Asperger's . . . is not a food

By David J. Mackey

Through my lens of self-diagnosed ADHD/autism/Asperger's spectrum symptoms, this personal story is about discovery, acceptance, and now sharing my lifelong experiences. At 82-years-old, I offer encouragement to fellow humans who might have similar symptoms, or who are with someone in similar situations. I make no pretense of having professional training or expertise in the broad and evolving field of ADHD/autism/Asperger's behaviors. I have simply become alert to the various positive and negative experiences throughout my life that may be symptomatic of spectrum behaviors. Now, I share my experiences and opinions with you, the reader. Approximately 11,000 words.

• Language: English
• Publisher: David J. Mackey
• Release date: May 18, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215976197

David J. Mackey

David John Mackey was born in Potsdam, NY, in the early 1940's,and raised beside the Racquette River in Saint Lawrence County. Those early years instilled reverence for nature and art that continues to this day. Cameras and pencils became tools of choice for his photography, art, and writing. David lived in the Adirondack region for most of his first forty-five years. He later moved to New England and then to the San Francisco area where his writing, photography, and outdoor adventures broadened. He is now living with his wife on the southern end of Puget Sound in Washington State. He continues his photography and writing from this Olympia, Washington home. David spent the first fifty years of his life in the northeastern United States. Now, he and his wife of twenty years, have lived in western Washington since 2005. Both are now retired, in their early eighties, happy and contented in their home in Olympia. David's career included architectural design, property management, retail ownership and management, graphic design, and professional photography. Enjoying his retirement, he now pursues avocational passions of writing, photography, art, and nature study. David has self-published several eBooks of his poetry and experience essays. His current writings are focused on his self-diagnosed experiences on the autism/Asperger's spectrum, life, and as always – more poetry. "It's all Rough Draft until you die" is about Earl, the protagonist, and his experiences of aging. Journal writings and narrative tell the story of the various physical and mental health aspects combined with the challenges of selling their home and downsizing into a smaller apartment in Olympia, Washington. Perhaps you will find inspiration to do your own journal writing as your life continues. This writer has published his third eBook entitled "Reflections, Do you see what you think you see?" about reflected light giving us visual experiences and also about our reflecting emotionally from image experiences. Reflections offers a mix of the science of light demonstrated in photographs, often mixed with the psychologies of our reactions. Reflections published July 1, 2017. David published his second eBook entitled "The Sixth Vortex" on March 29, 2016. This fictional story is about discovering a new energy vortex near Sedona, AZ. (A quick and entertaining read at 10,840 words.) David's first eBook is entitled "Ponder This" which is an invitation to...

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Preface

This personal story is about my discovering, understanding, accepting and now sharing my lifelong experiences through my lens of self-diagnosed ADHD/autism/Asperger’s spectrum symptoms. Now, 82-years-old, I offer encouragement to fellow humans who might have similar symptoms, or who are with someone in similar situations. I make no pretense of having professional training or expertise in the broad and evolving field of autism/Asperger’s behaviors. I have simply become alert to the various positive and negative experiences throughout my life that may be symptomatic of spectrum behaviors. I now share my experiences with you, the reader.

Story Goals

This story is intended to be interesting and reassuring to others who may be seeking behavioral understandings as they, or others in their lives, live into or through their senior years on the spectrum. Perhaps there are others like me who also had scant guidance about aging and had little awareness of recognized autism/Asperger’s behaviors during their lives. I gradually became aware of symptoms in my late 70’s, when I began to better understand myself, causes, and definitions of my lifetime of challenged experiences. Suddenly in my senior years, the curtains opened as I recognized and learned about my lifelong behaviors, and that they were identified, and researched by the mental health profession. To me, not having been diagnosed, these behaviors were unknown and unsuspected by me or my family. Now with hindsight, some of my behaviors had positive aptitudes that have proven to be strengths instead of weaknesses for me throughout my life.

Today my mental and physical health has become more clearly definable, partly psychologically resulting from these new understandings, and partly from my medical activities, all functioning in harmony with a renewed perspective about myself, my past, and my future. This writing is part personal essay, and part loosely segmented life stories, to convey the blended palette of my lifelong behaviors symptomatic of established spectrum behaviors.

In this writing I try to support my behaviors with various life experiences over my decades of living, often illustrating my naiveté, failures, and successes despite not having previously identified or being aware of my behaviors. Throughout those same decades, the behavior symptoms and labels have continued to change in the medical health profession as new studies and rationale evolved. The symptoms remained the same – the names and categories have often changed.

My perspectives are often presented with general narrative about possible reactions that others around me might have had. Looking backwards I wonder by whom, and when, my ADHD/autism/Asperger’s challenges might have been noticed. Why did no one tell me? Artistic and crafting skills that I enjoyed and appreciated as a youth were often mentioned by parents and relatives and have continued to develop throughout my life. Engineering and designing abilities also began during my youth and have been prominent throughout my life. Is all this rhetoric simply much ado about nothing? No, not if you are like me with a headful of spectrum noise during most of your awake hours. Most of the witnesses of my lifetime have already passed on. My recollections are what we have left to work with today.

About My Journey

One subject that has been important to my mental-aging understandings is about the process of thinking. Not what one thinks, but rather how one thinks. For years I have been frustrated by or confused about