so guess I will continue to call it that even some people might prefer the new one which I am not even sure what is other that ‘autism’. So unless I am told otherwise I won’t call myself Autism level 1 since I am not sure if that is my real number.
1. Will not go along with the crowd if they know that something is wrong I hate to do things I know is wrong already so only if I am force or I do not know better then I will walk with the crowd
2. Don’t force others to live up to demanding social expectations I do not care what the social expectations says that you have to do, I do not care
3. don’t have hidden agendas I say things blunt and yes it sometimes give me problems but I rather have it all in the open than keep it a secret
4. don’t usually recognize hierarchies, and so are unlikely to give someone superior status simply because that person is wealthy or has attained a high position in an organization I can talk to anyone as long you want to talk to me and I do not care about who and what you are
5. are very accepting of the quirks and idiosyncrasies of others please be how you are around me and do not fake it
6. have no interest in harming others I do not like to hurt people which is also why I do not like fights no matter what, I know it sometimes means I go silent but it is just because I do not want to continue the bad way
7. like to spend time alone and are perfectly capable of entertaining themselves Sure I can have fun with you but I do not mind being on my own as well
8. don’t discriminate against anyone based on race, gender, age, or any other surface criteria If you are kind to me, I do not care about anything, sometimes I just need a little ‘push’ to get started but that has nothing to do with you
9. you definitely know a few autistic people. Maybe you don’t know it, but you do. Maybe they don’t know it either. We’re 1% of the general population, which is higher than it sounds. I might have Asperger’s but we are different just like you are to someone else
10. Asperger’s is not a thing anymore I know Asperger’s is not a thing but it was when I was diagnosed and I am not sure where to place me in the new system.
Today I will make a short post since my head is mixing between headache and being tired and I want to talk about the things we say to each other more precisely the words ‘Just do this’ since it is always simple to tell people to do something but if the person of the reviving end have problems then it is not so easy. I learned that today I would say. I guess it is best explained with an example.
If you tell a person to walk down the street then a good and fresh person would just do it no big deal I guess but if you tell me then I might start focusing on my legs since I am very clumsy, focus on people talking on the street since I need to be sure they don’t mention my name for some odd reason or maybe the weather is too warm for me so I focus tried to get cold again.
As you can see both people will manage to do what you asked of them but even it is a simple task I might use more energy on it than a NT person, not because it is longer but because so much is happening around me that NT would not notice so yeah you can tell me to do it something and slowly I will start doing it while getting better and better to ignore the things you don’t get focused on in the first place. So I am sorry I am slow to learn things sometimes but know that I always want to make you happy and do what you request unless really bad things.
This post inspired by movie ” I Used To Be Famous ” on Netflix. One of my favorite movies about autism. The review is still in my draft. Maybe i will post that soon. Yes … yes … i admit it is too late to post the review because the movie released maybe almost 3 years ago. But better late than never. Hehehe.
In that movie, a mother described as a very protective mother to her son that has autism. Thats what i feel about Jesper too. Sometimes impression that i got from him about his mom is a protective mother.
I have a daughter too. Teenager. I also have a super protective mother too. I am a neurotypical but i don’t know why she was very protective to me since i was born till about grade 7. So everywhere i went, she always sent her employee to go with me. Now also if her kids go somewhere that new, she will nonstop worried.
I guess i understand why the mother figure in that movie and Jesper’ mother for example, are very protective to their kids with autism. Actually their purpose is to protect their kids so people won’t hurt them. Usually related to bully.
But i can feel also that very protective treatment from mothers can brings uncomfortable feeling for the kids (the people with ASD or asperger) because it is usually still happening even until they are adult. Sometimes their mothers also try to get involved in their “things” for example about their love life. The mothers usually try to be more strict or controlling or wanna know about their kids’ relationships. Usually that will trigger friction between moms and kids.
I guess there are some ways that can be solutions to have a better condition :
Try to be open and honest to your mom about your feeling and what do you want. For example you want to be trusted or you want your mom to stop worrying about you or you wanna have relationship with someone but free from her control. You tell her and also listen about what she feels. Discussion with opened mind and patience.
Try to gain trust from your mother. So after you talk to her about what do you want and for example you get chance to do things your way without her being involved, make sure you keep the agreement you make with her and being responsible. With that way you can gain her trust. After you gain her trust, dont ever dare to break it. Moms are so hard to trust again when trust is broken. Especially to their beloved kids. Prove that you can be trusted.
Don’t stop communication. So keep your mom informed and updated about yourself and about trust she gives to you. So she doesnt wonder about things and she can be relax. Not easily to get worried and dont try to get involved again.
If those things above go well, i think the friction because of super protective behaviors from the mothers can be prevented. Your moms love you. It is just they need to prepare you for the real world. Not just keeping you in her protection all the time.
And for mothers, we need to listen about our kids especially the ones with autism. They can be strong and independent if we let them to be. We cant always beside them to protect them forever. Expose them to the world so they will have strength and chance to be participate in this world with all kind of people. So they can be independent.
Today’s post is going to be about sports as I feel that I had a great deal of issues finding a sport with space for me which might be one of the reasons that many with Asperger’s (My experience ) do not like sports. Another thing that sometimes make it hard is the social aspect of the sports. I have decided to go through the sports that I have been doing over my life of 35 years and tell why I think they either went well or ended up bad for me.
Football (Soccer)
One of the first sports I ever tried was the classic football but truth be told I have never been good with a ball so I am not sure why I even tried. At practice things went okay I would say so far I remember but at the first match I played I had no clue about what to do and no one played the ball to me so I ended up going home after that match. I tried again some years after but I was still not good with a ball but this time the coach was a nice guy so I guess my football life ended at a 5/10 score because it was never excellent but my friends the second time made it fun at least.
Swimming
Another sport I started very early was swimming since my mom wants me and my siblings to know how to swim because of some family event. So I would say I was forced to join swimming but it was quiet fun and it can be very one person sport. I have lots of good memories with it but I stopped because the team I was ending up swimming on was a competition team and in the end the competition felt too forced. I might have continued if I had the chance of swim without the competition as I loves being in water and took a diving license around 18 months ago. But at the team it was only possible to do some fitness stuff with older people and I was not in mood for that so my swimming life at 7/10.
Shooting with rifle
This one was a really short sport for me, I started because in Denmark or at least in many danish schools you have a competition in school shooting with an rifle. I found it fun at the time but the fun after the competition quickly died since no one at the shooting place tried to teach us anything afterwards, so my parents had to help me. So 3/10, which might even be to high.
Scouts
This one is one of the best since I am still an active scout member, just not a scout anymore but a leader which takes care of my old scout group’s 6-8 year old kids. The reason I feel scouts is so great is because of that it is so many things and even you feel you have experience it all, it just keeps on giving. I got started a bit late and unless my future love is too city like I think I want my kids to experience it as quickly as possible. Another good thing about scouts is that since everyone is different we are good at different things meaning you do not get forced to do things you do not like but are allowed to grow even more in those area you are good and fight in those you are not. So for sure a 10/10
Fitness
Fitness is maybe not a sport per say but it is still about moving your body and I feel that the reason it quickly died out for me was because I felt you did not feel the progress happening for you. I know I did some running and some weights but never felt home there so instead I have decided to just walk around in town plus my boulders. 1/10 and that is for sure being kind
Boulders
Boulders is a sport where you are climbing different routes in different difficulty and you can follow your own progress this way. It also have competitions but I have not tried it yet, which also reminds me of another aspect of this sport, it is as social as you want it to be meaning if you wanna be on your own you can check in, do your climbing, head home or you can start talking to random people about the routes since people have different experiences with the routes. Not like in fitness where you just talk about how much you can lift and such. This is great for me for personally since I some days I am in good social mood and want to get help and help others with the routes while other times I am tired and just want to be myself. It is also a good place to train your balance since you really need it to climb it which is one of the reason I continues to do it as my legs can be very stiff and my balance is very bad. The score is of course another 10/10 and before as a way to end this post I have added a picture of me from today climbing my first purple route which is level 5 in the system they use at my boulders center.
My first purple 🙂
All in all I just want to show that there is lots of different sports in the world and I am sure that there are one for you as well, so you do not have to be in front of computer or television all the time.
Today marks the end of the alphabet as we have reached Z, I already know wonder what I will about next week but I am sure something will come up. So back the the letter Z and this weeks word Zone. For those people who does not know zone, it is when you are interested very much into a subject that you forgets thing around you. Yes that sounds very normal I would say but the thing for Asperger’s is that we get so much in the zone that we forget everything else and I mean literally everything else and it can be so, lack of better word, bad for us that we forget to eat or drink and if you try talk to us we might even ignore you. I guess it is good to be in the zone since you get things done whatever it is legos, your job or what else just sometimes we need a timer so we know it is time for other things and I guess a heads up about the time is about to run out is good. These days I feel the introduction of all the notifications from phones and what else makes it a bit harder to get into the zone but it is still there. So sorry in advance if I am ignoring you.
Today letter is Y which I have decide means ‘YOLO’ which means You only live once and I think I will start living a bit after that since a friend from Slowly (Great and stress less pen-pal / friend finding app & website) said I was too much in the past feeling sadness and rage about the things which has happen to me. I am not 100% sure I agree with my friend that I am stuck in the past (maybe this post show I am) more than I feel hurt that people like are still treating people with diagnoses bad just because they are different that most other people. I am not sure what my first steps of YOLO but I want to focus more on the present and the future than the past now. If you read this before we reach each other friend then thanks a lot.
You but different 