Oh, Snirkers!
By Tracy Peterson | October 24, 2024
It's hard to believe we are coming up during the holiday season. 2024 has gone by way too quickly and has not been without incredible change, growth, adventure, and a lot of self-reflection as I navigated job loss, freelancing, and ever so slowly developing my recruiting agency. The things I knew, or thought I knew, so well have been flipped on their heads. In so many ways, our world was turned upside down, and, at the same time, it brought me back to the center with a whole new perspective on how I want to move forward.
Perspective is a funny thing, depending on the view. Timothy, without effort, continually opens my eyes to possibility. Because of my nearly thirty years of experience raising and relating to a non-verbal person on the autism spectrum with intellectual disabilities, I see and experience our world quite differently. And, if I am to be brutally honest, in self-reflection, I have often questioned if I am on the spectrum.
In fact, during a time of crisis, I met with a counselor who took me by surprise when she stated, "You might have autism." Knowing that it is difficult to diagnose a person of my age accurately, I have not yet chosen the route of formal diagnosis. I have concluded that if I am, it explains a lot, but at this point, I do not know what difference the knowing will make other than maybe I can stop dwelling on it and put my energy elsewhere. I'll keep you posted.
When I look back at my childhood, I experienced extreme anxiety to the point that I would faint before any event where I would be in front of other people, including my First Penance, Communion, dance recitals, plays, and even gym class! Iridescent lighting and many sounds to degrees of silence made it difficult to focus. Crowds overwhelmed me. I lacked imagination yet preferred art and any medium I could design with structure and balance. I am detail-oriented to the point that it is an accomplishment for me to allow and embrace flaws. My greatest strengths are the very things that hold me back.
Early on, I found ways to reduce some of the anxiety and avoid situations that overwhelmed me. In grade school, I was always the first to volunteer for any task that took me out of the classroom and even recess. I clapped the erasers, maintained the seasonal bulletin boards, and was often in the main office cranking out dittos (ask someone over fifty what a ditto machine is) for the teacher. As an adult, I am often the "go-to" person when a task needs to be done, or I find ways to create things that keep me busy. While I joined in the activities I had to, I always felt best when I was one-on-one with an individual or on my own.
In a lot of ways, this is still true. While I have reached a point where I can successfully be in crowds and even speak in front of them, it drains me in ways that I do not know I can accurately describe. Often, the best and sometimes only way for me to recharge is by connecting with nature. As a kid, I spent much time in the small section of the woods of our backyard. As an adult, I hike, garden, and camp with my family as often as we can make possible, which is not often enough.
Of all the things that led me to here today was a picture that I took last Halloween. Timothy had lined up his mini-snickers to spell out the word. While a single letter (the "c") wasn't available to him, he made it work.
Timothy reminds me that we do not need perfection to be understood. So long as we can communicate so that someone else can receive the message we want or need to share with ourselves or others, what else matters?
It is incredible what a change of perspective, a single thought, and an action can do or lead us.
Until the next. Thank you again for choosing to explore your world differently with us!Get Your Copy of Choose Your Perspective: 7 Tips for High Performance through Intentional Thinking by John Martin on Amazon. Available in paperback, Kindle, and Audible.
Best,Tracy If you liked this blog, please be sure to share it on your favorite social media channels!
Early on, I found ways to reduce some of the anxiety and avoid situations that overwhelmed me. In grade school, I was always the first to volunteer for any task that took me out of the classroom and even recess. I clapped the erasers, maintained the seasonal bulletin boards, and was often in the main office cranking out dittos (ask someone over fifty what a ditto machine is) for the teacher. As an adult, I am often the "go-to" person when a task needs to be done, or I find ways to create things that keep me busy. While I joined in the activities I had to, I always felt best when I was one-on-one with an individual or on my own.
In a lot of ways, this is still true. While I have reached a point where I can successfully be in crowds and even speak in front of them, it drains me in ways that I do not know I can accurately describe. Often, the best and sometimes only way for me to recharge is by connecting with nature. As a kid, I spent much time in the small section of the woods of our backyard. As an adult, I hike, garden, and camp with my family as often as we can make possible, which is not often enough.
Of all the things that led me to here today was a picture that I took last Halloween. Timothy had lined up his mini-snickers to spell out the word. While a single letter (the "c") wasn't available to him, he made it work.
Timothy reminds me that we do not need perfection to be understood. So long as we can communicate so that someone else can receive the message we want or need to share with ourselves or others, what else matters?
It is incredible what a change of perspective, a single thought, and an action can do or lead us.
Until the next. Thank you again for choosing to explore your world differently with us!Get Your Copy of Choose Your Perspective: 7 Tips for High Performance through Intentional Thinking by John Martin on Amazon. Available in paperback, Kindle, and Audible.
Best,Tracy If you liked this blog, please be sure to share it on your favorite social media channels!