Brown Side Of Autism

I recently commented, “Being autistic is awesome!”—and I meant it. For me, autism is a part of my identity that has shaped how I see the world, how I think, and how I connect with others. It’s given me creativity, deep focus, and a unique perspective that I wouldn’t trade. But someone replied to me and said, “To each their own, it can be very difficult especially without proper support.” And honestly… they’re not wrong. That moment made me stop and think. Autism can be awesome—but it can also be incredibly hard. There are people on the spectrum who struggle daily with communication, sensory overload, misunderstanding from others, and lack of support systems. Some don’t have access to the resources, community, or encouragement that can make a huge difference. And when support is missing, autism can feel less like a strength and more like a constant challenge. For me, I’ve experienced both sides. I’ve had moments where I felt different, misunderstood, or behind. Times where things that s...

Fake Patty’s Day in Ohio is a different kind of crazy. Bars packed shoulder to shoulder, green everywhere, music blasting so loud you can feel it in your chest—it’s not just a party, it’s a full-on sensory experience. For me, being autistic, moments like this can go either way. The noise, the lights, people bumping into you—it can get overwhelming fast. At times, it felt like everything was happening all at once. Conversations overlapping, music fighting to be heard, bodies constantly moving. It’s the kind of environment where your brain is trying to process  everything  at once. But in the middle of all that chaos, something shifted. We ran into Delaney’s friend Khayla, who ended up joining us at the bar while her fiancé Kaerus stayed back. She was telling funny stories that had everyone laughing, and I found myself locking into that moment—focusing on her voice, her energy, and the conversation instead of everything else going on around me.  That’s something I’ve learne...

  On March 11th I had a post-op appointment  A toe procedure for my hangnail  On my right foot  As I got the one on my left foot done And it healed up nicely and no pain It was time to get the next one done  Because I wanted to get it done  Because with these hangnails  I have pain in them when I put my shoes on So when we went to LECOM  I already had know what to expect  And I wasn’t nervous about it this time So as I went on inside and checked in Got on the scale Then got my blood pressure checked  Then went and took my right shoe And sock and compression sock off The resident doctor looked at it And asked me if it’s the same spot  As the other toe and I said yes  So then he went ahead and got started  And did the same procedure  That was done to the other toe But this time it took a while for him To get the nail out  As it was not as big as last time  So he got them out piece by piece  With the big c...

  At the autism adult social group my brother David and I rode the lift this time. We started at noon and for lunch we had Papa John’s Pizza 🍕. For our activities for today we played bingo as the first one. Mrs. Ashley started reading out the different items that was on the card and we had to place a chip on the cards she read out. I had got bingo the 2nd round and for a prize I picked out the Autism Society Northwestern Pennsylvania hat 🧢🧩 For this round everyone got a chance to pull a card out of the bin and when it was my turn I pulled out the March 17th Calendar slip. For our next activity we played a matching game. Everyone took a turn to find the matching cards. For karaoke, we sung the whiskey in a jar song by The Dubliners and we had to get the lyrics because we didn’t know this song & it was funny because we didn’t know the lyrics at all. Daniel Gillespie  On a Saturday morning me and my brother  Daniel had got on the lift this time To the Autism Society...