Autism/ Aspergers

A Challenge to my Friends in Disability Community and Allies

Back in 2012 roughly, my roommate at the time did something courageous for me. He sat me down and said , "Bill, I think you may have Autism."I was tested and it was confirmed that I have it. We all have our challenges much of which we try to hide from the general public. We have many reasons for this. Those include pride, ego, fear, and the desire to control what others think about ourselves. These efforts often make our problem worse because they attempt to hide underline issues. When we make effort to hide those issues, we end up creating more issues for ourselves.

Going back to finding out that I have Autism. At first, I feeling of resentment of myself and others around me. My resentment towards myself was the belief that I was weird or abnormal because I have autism. My resentment towards others was that I felt people were getting into my personal business. I resisted doing anything for a while, due those resentments and fears.

It took another personal reality check for me to seriously look at the issue. In that journey, I practiced workplace skills, gained mentors, friends and got a chance to give back to others. This brings us to a message that one of my favorite TV show host, Suze Orman says, which is stand in your truth.

This phrase applies to money because also apply for life. The past couple of years, I have a chance to talk about Autism from my life experiences and help shape a healthier discussion between people from all backgrounds. These efforts have brought more people into my life. Thus, my challenge is to you is the following. If you have problem in life, get the courage to share that struggle and your efforts to address it with others. The reason being strength brings people in and weakness repels people.