Leaving the world a better place.

I became part of the blogosphere long before I considered starting my own blog. One of the first people I got to know was Paul Curran. He popped up on many of the blogs I followed and his comments were a breath of fresh air. Here was someone that had ideas and thoughts that were open ended. If there was one thing consistent with Paul it was that he was not dogmatic. Yes, he had is opinions and beliefs, but he was not closed to alternatives and appreciated that differences didn’t mean being wrong.

Paul was one of two people that encouraged me to start this blog, and has made thoughtful and interesting comments here from the start. In fact he has been the most prolific commenter here on Another Spectrum.He had an amazingly positive view of life despite the hardships he had to endure. I’d be very surprised if anyone who met Paul, in the real or virtual worlds, were not better off for doing so. The world is a better place for having been graced with his presence.

Now I learn here that we will hear no more from Paul. Although he will be missed, he will not be forgotten.

Gaslighting

Although I had a supportive family that considered me “quirky”, “different” or “socially clumsy” and valued me as a person, the same can not be said for the rest of society, which often gave me the impression that I was wrong, broken, or backward. I am very grateful that those who are important to me have always accepted and valued me as I am. As a consequence I never found myself in a position of not liking myself. Even so, discovering I was on the autism spectrum felt like I had found the “on switch” to allowing me to be fully me. Many people on the spectrum are not as fortunate as I have been. Is it any wonder that so many people on the autism spectrum suffer from depression and other mental/emotional disorders?

Being an undiagnosed autistic has many challenges. When you compare your reactions to things with other people’s, you feel like you’re getting it wrong. When other people take things in their stride, and your brain feels like it’s expanding inside your skull to the point you can’t think, then you feel like you’re overreacting. And […]

via Gaslighting — Autism and expectations