RESTART 2020
Or 2021 at this rate. But wherever you are, you’re here! and that’s important!
I’m pretty sure this is something MANY of us have thought throughout the year. So in the spirit of our hopes and desires… I decided to restart/revamp my blog. I know I’ve been quiet for a while. Partially intentional, partially unintentional. There is a lot going on behind the scenes (see the 8/9/2020 post) but honestly, I had a partial writer’s block and lack of motivation. And started school. And took leave for medication changes.
2020 has been the curve ball from left field that bounced off third base player’s shoe only to result in a double play with no runs scored. For those not into baseball (oh sad day….), this is like the impossible downward spiral bad play. The random craziness that just kept ensuing. Even as we speak in October, we have moved into a hurricane season that ran out of names and we just lost Van Halen.
So hopefully this change and update will be helpful! There is still some good in the world. I managed to get real good help. I started my degree program for instructional design (my new and amazing passion and study) and I am finally freely to be ME!
SO enjoy the new posts as them come! And hopefully 2020 will be over soon.
Under Construction
Don’t be alarmed. I am still here, still conjuring up thousands of thoughts upon thoughts so we can all have fun discussions around those lovely thought bubbles we supress every day.
I have 60+ blog topics ready to focus in on and write up.
But I am also working at home thru a pandemic while starting a 2nd masters with a husband who is trying to complete his Ph.D., discovering my own self identity as an autistic, adhd-er, pcos woman alongside my son who is starting preschool where he gets help with his autistic struggles as well but they are going all distance learning digital this year.
So things are coming. It just might take a bit. Meaning the fire might be low, but its not out and just like a phoenix I will rise eventually from its flames.
Unprofessional Development August 2020 – Beyond Behaviors
Let’s Unlearn Together
Unprofessional Development August 2020 – Beyond Behaviors
Reposting from a fellow blogger and parent. This book is opening my eyes and provides real action for interacting with behaviors. All parents can benefit from it!
Reading Records: Call of the Wild by Jack London
***SPOILER ALERT also TW: Harm of animals******
I know, I know… Two book reviews in less than a month. I was just as shocked. But truthfully I was so happy to see that I actually finished two books within a reasonable time. And despite the last book’s memoir theme, this book a little more imagiative. To the point a movie was made with Harrison Ford (always read the book–even on this one, I would say it’s better to read the book.) And admittedly I listened to this one on audible while taking my long dog walks within a few weeks.
However, this book has a long standing history with me. In sixth grade–we were given a list of books to choose from and I selected Call of the Wild by Jack London. To be honest-it was mostly because I loved White Fang the movie and thought since the author was the same that it would be the same “connection with the wild spirit” as his other book. So, I wrote a brief report, barely read any of the book and turned it in.Little did I know that my teacher knew I had not done my work, explained it to my mother and she not only grounded me with a massive room clean but also forced me within 1 weekend to actually re-read the book & write the correct report. It was a hard but nice lesson in responsibility and honesty.
So when the movie came out this year–I made a special effort to make sure to read the book again. And while I saw the movie, absolutely loving it, I still worked thru original story of the book.
Call of the Wild is a work of fiction by Jack London with a dog as the main character. His name is Buck and it starts with Buck’s kidnapping and travel to the new world of the Yukon. He is beaten, traded, locked into a sled dog team that delivers mail across the territory in the harshest conditions. It finally ends with the Buck being pushed to the breaking point and a gentle soul of a man comes along and nurses him back to health before Buck journeys into the wild wolf pack.
The book was beautifully written. It had this harsh but strong appeal to it, like one walking thru the hard snow in the Alaskan territory. I know its Jack London’s specialty (see White Fang and several other short stories), but it was as if you were Buck the dog. Feeling each of this trials, his struggles, his joyful moments where he becomes on with the wilderness and those depressing moments where he learns some humans beat dogs for sport.
I will say I am glad I just listened to this book. I think having something tangible in my hands would have made it more difficult to digest, especially the parts of animal torture. Especially because at the time I was walking my dog. But if you have seen the new movie–I believe for once this movie actually stays true to the book. And not in the sense not it describes EVERY detail. But it does include the book’s message. It embodies the word “inspired” or comparable. The creative liberties the writers and directors took were respectful, classic and well done. It also allowed for children to understand the books teachings (like beating a dog is bad) without going into the painful almost chalkboard scratching pain inducing feeling you get from reading the book.
So if you have not read or listened to this book (or even if you have), I recommend it highly. Even if you love animals. It will be a true classic pleasure!
Reading Records: Odd Girl Out by Laura James
A few months back, I joined my first Discord group. It was a nice pleasure because I am meeting autistics from all over the world. Another advantage of joining this specific group under a chanel for “Yo Samdy Sam” has a couple book groups-one group for comment on amazing books and one book club. It was in this book club that we as a group decided as our first book we were going to read Odd Girl Out by Laura James.
The book is the story of a late diagnosis autistic women, her attempt to catalog her life experiences and how they fit into this new world that has opened up to her. I was glad we had decided to read this book as it was shorter than the other book we were considering and it also had audible options along with digital and paperback versions–something someone with ADHD/autistic struggles in executive functioning truly appreciate.
*********WARNING: SPOILER ALERTS************
This feels like a “duh” in my mind when you’re reading a book review, but not always. So what comes hereafter may be a spoiler alert. There are also some mild trigger warnings from the events in Mrs James’ life including divorce, discussions of addiction and a lot of emotional topics personally set me off some nights.
So let’s dive into the book. It is divided into 16 chapters, mostly in chronological order from August 2015 when the author first reads her evaluation about her autism diagnosis while on a getaway vacation she is taking before her children go to university. The book follows the events that transpire in her life interjecting a couple sections throughout random chapters where “flashbacks’ appear mid-thought. She is a writer for the Telegraph and even writes about her “coming out” as autistic in one of her articles. At first, this thru me off. But listening to the book on tape a little helped me out a lot listening to it while taking a long walk or when driving in the car. But then I realized I wanted to highlight almost every line on every page. So I did have to spend a lot of time sitting with the audio. But it was worth every minute. And yes, my poo paperback is covered his markings. Several markings.
Besides the book being completely relatable to my autistic life experience — the author is excellent at writing out her thought process. This is extremely helpful because I feel as an autistic person– sometimes people don’t hear how we are thinking. And (surprise!) we do NOT think like everyone else. I know personally I have a great problem with people putting words and thoughts in my head and this is typical of most autistics. So to hear words from another autistic in the words (like word for word phrases) was hugely supportive. Page 99–i highlighted half the page. Same true with pg 164-65. Here’s one form page 154 “If my interests were people-focused, they would be too painful to deal with. People are unpredictable. They say one thing and mean another. Autistic honest has a purity. Ask us a question and we will tell you the truth. One hundred per cent. Undiluted by squeamishness. Unadulterated.” I tell people this all the time–that my questions are true inquiries and I am several times too honest for life.
Another discussion I enjoyed was at the end of Chapter 6–about finding information and being happy with this as an autistic. Laura James talks about Sarah Wild (a director of a school made for autistic brains) and how she believes that Autistic happiness is different and that neurotypical people need to stop judging autistics by their neurotypical standards. “Meeting experts is pure heaven for someone autistic. The access I am given to someone’s knowledge never fails to make me happy. Even more so if they happen to know something about one of my current intense interests.” (pg 111-12)
So I would arguably say if you have an autistic family, friend or you yourself are autistic–please PLEASE read this book. It’s worth it. To hear a voice is huge.
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Musings of An AfterThought 