The autumn in Switzerland was always a very beautiful season, colours changing and just the promise of a winter around the corner. At least it was until the fog descended, I lived at altitude and that meant low cloud base, which much like living in the fog for 3 – 4 weeks each autumn and early spring.

Bring the clocks up to date, two years forwards and, here in West Yorkshire, it seems to have either been raining, incredibly high winds or simply just bitingly cold. All of these have had a negative effect upon my desire to do the things which make me happy; training and generally being outside and exploring nature. I would not consider myself especially to be a ‘fair weather’ rider, however, for a period upon returning to the UK, I rode for an awful food delivery company – this entailed, on average 9 hours at a minimum each day riding during the winter. Freezing cold, with no respite. The effect of this experience is to remind me that I ride for pleasure; even on days when I’m competing, it’s still something I do because it’s my passion. Yes, I earned money riding, but only in a service level capacity, and then, barely enough to pay my bills, keep my equipment maintained (70 hours a week buts a hell of a toll on a bike) and feed myself. In short, I simply struggle with motivating myself to get outside during this awful weather; I see no pleasure in getting drenched to the skin and freezing cold unless I have to; if I;m out and the weather changes, so bit it, I can assess whether to press on or not.

Anyway, today is promising to hold better weather, so I will be getting out for a couple of hours this afternoon.

My route was a variation on a frequent route which was nice, pushed hard in a few points on a local loop – only to be slowed down by dog walkers; the problem with riding on a bright Sunday afternoon.

Some interesting fungi in Cleverly Woods

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/embed/3071876583

 

The Triad of social difficulties 

It’s common that those on the spectrum struggle with the some, or all of the following: –

• Social Interaction
• Communication
• Obsessive or repetitive behaviour

My Background:

For clarification, I wish to point out that I am not an expert on the field of the autistic spectrum; nor do I hold myself out as any kind of authority on the condition. This blog is written from the perspective of a person who under the ‘old guidelines’ would have been considered to have Asperger’s Syndrome* which now falls under the clinical definition of Autism.

Since, discovering this condition, I have conducted extensive research and self-learning, gaining a qualification in ‘Understanding Autism’, as my desire is to teach, I have a specific interest in helping those with special educational needs, my interest predominantly, in helping those children who struggle and the education system might otherwise fail.

Explanation of terms: 

I will use some terms through my blog and I’ll clarify some of these here: –

Neurotypical  – a person without autism 

Neurodiverse – a person with autism 

PNT – Predominatly Neurotypical (i.e. the non-autistic section of the world, or section of the community in discussion) 

SPD – Sensory Processing Disorder 

History:

Growing up in the 1970s, in a factory town in the West Midlands, I’m not even sure if teachers or other care-givers were aware of the autistic spectrum. Statistics dictate that I would not have been the only one who wasn’t neurotypical within my school, class, activity groups, friendship circles and various colleagues. However, much of my formative years were simply put down to being shy.

As I got older, into my teenage years, my awkwardness and failure to quite integrate, despite trying should have also been identified. Dating and social interaction was something I struggled extensively with and I very much suspect that my peer groups and friends were probably also having, or having had much the same issues.

As I got older, I took jobs which forced me to ‘mask’ my social awkwardness. Meaning that, I took on a persona, who was far louder, more brash and far more outgoing than I felt or was. To some extent, this still helps me to function in social situations; however, the problem with masking, much like any physical or metaphorical mask, is that the wearer is hiding themselves and that they are essentially lying. With this knowledge, in mind, I have simply found that it’s more honest to simply be myself. This does mean that I socialise a lot less, tend to avoid things like house-parties (which I always dreaded anyway), but at least I’m being honest with both myself and those around me.

Dating: one of those problematic issues for neurodiverse people. We learn how to conduct ourselves by learning protocols and rules: I, really like rules – I liked the military structure for this reason. However, dating and romantic interactions require understanding of subtlety, something that many of us find elusive. This said, I have had long term relationships, I have been married and have cohabited with several partners. I enjoy sharing my experiences with someone close to me, and I am very tactile (some people on the spectrum aren’t). I may express my emotions differently and I have a tendency to ‘jump in with both feet’ in some cases.

I recently read a which covered this topic [Autism and Asperger Syndrome in Adults]  which had be sat in total agreement with his chapter on dating. This said, I still fail to identify when someone likes me, I often joke that the best way to ensure that I notice is to either kiss me, or simply turn up naked.

Anyway, I hope that this section gives a sufficient background and I hope that anyone on the spectrum, or living with those on the spectrum finds this interesting, informative or even just mildy amusing.

My obsessions: Running, mountain biking, snowshoeing, hiking. These are more than hobbies, they take such importance that I have to remind myself that other things need to co-exist as well. More on these later.

 

For some people, shopping online is the only way to conduct one’s shopping. However, for other’s myself included, I’m very sensory, I want to actually feel or touch, or smell a product. Whenever I buy clothes, I will feel the fabric, if the touch of the item offends me, then I won’t buy it: Also, I get a certain pleasure from colour, mainly blacks, reds and purples; which also fits in nicely with the Gothic side of my nature.

With reference to the above, I decided that sharing a link to the National Autistic Society’s ‘Autism Hour, which is intended to make shopping somewhat more comfortable for those of us on the spectrum. I hope that this helps people.

autism hour

Thanks for joining me!

The journey began 47 years ago: people do not develop autism or asperges’s syndrome. People are born with it. So my story started a long time ago and I’ll only cover elements of this in very brief; albeit, knowing what I have learned in the last 12 months or so, my being on the spectrum should be have evident to many and wasn’t.

Why fit in when you were born to stand out?  — Dr. Seuss