Normal People Scare Me: A Blog About Autism

http://npaper-wehaa.com/citypulse/2010/03/10/s1/#?article=790481

THIS IS A LETTER I RECEIVED FROM MY FRIEND, CHRISTINA GUZMAN. HER SON, NICK GUZMAN IS A TALENTED SINGER WHO HAPPENS TO HAVE ASD. NICK APPEARS IN MY FILM “ARTS” PERFORMING “SINCE WE’RE FRIENDS” A SONG WRITTEN FOR HIM BY JOEY TRAVOLTA AND COMPOSER JEFF LASS.
Keri, after our conversation yesterday about independence, I felt [...]

Taylor and I are off in a couple of weeks to Michigan to share our film, Normal People Scare Me, and to share our story of growing up with autism. At 21, Taylor stands on stages and blows people away. He stands tall (literally 6”10” and figuratively) in front of audiences after so many years [...]

Helping my 21 year old son to “be” in the world is as difficult in it’s own unique ways as it was when he was little and had no language, behavioral issues, etc.
Finding good supports and services for the young 18-30 year old’s after they leave the school system is hit and miss. Here [...]

“I don’t want to hear this!” Taylor admonished me.
Though he knew the basics about where babies came from, proper and improper touching, stranger danger, and the fact that it was okay to masturbate in private but not in public, at 12, I felt it was time for Taylor to understand more about sex, sexuality and [...]

I prefer 100% cotton baggy pajama bottoms with a t-shirt to well-fitted synthetic fibered pj’s that are too “girly” or matchy-matchy. In fact I prefer that my pj’s don’t match at all. In the spring or Summer I might wear a white cotton chemise or shift, (which makes me feel willowy and sexy,) but rarely [...]

I sat there, melting in my seat, smudged mascara, and grungy – if not “ripe.”
As we passed over the Meridian divide, I couldn’t help but notice a shift in my consciousness. I was instantly aware at that exact moment in time and space I was betwixt and between: where the East meets the [...]

Truth be told, though autism turned my life upside down, it also right-sided me.
Before autism came knocking at my door, I was a 28 year old woman with little connection to my fellow beings. I was out for myself. Young and spirited, I lived the fast life in Hollywood, and had a good [...]

If I don’t laugh, I’ll cry. My son, Taylor is now 20 years old. We’ve lived with autism everyday for approximately 7,548 days or 181,152 hours as of this writing. There have been times when I thought I could not handle another moment of the insanity that the baffling disorder of autism creates in my [...]