AUTISTIC NICK’S 260TH BLOG POST
As I fling open the wooden shutters and allow the sunlight to pour in.
I look down across the town square to see excited villagers hurrying around with fixed smiles on their faces.
Bunting is being stretched and attached to wooden posts.
Tables are having virginal white tablecloths laid onto them.
Chairs are being scraped and pushed under the table.
The smell of cooking can be smelt for miles around.
Wine is being delivered on the back of a donkey.
A banner is being placed up high into the sky.
It reads “Happy 260th Blog Posts Autistic Nick but what want to know is what are you top ten most popular blog posts?”
Well dear readers wonder no more, below are my top ten most popular blog posts of 2021.
ONE
Recently I sat down and watched via Netflix “Special”. Special is “a distinctive and uplifting new series about a gay man, Ryan, with mild cerebral palsy who decides to rewrite his identity and finally go after the life he wants.
TWO
A few months back I spent time inside the department of transport office in Joondalup.
My reasons for being there were that I was returning my old licence plates and then filling out the necessary paperwork to obtain a refund.
During that time, the transport customer service worker asked me if I had a concession card.
THREE
I have always been an over sensitive person.
But I think that having been diagnosed as being on the Autism spectrum and being classed as being high functioning this has only to me elevated my emotions.
Small insignificant things can trigger me to explore my feelings and emotions.
Most people are able to brush off such things, like we’ve run out of milk or we’re now going to the burger place for lunch rather than the fish and chip place for example.
FOUR
Friday 10.30am AWST I’m busy logging into my computer, an emergency warning notification appears. I’m not connected to the internet something about a ethernet cable. I panic but all is well within 10 minutes.
Over the course of the next several hours I can feel something happening, it’s like a slow-motion part of a TV show or a film.
FIVE
Last week I was feeling extremely overwhelmed after I had to deal with the Department of Transport here in WA.
Firstly, I didn’t ever think that I would ever write a blog post about the DOT (Department of Transport) and secondly, I underestimated how it would affect me my emotions and my anxiety and most of all my anger.
The anger stemmed from the fact that I had to book an appointment at my doctors, have them fill out a form for me, declaring that my Autism wasn’t a medical condition and then carry that around with me all day Friday whilst I was at work.
On that Friday I was very sullen and not my usual expressive happy self. I thought no one would notice and that I could just sit at my desk, quietly processing my feelings and thoughts.
SIX
Last week I wrote an article about dating at the end of the post I cheekily wrote If you are a single man and would like to go on a date with me drop me a line!
A week has passed since I wrote that.
And low and behold I haven’t received a single dm, email, telegram, letter (handwritten), asking me to go on a date, not even a smidge of a flirt.
Now, it starts to make me think that I am undatable in some respects?
SEVEN
Recently I was on a Zoom call when the person asked me if I needed a five-minute break (which I did) this was because I had zoned out of the conversation that we were having and only they had noticed.
I think looking back on it I was aware that I wasn’t as engaged as I usually was but thought nothing of it.
Afterwards I felt a wave of emotions wash over me and after some thought I realised that I had become so overwhelmed by events leading up to this zoom call that I had foolishly thought that I would be ok.
In truth I wasn’t, and it took me at least a week to finally come down from this but what I didn’t realise was that in fact it wasn’t just a case of being overwhelmed but it was what’s known as a shutdown.
EIGHT
Today I woke up to the disappointing news that the singer and now turned film maker, script writer, director Sia, had sparked backlash over her decision to cast a non-Autistic actress in the role of ‘Music’ an Autistic character who is also non-verbal which Maddie isn’t and which just adds insult to me and my Autism community.
NINE
Currently airing in the US is season 22 of Big Brother All Stars, where past winners come back to compete to be the overall Big Brother winner.
In this current mix is Ian Terry.
TEN
The A word, The Good Doctor and Atypical are in my view tick box television, in that it ticks the disability box and that’s where it ends. This show for me is another example of Autistic people being played by non-Autistic actors and having a non-Autistic head writer at its helm.
I’ve written extensive articles on the importance of having and hearing an Autistic voice on TV but yet again it feels like those within the world of TV are ignoring me and my community.
The current TV landscape consists of Atypical, the Good Doctor and the A word and what do the above three shows have in common? The actors playing the main characters are all non-Autistic.
I would also like to take this opportunity to say a HUGE Thank you to each and every one of you who has supported me, subscribed to my blog, read my articles, commented, liked and shared on social media and just be down-right wonderful and positive towards me and my story.
CARRY ON THE CONVERSATION
As always, I can also be found on Twitter:@AutisticNickAU and on the Autistic Nick Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/AutisticNickAU/
Thank you for reading and I will see you next time for more thoughts from across the spectrum.
Autistic Nick 