My Speech to AEC in Panama City, Florida

cyberscan · Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 3:00 pm Post subject:

Someone had asked in a pm if I would post my Speech to the First Autism Education Seminar in Panama City Florida tonight.
http://www.autismeducationcenter.net

So here goes:

Hi everyone,

I am honored to be invited to speak by Helen and her husband Joseph at the first Autism Education Center seminar. I hope this will be a productive meeting in helping all individuals and families affected by autism. Helen asked me to join the center based on my expertise with autism. I graduated Grand Ridge High school with honors, joined the Naval Nuclear Propulsion program, and after a honorable discharge, I studied electronics engineering technology and graduated with an Associates Degree. I am also a self-taught computer programmer and systems administer. Currently I help my mom take care of special needs foster children. I also have many hobbies and areas of study such as the Bible, German, American Sign Language, politics, among others.

I have no degree whatsoever in psychology, nursing, or any other form of medicine. I also have no autistic family members. Yet, Helen wants me to be a part of the Autism Education Center. "Why?" many would want to know. The reason is simple. It is because I am an unpaid professional actor. I am severely autistic and yet, appear to be normal. This is due to long and rigorous training by my mom, immediate family members, and the school of hard knocks. I may appear to be neuro-typical or normal to most people who meet me, but they will soon be able to tell that there is something very different about me. Medical and Law enforcement personnel are quick to notice something about my personality and this is because I am still Autistic. I have not been cured so to speak. I also do not feel that I NEED to be cured.

My mom knew that there was something different about me from the minute I was born. I screamed when I was held, later banged my head continually, bit myself as well as others and liked to shove my hand through plate glass. I also enjoyed staring at spinning objects and had little contact with the outside world. Doctors first diagnosed my as severely mentally retarded and recommended that my mom place me in an institution. It was only later that it was discovered that I was autistic and my mom worked to obtain information on how to train and teach me. As an autistic child, the world was like a huge motion picture to me. It was only when this motion picture began to force me to interact with it did I come out. I was over 4 years of age before I spoke my first words and was able to read before then. Back when I was a child, there were no specialized education programs or IEP's. The extra help I got was speech therapy. I was mainstreamed in with the rest of the school population. Needless to say, school was a total nightmare for me.

I am 40 years old now and am living proof of what an autistic person can become with the proper family support system. Even though I present as normal, I still have my autistic quirks and still need much time alone. Yet I am a still a valid and productive member of society.

One of my main issues is sound sensitivity to loud, high-pitched noise. I have contacted Helen on 8, May of this year in the hopes of finding a neurologist who specializes in Autism in the hopes of resolving this issue.
It was at this time that she gave me the name of Dr. Hammad and invited me to help her with the seminar and autism education center as a mentor to autistic adults and parents of autistic children. I have valuable skills such as if you put me in front of a computer, a piece of electronic equipment and give me a bit of time, I can learn how to operate, repair it, and even improve its design. When I want to learn a topic, I can spend many hours a day for days or weeks exploring the topic in which I am interested without paying attention to what is happening around me. I can work in a room that is 45 degrees in short sleeve shirt or work in a room that is around 120 degrees and not be distracted. However, I will generally know the topic as well as a college graduate. In addition, I will also be able to think and try things that are not taught in the book or subject I learned and come up with new methods and ideas. I believe that this is what neuro typicals refer to as, "thinking outside of the box." This part of my being I do not want to change, it’s what makes me unique.

It is my sincerest hope that I can help alleviate the two most dangerous enemies of autistic people. These enemies are fear and ignorance. We can sometimes appear strange, unusual, lost, unstable, or simply different due to our mannerisms. Many of these mannerisms are because of our lack of knowledge or practice in what is instinctively ‘normal’ behavior. While many of us are good or considered geniuses in certain areas, we are told we lack common sense.
In such things as dance, eye contact, body language, conversation topics, appropriate display of emotion and such, I have no instincts. I have to learn where to begin, how to follow through, and where to end. This has taken many years for me to learn, and I still have yet to master some of these things. Many people like me never learn.

But I believe this AEC is destined to change this, not just for me, or for Helen and Joe’s sons, but for all other autistics. The AEC team is the most passionate, driven individuals you could meet and they are 100% dedicated to autism – they are not driven by the dollar and profit margins of a business. Helen would work for nothing for the rest of her life if it meant the AEC could open tomorrow, this I can and do see in her eyes.

Each autistic person is different. We are not all like "Rain Man," Temple Grandon, or many others. Some of us are low functioning, have average intelligence, or are geniuses. Some of us are Darwinists, Christians, Buddhists, Jews, Muslims, conservatives, liberals, smart, withdrawn, good, bad, homosexual, heterosexual etc. We are all different and deserve to be treated as individuals. We all see things differently and have our own opinions about the world in which we live and that is not just inherent to the world of autism.

If you want to know what one of us thinks, it does not hurt to ask us. In doing so, you are opening the lines of communication and I will be glad to answer questions on how I see your world and those around me. You will also most importantly be opening your mind to autism, and that is all we ask tonight.

Thank you.
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I am AUTISTIC - Always Unique, Totally Interesting, Straight Talking, Intelligently Conversational.