Peter Wynn
Aug 23, 2017 · 2 min read

ABILITIES??

I was just reading a blog entry about functioning labels on autism and can it struck a chord with me. I have had numerous people say to me, “Oh, but I wouldn’t pick you as being autistic.” Yes, I can speak, and yes, I can engage with people, but I also have social anxiety at times and have difficulty reading social cues and while I can say no in some cases, in others, it can be incredibly difficult.

As one example, I tend to move more slowly than others, and nearly five months ago, during a power outage, my mother accused me of leaving the fridge door open, when I did not, and my an experiment I conducted, closing it and letting it close left only a second’s difference. Yes, one second! She kept going on about it, yet I had the confidence to say, “If you want to harp, join an orchestra.” Something that I could struggle with in different circumstances. I also had the confidence to tell a housemate, whom I do not like, to “shut up” when she was annoying me, but not another who is always asking me for lifts and I couldn’t speak when he tried to push me to sign up to a different internet plan.

The truth is, while I can communicate, sometimes, I just cannot find the courage to express it. There are other times when I have to communicate with my father by email because it’s easier to find the words that way than to verbalise my thoughts.

Autistic people should not be judged by one instance, but by how we perform over many cases and also consider our level of comfort in given situations.

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Peter Wynn

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Diagnosed with autism at 35. Explained a lifetime of difference.