The day after I got back to school, I went with Hillary
to Hasting’s, where I got the book Tanaina
Tales of Alaska about stories from the native Tanaina people of
Alaska. I felt tired that night,
feeling, more than ever, like I had aged from years of trying to advocate for
autism. The next day after class was
out, I went on the page through Facebook for the event Tell Dr. Phil and the
Media that Issy Stapleton is the VICTIM, about a severely autistic girl Issy
Stapleton, whose mother Kelli tried to murder her, rationalizing it by saying
there “weren’t enough services” for her daughter. To try and get Dr. Phil not to sympathize
with Kelli, I wrote:
Honoring a woman for trying to murder her autistic
daughter is tantamount to genocide. If a woman was honored for trying to murder
her gay son, what would that say about our attitudes towards homosexuals. Yes,
autistics do suffer from discrimination, but murder is not the way families
show sympathy for groups and individuals whose rights and dignity they respect.
If we care about the crisis of autism discrimination, we need to raise
attention to the issue without devaluing autistic lives. Issy's mother does not
represent any mother or parent of an autistic child that I know, including
autistics who you would call mild and severe. Let's not liken them to
murderers, but show their sacrifice and courage to give their children the best
life under the best and worst of circumstances, and in doing so let us give
support to the millions of parents with autistic children facing the daunting
task of nurturing them under discrimination and create a better, more hopeful
world for autistics and their caregivers.
I also filled out the paperwork
to reserve a room in the Union for the group, which I decided to call the
Autistic Student and Peer Organization. That
night I went to bed, so tired, feeling, more than ever, like I had aged from
years of trying to advocate for autism, and wondering how I would find myself
able to keep up with all my school work let alone the UCM autism group. The next day I went to my meeting with
Barbara. I told her that I thought we
needed to change the name of the Autism Spectrum Support Group to something
different; something that made it sound less like the students in it were going
there for help. She liked that
idea. She also recommended we replace
the old displays about autism in the OAS’s display case, and she said that
there was a THRIVE student interning at the Muleskinner, who may be willing to
interview us about the group, which would be an ideal way to put out that we
are looking for peer mentors.
I got back and saw Sara as I was
going to return my books to the library. I then went to the library and returned my books, which were due that
day. I got back and read more of my book
for my American Renaissance class. On my
way back, feeling that I did not have the time or the energy to walk down to
the sheltered workshop to recycle my bottles, I called Hillary to ask her for a
ride down there. She said she was unable
to because she had an event to go to but said that Philip could give me a
ride. I went upstairs and made another
bracelet and started on another one. Then Philip drove me down to the sheltered workshop where I recycled my
glass and his recyclables, found three more bottle caps for my collection, and
collected his things to repurpose. I got
back and Josiah gave me his receipts. I
saw Sara coming back and forth and she smiled and blushed as she saw me, while
I made another coaster for the silent auction and finished the one I started
on. After that I finished the bracelet I
started on earlier.
I saw Sara going down to dinner
and I went with her. She held the door
open for me on the way down and I told her how I was making a bracelet every
day until November. She asked me what
that was for, and I told her it was for a silent auction for a group I was a
part of. She asked me what group that
was, and I said it was the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network. She said, “That’s cool.”
As we went into the dining hall, she told me where she was going to sit. After I sat down, she sat down with me. I learned then that she wasn’t on Facebook and that she loves The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies. After we left, she told me she’s watched all
The Lord of the Rings extended versions back-to-back taking over nine
hours. As I got up, she held the door
open for me again. About half an hour
after that, I noticed the feeling of having aged that I was so accustomed to
had lessened significantly.
Later I made another paracord
bracelet to sell for the silent auction. Soon after that I talked to my granddad, and he agreed that it was a
good idea to change the name of the UCM group. After that I worked on my final copy for my paper for my American
Renaissance class. Then I went to Late
Night with Hillary and Philip. After
that we went down to Break Time and bought a twenty-pack of beer, for which
Philip gave me the receipt for. I also
got a paracord bracelet, which had a unique pattern that I thought I could do
myself. We got back and hung out with
Hillary’s and Philip’s friends Tay and Kelsey.
The next day I sat with Blair at
breakfast, before finishing the final revisions for my Anthropology of Food class. After that class, I sat with Jade at lunch
while enjoying a delicious spicy chicken burrito. Then I read a lot of the
reading for my Anthropology of Food class. During that class, we talked about our author Fuller’s view of having
children, a mother saying how her son has Asperger syndrome and learned to read
encyclopedias at nine years old, and despite being neglected by the school
system and having his rights infringed upon is no in his second semester of
college. I thought about the idea that girls
can’t be autistic because they don’t stick out, and I realized that point of
view is not only misogynistic, but is also based on a strong belief in autistic
stereotypes (girls being quiet, not flapping their arms, etc.)
After my last class, I went down to Those Were the Days and got
eleven more postcards, thinking longingly of all of them being framed in groups
and individually next to each other in my future home. Then I went to Hasting’s and saw that the seven
military classics of Ancient China were heavily based on Taoist principles, and
emphasized speed, stealth, flexibility, and a minimum of force, in contrast to
the modern Western military strategies. I got The Seven Military
Strategies of Ancient China as well as Love
Poems from God: Twelve Sacred Voices from the East and West and Minecraft Essential Survival Guide,
perhaps to help someday set up Minecraft activities in school, as the
organization the Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism had suggested as a way to
help school’s extracurricular activities be inclusive of autistic people. After that I ate dinner at King’s Chef
Buffet. I got back and made another
bracelet.
I went down to the Alcohol
Trivia night and got several free things afterwards, which everyone, winners
and losers (our team lost) got. Then I
made another paracord bracelet. After
that I talked to Dad and Granddad. Then
I went down to Late Night. I soon felt
too tired to really be able to help Hillary with her English Composition I
homework, and then I saw her, and she said she was too tired to work on it too,
so we agreed to do it next week. After
that I sorted a lot of recycling on campus. I got back and saw a lot of Saving Silverman with Mardy, who was
watching it on his computer, and I was reminded of how much I loved that movie,
and the part where Neil Diamond plays one of his songs on his guitar at the end
to get a couple back together reminded me of the power poets and songwriters
have on the minds of people, not just generators of words.
The next morning, I sat in the
dining hall with Paige, Levi, Allyssa, a new THRIVE student who I meet, Anna,
and Blair, who decided to sit next to me. Then I looked at my UCM e-mail account, but for some reason did not see
any e-mail about the meeting plans for ASPO. I did get an e-mail from my Creative Problem-Solving teacher though
saying I had left my notebook behind in class and could come by her office
before five to pick it up. I also
learned about haigu, paintings Japanese haiku poets used to make based off
their haiku and decided to make some yarn paintings based off mine for the
silent auction. Later I made three more
paracord bracelets. I then went down to
the bank and got some quarters to do laundry. After that I got my notebook that I had left behind in my Creative
Problem-Solving class. I got back and
did a food journal entry for my Anthropology of Food class. Then I made another bracelet. After that I made some more plarn for a belt
for the silent auction. I later went
down to the treadmill and started making another friendship bracelet and kept
working on it when I got back to my dorm. I also realized that the screen on my phone won’t come on, due to a
crack in it from a year earlier, and I need to go down to the Verizon store to
get it fixed.
I had brunch with Paige, Amanda,
a new THRIVE student who I met, and Haley, a blind student who I’ve seen around
campus but never really talked to, while I worked on my bracelet from last night. Afterwards I worked on it some more. Then I went down to the Verizon store, where
I called Mom and Dave, and left them a message about my phone situation. They told me at the store, however, that they
wouldn’t be able to fix my phone, and the only place that could do that was the
computer store in Warrensburg, which was closed on weekends. On my way back I picked up several more
recyclables.
I got back and took out my
recycling. Then I went to Those Were the
Days and got some more embroidery floss.
I picked up and recycled some more recyclables on the way back. After that I worked on my bracelet some
more. I worked on it a bit at dinner,
during which time I saw Kelsey, the THRIVE mentor, who told me they’d let me
know when the THRIVE students will be working on the float and that they are
using Mr. B’s trailer. She also liked
the bracelet I was making. After that I
borrowed Josh’s phone and talked to Mom, who said they ordered me a new phone
thinking it was time for an upgrade anyway, which I could pick up the next day
at the Verizon store. I worked on my
bracelet some more after that. Then I
ran on the treadmill for about an hour while making some more plarn for my belt
for the silent auction. I got back and
did my laundry while I worked on my bracelet some more, remembering how Mom
always was glad there was the autistic community, so I would never feel
alone. I also made another bracelet
while I realized that if I did date an autistic girl, I might be able to
appreciate her for her unique traits as a lover more than other guys would be
able to do.
The next day I ate with Anna and
Amanda while I worked on my bracelet. I
got back to my dorm and worked on my bracelet some more. Then I went down to the Verizon store where I
found out I had an order in my account, which would be completed by tonight,
but until that time, they would not be able to give me my phone, which Mom
explained via their work phone was because they ordered more gigabytes for all
our phones. On my way back a car pulled
up and the driver, a dark-haired female, called my name from the window. It was April, and she offered to give me a
ride to wherever I needed to go. On the
way back I told her a little bit about my arts and crafts and she how her
brother made crafts for Boy Scouts, which they sold, and she shared with me
some donuts, which she said she has because she works at a donut shop, and I
enjoyed a delicious glaze donut and a banana-filled chocolate sprinkled
donut. I got back and recycled some
stuff I found along the way back.
I went down to the dining hall,
joined by April along the way, and learned she takes classes on Tuesdays and
Thursdays, as she also works in Warrensburg. I also remembered that one thing ASAN does is help college students
start campus organizations for autistic students. Then I went down to the library and found
several books on Amos Bronson Alcott for my American Renaissance class. I picked them out and then started doing my
paper. After that I checked out all those
books. I got back and went to dinner,
where I saw April sitting with a guy from school and joined them. I learned the man was Alex from my
Anthropology of Food class, after he asked me how I enjoyed that class, and we
enjoyed talking about classes, and I learned that April had Dr. Yelton for an
Intro. to Anthropology class.
I got back to my dorm and made
another bracelet. Then I continued
working on the one I had been working on for the last two days. I ran on the treadmill for about an hour
while I made some more plarn for my belt. I got back and finished making the bracelet I had been working on for
the last two days and it looked great. I
also made some more plarn for my belt, while I realized that if my group gets
going, I can be a resource for ASAN-KC and all of ASAN to help autistic college
students start groups like mine at universities, and that if we educate
individual Alpha Xi Delta chapter leaders on Autism Speaks, we can increase the
likelihood that the issue will be brought up to the National Council. I also realized that the things we ASAN
members make for the silent auction, like the stuff I make, will show the
public how committed we ASAN members are to our cause when they see the hard
work we’re willing to put into to them.
On Monday I went down to the
Verizon store and got my new phone and the protection case. On my way back I ran into Kriti and she gave
me a ride. I got back and read the
reading for my Cinematography class. I
went to that class where I got ten out of ten on the quiz. Then I just starting feeling frustrated about
my struggles to write a good haiku. After
class I talked to Erin. I got back and
heard Mardy say a guy named Alex was looking for me asking about homework, and
I realized it must have been the guy from my Anthropology of Food class. Then I ran on the treadmill for about an hour
while reading more of The Art of War. Then I saw Alex at Late Night and he asked if
there was any homework due tomorrow, which I told him there wasn’t. I also read down there on my phone that a
good haiku commented on something from ones daily life and who it related to
life itself.
I went down to Break Time and
got some Doritos, and on my way back I thought about the goose I saw running in
the streets of Warrensburg at night, and it reminded me of the saying “Not all
who wander are lost.” And that spoke
very true to me, like having love interests who are selfish and egotistical and ends up being like
a siren to Greek mariners rather than a companion, but we find our way out, just
like the goose managed to survive in the city with its cars and traffic. And in the same way, I am like the goose
being an autistic in a neurotypical-dominated world. I remembered to that a few yards away, a
flock of geese were quacking, as if they missed their member who was
missing. Perhaps, I thought remembering
how Teigan said they had tried to get me involved with ASAN-KC for a long time,
I was the lost goose, and the others were ASAN-KC. Then I thought that goose would make a
wonderful subject for a haiku. When I
got back Hillary suggested we work on the journal entries another night this
week, which was a relief to me. Soon
after that I posted on Facebook the news about me good quiz results, to show
life as an autistic in college. I also
did write a haiku going:
A lone goose
wanders through the streets
in an urban environment.
Not exactly the traditional
haiku structure, but oh well.
The next morning, I had breakfast
with April. Then I read a lot of the
reading for my Anthropology of Food class. After class I read a lot of the reading for my American Renaissance
class, while I sat with Josiah. After my
Creative Problem-Solving class I got myself a white chocolate blast at
Jazzman’s as a reward for all my hard work. I also saw on Facebook that I had gotten a message from a woman named
Katie Lindgren, who told me she was a literature teacher at Horizon Academy,
and that my former teacher of mine, her colleague, Vicki Asher, referred her to
me, saying I had started an autism group at Johnson County Community
College. She and her class had just
finished reading John Elder Robison’s book Look
Me in the Eye about his life with Asperger syndrome, and they really
connected to it. They also wanted
someone to come talk to them about opportunities out there for adults with
autism and wanted to know if I were able to come speak to her class about my
transition from Horizon to adulthood. Realizing I don’t have classes on Fridays, I messaged her back saying I
could speak to them next Friday. She
responded saying that would be great. I
realized how we the autistic community, I realized that, like any culture, the
beliefs of us autistic people, both temporal and religious, have been shaped by
our common experiences.
That night I ended up missing
dinner time in the dining hall. I made
another bracelet and then a coaster, realizing afterwards that I needed to make
three more coasters to have six sets. I
soon came to realize that autism discrimination against females is basically
another form of rape because without the right social skills, autistic females
may rely on physical intimacy more to stay in a relationship and might not
know how to assert their boundaries in such a capacity. I later made another friendship bracelet for
the silent auction. Later I went down to
Late Night and had a coke while I made a bracelet from plarn. Then I went to Break Time and got some
Altoids, trying to ease my sense of disorientation, before going to Planet Sub
and eating a big meaty sandwich to make up for the dinner I hadn’t had. I was awake well into the night, and ended up
drinking a beer before sleep, getting a new bottle cap for my collection along
with it. The next day I then had a
realization: that autistic people worked so hard to pretend to be “normal” (not
autistic), and that going to an autism group would mean they have to work
harder to pretend by having to make sure no one they knew found out they were
in it, and thus might not come to the group for that reason. Instantly, I went down to the OAS Office to
make an appointment with Barbara on how to mitigate that problem.
On Saturday I went down to
Hillary’s room and met her friend John. After that I met her dad and after we went to the bookstore to get some
medicine for his back, which he hurt last night mowing the lawn, we ate brunch
outside the Union and got plenty of free stuff. We saw President Ambrose after that, and then went to his lawn where I
saw Barbara and Mr. B, and met Jane, a new THRIVE intern, and got plenty more
free stuff. Hillary’s dad left and then
she, John, and I went to the football game. She left in the middle to take John home and then I wrote down a list of
Autist Dharma posts I wish to do, which numbered to ten. I got back to my dorm and worked on a
friendship bracelet for the silent auction, during which time Tyler
called. I decided later this weekend I
would call him back. I went down to the
Burg Fest with Hillary, where I had some old-fashioned root beer. We got dinner and sat down watching a band
perform. During that time, I was inspired
to write to more haiku from two pictures I shared on Facebook, and I learned
that due to Boycott Autism Speaks, Panera Breads had also stopped sponsoring
Autism Speaks. Hillary and I also shared
kettle corn. Mardy joined us and we saw
a fire dancer. Then we were joined by
Michelle and I had a caramel apple. The
four of us shared funnel cake and I got the idea to use my root beer bottle to
make a ship-in-a-bottle for the silent auction, for which I realized I would
need really long tweezers that I could probably order off Amazon.
The next morning, I started on my
American Renaissance paper. Then I made
two more coasters while I saw Drake demand Sara give him back his flip-flops,
which he threw at her, and she said to me, “watch out,” and threw them back at
Drake. Then I made some more plarn. I called Tyler and apologized for not being
able to talk to him yesterday, and then Erin. I got back and made some more plarn while I heard Mom say she and Dave
would be in Colorado until next Monday, and she suggested I get a ride home
with Granddad on Thursday. Then I
finished most of my American Renaissance paper while I worked on another
friendship bracelet, while I also saw Sara wrestle Drake outside her dorm. I talked to Granddad, who said that either he
or Grandmom would be able to give me a ride back home. Then I went to Break Time and got some
Doritos and Altoids. Then I went into
the lounge where I hung out with two girls from my hall, Desiree and Kaitlin,
and a guy from another hall named Dakota, and we were quickly joined by
Sara. I went to the doorway to our hall
to talk to them, and then I saw on Sara’s right foot a tattoo that looked
strangely like the autism awareness puzzle piece ribbon with purple, blue, red,
and yellow puzzle pieces, almost able to tell what the shapes within the ribbon
were. I casually sat down to get a
better look at it, and she started running her fingers through and twirling her
hair, eventually saying she had a knot in it and had to leave to go comb it. Desiree looked over at me smiling.
The next Monday I then read more
of my Alaskan myth book during brunch. I
also realized that if I were to get people to “come out of the autism closet,”
I would have to be the first to do so, as Gandhi once stated, “Be the change
you wish to see in the world.” And
suddenly an idea came to me, one that seemed a bit nerve-racking. I took my mind of it, drawing the figures for
the diorama for my Cinematography class. After that I drew a poster for with the letters ‘A-S-A-N’ at the top,
the words ‘Autistic Self-Advocacy Network’ below that, the Autistic
Self-Advocacy Network’s logo below that, the words ‘Kansas City’ below that,
the words ‘Nothing about us without us’ below that with the last two words
underlined in red as they were at the very bottom, and below that ASAN-KC’s
website and Facebook profile picture below it, and posted it out on my
door. I realized that most people may
know an autistic person or someone who knows an autistic person but would good
would it do if so many of these people are not open about their condition. I left for class, feeling anxious about
putting the sign on the door, remembering how last year I seemed to do all I
could to stay in the autism closet.
After my Cinematography class
got out at 6:20, I had some pieces of bread for dinner, as the dining hall
closed at 6:30 and the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network of Kansas City meeting
started at 7. In the meantime, I worked
more on my American Renaissance paper and wrote another haiku. Then I went to the meeting where we talked
about an autism app that allowed people to use flowcharts to help them make
decisions about work, social media, and face-to-face interaction, and Elizabeth
suggested I get several THRIVE students to test it, and I agreed to bring it up
to Barbara at my meeting with her on Wednesday. Soon after that we talked about our petition to Netflix, and I agreed to
share it with some of my autism groups on Facebook. After that we talked about how we would be
presenting at Disability Mentoring Day at Mid-American Nazarene University on
October 17. Then we talked about our
presentation at JCCC and planned to meet at Spencer’s (one of our members) house
to practice for it.
After the meeting I talked to my
dad and granddad, telling them about the meeting and the sign I put up on my
door, which they thought was a great idea. The day went by and people in the hall still talked to me and treated me
very much the same, some even friendlier. The next day after all my classes, I went to the Union and on the way
got a good picture of a squirrel up close. There I did a post on Facebook saying:
I have been trying for almost
two years to start an autism student organization at my college, the University
of Central Missouri, and have been having limited success in getting students
to join. What I've heard said is that autistic people often spend their day
trying to pass for "normal," or pretending to fit in, and it becomes
so exhausting trying to do so and figure out what everyone is thinking. So
basically, my goal at each college I have been to is to create a thriving, open
autistic culture at them, where autism is not seen as some abnormality, but
part of the fabric of the place where people are accepted; a place where
people, as I heard it said, can "come out of the autism closet." At
JCCC, I believe, I was certainly successful. I started the JCCC Autism Spectrum
Support Club and it rose up to at least eighty members in under five years, and
is on the official list of student organizations. At UCM, the problem has been
more difficult. Autistic students live closer and are more frequently in
contact with people who might not be so accepting of them as autistic people,
people who I have seen more than I wish to at UCM. So therefore, when you take
into account the challenges mentioned earlier of trying to fit in, the students
also have to sort of hide the fact that they are in an autism group, which we
have now decided to call the Autistic Student and Peer Organization instead of
the Autism Spectrum Support Group to sound less pathologizing. Basically my
challenge is to create a campus where autistics are open and out of the autism
closet, and I realized I have to start the trend myself, in other words,
"Be the change I wish to see in the world." So yesterday, I found
kind of a way to let my school mates and hall mates know I am on the spectrum.
I drew a poster with the name of the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network of Kansas
City, as well as ASAN's (national) logo, and the ASAN-KC web page and Facebook
photo, which I hung outside my door. And I noticed nothing happened to me.
People on my hall treated me just the same, saying hi to me and talking to me
just as normal. Some even seemed more friendly towards me because I had come
out of the autism closet.
I also put a picture of my
poster up with it. Soon afterwards, my
friend Riccardo from Horizon shared the post and told Teigan and Marshall from
ASAN-KC about it. Marshall said, “Way
too cool! Thank you Ben, Riccardo.” Soon he and Teigan shared it, along with
ASAN-KC, and Ari Ne’eman, the president of ASAN national. A Facebook friend, a father of a teenage autistic
boy, who was autistic himself wrote, “Good work, Ben!” Joyce Downing from THRIVE wrote, “Being a
positive example is a great first step.” My aunt Laura said, “This is great, Ben. Was wondering if you'd mind if
I shared your post to my other Facebook friends? I think it's really well
written. And well drawn, too.” I thanked
her and told her she could share it. My
grandmom wrote, “I'd like to share it too Ben. This was a wonderful idea!” My aunt Nini wrote, “Beautifully written,
Ben! Here's hoping it will open some doors and some people's minds!” The first one, the father, also wrote, “Ben,
if what you're doing were easy, everybody would do it. I tried for three years
to get a friend's autistic college student to do some mentoring with my son,
but he had worked so hard through high school to "pass" that he had
no interest in stepping back into the autistic world. He would have been a
great mentor, but was focused on the road ahead. I understood and respect him
for his accomplishments (earned a CPA) and a corporate-cube job. Guys like you
focus on the road ahead, but figure they may as well make it a bit easier for
those coming behind, while they're at it. I applaud you for that.” Beth Rutt, the director of the Rec Center
said, “Ben if there is anything we can do to help with your student
organization please come see me. I would love to visit with you about the
organization and maybe some things we can do to break down a barrier or two. I'm really sorry to hear that you feel like
it's been harder for you to fit in at UCM. If you want to visit come by the
Student Activities Office, union 217 or the Student Rec Center. If I'm not at
either one Tom or Paula can make an appointment. Hang in there Ben you are a
man of great potential.”
On my way back I saw a flock of
birds in the sky, realizing that they reach the sky when they work
together. I got back and wrote in my
poetry journal:
A flock of birds
fly through the sky
together.
I
decided I would do one yarn painting of several birds flying.
Later I hung out with Sara,
Cameron, Jessie, and a friend of Sara’s. I then got a closer look at Sara’s tattoo and saw the shapes in there
were indeed puzzle pieces. All the while
I worked on another friendship bracelet for the silent auction, and a guy from
my hall named Giovanni came up to me and said he would pay for a friendship
bracelet like the one I was making to be done in green, white, and red, the
colors of the Italian flag. Sara,
Cameron, Jessie, and I all went down to Late Night together, and as I was about
to tell Sara about my squirrel picture she shushed Cameron. Then we went up to watch the movie together,
though Sara left some time before it started, and I went to go see where she
was. After not finding her, I went and
sorted some recycling around campus. Then I got back and made some more plarn.
Later I knocked on Sara’s door,
around twelve, and said, “Hi, I…"
She said, “Sssuusshh. Keep your voice down.”
She
was right. I didn’t realize how loud it
was and it was past quiet hours, and I was glad she had my back. I explained to her that I didn’t see her
during the movie and was wondering where she’d been. She said she had gotten back a little later
after I left. Then she noticed my
plastic bags, asking, “What are you doing with those?”
“Just
making some plastic bag yarn, or plarn.”
“Ok,
well have fun with that.”
She
smiled and went back into her room.
The
next morning, I went to my meeting with Barbara where I realized an article
written by Haley Moss on coming out of the autism closet may be a good resource
for finding out how to make other autistic UCM students do the same, and
interestingly enough, the article is from a girl with autism. I realized that if we could put a poster in
the OAS Office’s display case on girls with autism and their signs and
struggles, their friends might be better able to prevent them from running into
the sorts of struggles those girls often face, and thus UCM’s female autistic
population may see it’s better for them to be out of the autism closet than in
it. Barbara also suggested we put The
Friend of Autism Pledge on the OAS and THRIVE Blackboard and the OAS
subscription e-mail, as well as on the OAS display case. Then I posted The Friend of Autism Pledge on
The Autist Dharma. After that I got some
staples at the Union bookstore, printed a copy of The Friend of Autism Pledge
off at the Lovinger building, and hung it up on my door, with a sheet to sign
it behind it, so no one would feel uncomfortable with others seeing their name
and autistic students wouldn’t feel like they live on a campus unfriendly to
autism if they didn’t see any signatures, but of course I put my name
down. After that I took all my pull tabs
to the front desk, as Ellis was having a pull tab contest between North, South,
and East Ellis.
It
started raining that day and I went to relax in the third-floor lounge. Afterwards I saw Sara walking through the
lounge I was sitting in saying she was going to roll up her car window in the
rain, though by that time it had already mostly stopped raining. I drank some more coffee afterwards, and then
worked on my yarn painting some more. After that I went down to dinner with my hall, where I was joined by a
student who I had never seen on the hall before. I made my bracelet for Giovanni, during which
time I saw Sara and Cameron walk through the lounge that I was sitting in. Then I gave Giovanni his bracelet, and he
paid me for it, for which I would give the proceeds to the screening of Citizen Autistic, for which ASAN-KC was
holding their silent auction for. After
that I went to Late Night. I also made
some more plarn. Then I sorted a
lot of recycling throughout UCM, and then got back to the dorm and made some
more plarn, and soon Hillary and Mardy came up and we hung out together.
The
next day I went to study for my Anthropology of Food test, which was the next
day. I then went on my UCM e-mail
account and saw that I hadn’t noticed the e-mail I had gotten from the Office of Student Activities saying the meeting
was scheduled for today at 3:30. Shocked, I sent out an e-mail to all our
members and Barbara, though I didn’t expect much attendance from sending it out
at the last minute. Suddenly I packed up
all my things, went back to my dorm, and worked on creating a sheet of our four
basic rules for the group-Compliments, Courtesy, Confidentiality, and
Conference, meaning you could meet with a peer mentor if you saw fit), a sheet
on the peer mentor’s role, and about the way our group meets, to help the
members understand it like I do. I went
to the Union computer lab and printed off ten copies of these things. Then I went to the meeting at its scheduled
time and Barbara came and met with me. Sure enough, we were the only ones there, but we did discuss some ideas
that would help make the group more attractive.
The next morning, I took my
Anthropology of Food test in the Testing Center and felt I did fairly
good. After that I read some of the
reading for my American Renaissance class. After classes I got the idea to use my bottle from the Burg Fest to make
a sand bottle painting. Then Granddad
drove me to his and my grandmom's house, and along the way I found out how to
do bottled sand paintings on my phone. At their house, Hurley, for the first time, brushed up against my leg,
and I realized I forgot my medications and told my grandmom and granddad, and
they agreed to give me rides to my destinations his week. Then my grandmom took me to Hen House to get
some food for the weekend at home, and on the way, she said I should ask Sara
about her tattoo. We went to Hen House
where I saw Lee, who seemed happy to see me, and got some drinks with a new
bottle cap for me to collect. Then we
got the number of Dr. Mays at Bruce Smith Drugs so I could call him, and he
could give me a refill of my medication prescriptions so I could get my
medication. Then we went to Minskey’s
together. After that I got back and
called Erin. I also made some more
plarn. Soon after that I learned that
ASAN-KC is meeting at Spencer’s house at 4 on Saturday from Teigan, as well as
that she might be coming to UCM as a commuter student next semester and
realized she may be someone who could help in the group.
