Hello, my name is Isabella Humphrey, and I am a new contributor to the Historic Union County newspaper/website. I would like to introduce myself to you and tell you what I hope to accomplish by contributing my articles. I received my diagnosis of being on the Autism spectrum at the age of 3 and I am currently a senior at Union County High School. My career goal is to be a proofreader and Mr. Russell has given me the opportunity to help achieve that goal. I will be working with my parents, Chuck and Tammie to present you an article each month and I will be responsible for proofreading and editing the article. By doing this, I will be gaining valuable experience that is helping me achieve my career goals.
I understand many people have questions about what it is to be autistic. My hope is that, in this article, I can explain to you the reader a little of what autism is like for me. Most of the time I like to be by myself, especially after I have been around a lot of people for long periods of time. It might come across as standoffish, but I do not mean to be unfriendly. Most of the time I am thinking about something else, and to be honest, I don’t feel the need to interact with others all the time.
Another characteristic of mine is I like routine. I think things should be structured and/or scheduled and changes to my schedule can be very upsetting to me. Sometimes these disruptions in my routine will make me sad, or they may worry me. Other times I can get angry. But being given notice about any change to my routine helps me cope better. Beginning this new adventure has even been a little distressing because it is different than what I am used to doing. I have been a little nervous about writing this article though I really like the idea of going back and proofreading it to see any changes that might need to be made.
I also enjoy listening to music and watching television. However, I probably do it differently than you do. I generally memorize the lyrics or dialog after only hearing them once or maybe twice. If I like a song or a show, I am usually entranced by one part of the song, or one scene of the television show and I will listen or watch that one part several times in a row. I also like to change the words of songs and make plots from other tv shows I like the new lyrics.
These characteristics are just a few of the ways that autism has made me a little different, or unique, as I prefer to think of it. But not every autistic person processes the world the way that I process it. We, like everyone else in this world, are as different from each other as anyone else. And we probably have a lot in common with you too. For example, I take mainstream classes in school, such as English, Algebra, Chemistry and Chorus. I love animals, especially bettongs (the smallest of the roos), donkeys and elephants. And I also do chores around the house.
Hopefully this article has provided you with some insight into what being autistic is to me. I also hope it helps you to see there is no standard or typical autism, and that everyone is unique. And finally, I hope it encourages all of us to see that we may all have our differences, but we have even more in common.