The Problematic Belief of Feelling to Unique

I was diagnosed with Autism almost five years ago, and I did not address the issue until I could find someone, who I could relate to. Thus, when we address any of our problems in life, we often feel the need to see the solution in someone else before we try to change ourselves. Ideally, we would like to talk with someone has the same problem as us. An alternative to that would be meeting someone, who knows another person that has our same condition. The third type of person that we seek are specialists to guide us. They include doctors, therapists, and other experts that have ideas for how we can improve our life.

Of course the dilemma for us is the acceptance component. In my experience with Autism, it took me a while to accept myself as someone, who has Autism. It was hard for me to listen to people saying that I had autism because I felt they did not get it. I felt down on myself I felt like the proverbial ugly duckling. Thus I created a belief that I should feel that I was not worth the respect people unlike me get.

However, the connection to the second type of support person, would change my life and view of Autism. This type of person ran a group called JJs List. This component helped me to see my problem from lens of education. This lense is two fold, I had to learn how to better function in society, and I had to learn how others can help me. JJ of JJ list helped me with both of these. One component taught life skills and helped with finding jobs The other component was being a part of a group that shared their experience with organizations, so that those group could learn how to better help persons with a disability. This attitude allows me to explore options for continued growth.

I talk about Autism frequently through blogs and try to talk to others about it as well. I am also trying to allow people to offer me help and tell how they can help. This is something, I still practicing this skill because I admit in life, I can be a bit of a bullhead. I am also currently with a therapist about one or twice a month, and trying to keep an open mind about the process.

Lastly, I have learned to see Autism as my lense to the world. So, I ask any person, who reads this to try and see how their challenges create the lense that guides their worldview. Hopefully, they can learn to see their life as something that does not make them feel to unique to get help.