Why are some people autistic, while most other people are not? Is there a "rainbow" spectrum of autism: from extremely mild and hardly noticeable, to blatantly severe and extremely conspicuous? Is autism a neurological condition, or a manifestation of that condition, or both?
The mountains, the trees, the buildings, the people:
All of them are as ghosts. I could walk through them.
People are undefined shadows, wispy holograms, noisy nuances
Of ethereal semi-existence, without form or substance.
I move, with precarious uncertainty,
Through the nebulous realm of human non-existence.
I see, but I do not see.
I hear, but I do not hear.
I smell, but I do not smell.
I touch, but I do not feel.
I exist, but I do not exist.
You are there, but are you?
I am here, but am I?
Where am I? What am I? Who am I?
None of this makes any sense.
I go through the "required" motions,
To keep "others" from bothering me.
I live, but is this living?
I feel strange, as though I
Am both here, and yet not here,
All at the same time.
Time and space have no meaning:
They are bizarrely jumbled together;
They are there, but are they?
I see you, but you are not there.
I hear you, but can not understand.
I think, but do not make sense.
I read, but I do not perceive.
I vaguely understand, but do I?
What is going on, anyway?
You are here, and I am there;
Or is it the other way around?
Which is left and which is right?
Or are they one and both the same?
Up, down, forward, backward, and in between,
Is all the same. I am thoroughly confused.
Memories, experiences, thoughts, ideas, creations.
Food, sleep, exercise, studying, showers, rain, hail,
Sleet, snow, blizzards, bogs, sand traps, thorns, briars,
Electric fences, boats, planes, trains, buses, cars,
Math, science, literature, pain, joy, lucidity, confusion:
All jammed and rammed together in a turbo-charged blender.
Alice in Wonderland, The Twilight Zone,
Fantasy and science fiction, The X-Files,
Science Fiction Theater, Dr. Who,
Never Never Land, The land of Oz.
Black holes, alternate universes, weird dimensions.
This is the "essence" of autism.
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"Ten Things Every Child With Autism Wishes You Knew" & "Ten Things Your Student With Autism Wishes You Knew" are copyrighted Ellen Notbohm and cannot be reproduced in any form without consent from Ellen Notbohm. "I Am Autism" is copyrighted Marty Murphy and cannot be reproduced in any form without consent from Marty Murphy. All poetry written by Frank George are copyrighted Frank George and cannot be reproduced in any form with out consent from Frank George. 'What is Autism'; 'Symptoms/Characteristics '; 'Diagnosis/Consultation'; 'Treatments '; 'Asperger's '; 'Interesting Facts '; & 'Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) ' are all copyrighted Autism Society of America - ASA. 'Individual Education Plan (IEP) ' is taken from the U.S. Department of Education's IEP Guide and is copyrighted U.S. Department of Education.
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