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About me |
Why you'd want to come here |
My name is Andrea D'Amico and I want to be a pir... Erm, sorry wrong game!
Let's try again.
My name is Andrea D'Amico and I have autism. Boom! I said it!
Do my autism define myself? Yes and no.
Yes, because being on the autistic spectrum comes from a different way of neuronal wiring in my brain. I think differently, I speak my own language, I process sensitive information in my own way.
No, because I can live my own life without external help beside my family. It's hard but I do have a family, a job, I can cook my own food, I can drive. It is hard, though. I get stressed when I experience:
- sudden noises, especially specific frequencies
- harsh light and specific patterns
- specific smells
- unexpected physical touching, especially with very light pressure
- new places
- new people
My social interactions are impaired:
- I don't understand social rules when they're not said explicitly.
- I react to other people feelings and emotion with delay
- Making and keeping relationships is very hard for me
- I don't understand how a society can work as a whole
My verbal skills are also impaired:
- I can't decipher implicit phrase meanings or I'm very slow when I can.
- I can't speak for the sake of speaking, I can't have small talk with others
I have repetitve behaviors and interests:
- I need to eat the same foods
- I spin my wedding ring when I'm stressed
- I repeat new words or phrases in my head
- I cannot divert my attention to anything else when I am involved in something I like
- I cannot stop talking about what I like
All of these facts define what I am and have an influence on all my activites. It doesn't mean I can't resist, I can, but at what cost? I exhaust myself controlling or hiding my autism In my everyday life I have to control my autism because I'm too different from the average earthling. That's my disability. Living in a neurotypical society takes a toll on the energy I have to do what I have to do everyday.
I'm autist but I also am a father, a husband, a physician, a web developer, a gamer, a writer, a musician, a photographer...
I love reading SF, fantasy, ucronic, post-apocalypse, utopian and dystopian novels.
I love watching horror, SF, romantic, super-heroes movies and series.
I love sports with wheels, roller blades, foot scooters, bicycle.
I love the technical aspects of everything.
I love words, etymology, ancient languages.
I will write about all of this, and more!