Prepare to enter the wild and wooly world of an adult with Aspergers Syndrome, a form of autism characterized by intellignce, quirks, social difficulties and downright strange and oddish behaviours.

People with Aspergers generally are high functioning in everyday life but have great difficulty connecting with others due to the inability to read faces, body language and subtle verbal clues. They also tend to take words literally and have a hard time multi-tasking.

Oversensitivity to touch (clothing has to be soft and often the tags removed), light (do not leave home without the sunglasses), sound (loud noises and noisey places are avoided), taste (many Aspies have quite a limited diet and are frequently very picky eaters) and smells makes the everyday existence more of a challenge.

Fasten your seatbelts and come on in...
To find out more about what Aspergers is..please check out my earliest blog entries

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Horses 101 Things to Know.....Autism, Aspergers

I am by no means an expert...but I have been working and riding horses for a few months and have learned a number of things that can be helpful to someone first meeting a horse. These are things either someone told me or I experienced myself. As someone with Aspergers, I thought these tips would especially benefit the autistic.
Greeting a Horse
Horses rely very much on body movements to tell them if someone is safe. Approach a horse slowly and from the side, not directly head-to-head...this is how horses approach each other. Keep your hands open and to your side, no fists or in pockets and carry nothing in your hands. Standing a little in front or alongside a horse hold out you hand, fingers together, palm up or down, and allow the horse to smell your hand. You will feel two or more warm horse breaths or snorts as the horse gets to know you.
These are important things to remember as most newbies, including myself, want to run up to a horse and pet it's face and nose without a friendly introduction. Take the time to say hello before touching...the horse will appreciate it.
To first pet a horse after greeting, start at the neck or alongside the face. Horses have a blind spot, an area where they cannt see anything, directly in front of them, so start petting in an area they can see before you pet their forehead.
Horses have very soft, sensitive noses so be extra gentle there.
One thing that surprised me is that like cats and dogs, horses have whiskers but theirs are under their chin and bottom lip. These help the animal to feel and sense his surroundings.
Each horse has it's own personality and some like their ears pet and some do not.
I work with a couple horses that routinely smell my hand, then lick it and sometimes give me a rather gentle nip. A horses tongue does feel different, yes it is warm and wet but not really slimey, and I think it's pretty cool and a usual routine for these two. I think it's because they know me pretty well as they are quite gentle about it.
When being around horses remember they can startle so walk and talk softly. They do like attention and being talked to. Grooming with a brush or combing their mane are a couple of things they really enjoy and the beginner can easily do.
Horses are wonderful, magnificent animals..especially up close.
Enjoy

Friday, October 14, 2011

How to Blog

Blog as if you are writing to yourself, knowing the entire world is reading it. Be honest. Protect the identity of those you write about. You do not want to defame, slander or call out anyone but yourself.
VENT, Whine, Complain, Release!!!! It can be a valuable healing tool. On a daily basis, resentments, hurts and slights can build into pain and illness.
Be kind to yourself...Discover what makes you tick.
Remember, this is all about you. The one format in which you have total and complete control. You are Queen, King, Emperor, Dictator, Editor, Publisher and President. Wield your power wisely lest comments or observations can turn around and bite you on the ass.
Do not tear anyone down..publicly. Pseudonyms, pet and false names work well. Keep them guessing...it saves on lawsuits and those revenge types.
Blogging is a journey of discovery and sharing. Although it feels ad if we are an island onto ourself, sometimes ones ruminations can help and connect us to others who also thought they were completely alone in their struggle, their challenges.
Share, write and free your soul.
Be good to yourself. Be kind to others when possible.
Write of the little, insignificant, the mundane...for oft every word helps to paint the picture.
Write of the largesse, the grandiose, the traumatic and dramatic.....it can prove to be insightful and healing. Words can clarify the inner turmoil and confusion. Use them profusely paying no attention to punctuation or how it might sound to your high school English teacher. Format doesn't matter, and is pretty trivial if you ask me...it's the content that does.
All thoughts, subjects, situations and ideals.....ready fodder for a post.
Write morning, night, lunch hour, breakfast, afternoon tea, whenever suits your fancy.
Ahhh, my favorite...write without thinking...automatically dispersing the first thoughts that pop your way. You would be amazed at where this leads....deep.
Edit if you want...delete when needed. Post, repost and proclaim.
Blog, live, love, learn..
Be Good
Be Damn Good to Yourself...you are all you've got...shouldn't you figure out what's underneath
Write