INTRODUCEYOURSELF: I'm 18 and I have Autism
Introduction
Hi Steemit, my name is Joel Teng and I have autism.
Short greeting video:
I’m taking over my brother @aaronteng old Steemit account, and from now on, I’ll be posting my content here. Please follow if you want to follow my Steemit journey
I was born in the year 2000
.. and apparently my way of communication and most of my daily behaviours go against plenty of the society norms.
Regardless of the stigma, I want to share my story to all of you in reading in Steemit.
To make this post more understandable to you guys, my brother will be interpreting my story on my behalf
Autism
If you told me the date of your birth, I’m able to tell you which day it was before you even blink.
I can’t explain how I know .. I just know.
I guess this is how it feels like to be a little different than the average people. My family like to call me a “special kid”
Autism, or autism spectrum disorder, refers to a range of conditions characterised by social skills challenges, repetitive behaviours, speech and nonverbal communication, as well as by unique strengths and differences. There are many types of autism, caused by different combinations of genetic and environmental influences.
I might be socially challenged but I’m not shy. Most people find it hard to understand my grammar and pronunciation but I’m talkative to people whom I feel close to.
I’m not able to commit to a normal conversation with you. I would always bring out factual details to you like what I did 87 days ago, at 4pm .. or annoyingly recalling the smallest of unimportant occasion.
I like to tell you details of what happened on a specific date that could ranged a few years ago. This is my normal. I don't talk about moral conflicts which I might be facing or share with you my feelings in a deep level.
My life is filled with ups and downs. I was officially diagnosed with autism at 2 years old.
My family was confused and stressed at the beginning but quickly adjusted to the new normal. My mom literally got to know every relevant doctor and speech/occupational/play therapists in town. My dad pays for all my therapy bills. I’m forever grateful.
Growing up, I’ve been enrolled into different schools. I was once enrolled into a special needs school but my parents were adamant not to have me surrounded in a special needs environment. The want me to be as normal as possible. So they enrolled me into a public school.
However I got bullied, and I didn’t even know how to get angry about it. I just felt the pain and sadness, and choose to treat my friends with kindness anyways.
My parents quickly switched my school again. I ended up being homeschooled in a local centre, where teachers can have a closer supervision of my learning journey and mix with a small social circle.
Today, I have a close set of friends from school and my local church. Most importantly, I have a loving and supportive family.
I’m already content.
In recent years, I start to get serious at playing the piano
My mom is a big believer of me eventually travels to various places, events, gigs to perform.
So she pushed me learn piano when I was at my teen.
I practised every day just to put on a good show for my audience.
River Flows In You Piano Cover
[Goblin 도깨비] Crush (크러쉬) - Beautiful Piano Cover
I also play the violin & guitar which I'll progressively upload to DTube.
Closing thoughts from the brother @aaronteng
I majored in psychology, which is greatly due to my desire to help my brother out. I came to learn that having a sibling with autism taught me how to love better, how to be more patient, how to seek acceptance through empathy.
It is not a disability.
In fact it has enriched my family and in levels we could not imagined. He will face numerous life challenges especially he’s 18 now.
And if he does lives with me for the rest of my life, I will be the most blessed brother ever with his authenticity, innocence and joy.
I hope this story inspires some of you who are reading this in Steemit. We look forward to document more of Joel’s life and deliver more inspirations.
Welcome to steemit @actsman you know what you are still lucky because you can still do a lot of things that others can't. You are talented and that talent will be useful to represent who you really are. =)
Hi @purepinay .. my parents play a big role on that. They provided me with the necessary environment. Thank you for the nice words
Joel, I have a son Ryan who is special. He is born with Down syndrom. He is now 18 years old. I always wanted the best for him and most importantly my wish is that he is able to care for himself and achieve all he desire and to be happy. Believe that you too can achieve anything in life if you want to.
welcome bro
Thank you @yassine04 .. God bless you
One of the most powerful and at the same time interesting and informative posts I've seen on Steemit. Welcome to Steemit my friend, I hope you enjoy the time you spend on here.
I have resteemed your post (basically put it up on my blog too) so more people will see it as part of my #newbieresteemday as part of the Steemit Newbie Resteem Inititative where the idea is to promote and connect new users as well as get their content (of all kinds) out to as many people as possible from a grassroots level.
Welcome Joel,
Thats really informative blog keep posting quality stuff and articles and make steem more effective community.
so lets work together you got my upvote and follow, so i am also hoping follow back and upvote.
Thanks and God Bless you @hammadi
Thank you @hammadi
Welcome! It is really nice to read your story of overcoming challenges and pushing through the tough times. My son was diagnosed with mild ASD recently and as a parent it's sometimes hard to know what will help the most in the future- really what will help him be the most happy is ultimately all that matters! I'm thankful for your post and sharing how much your parents influenced your frame of mind. This definitely encouraged me to approach with love, patience, and to nurture his passions!
Welcome, @actsman! So glad to have you here with us on Steemit platform. You're absolutely right to see autism as not a disability. Life may have been tough, I can only imagine, but people like you is just what the world needed to know and appreciate even more. I have come across many autistic students in my teaching journey; and they have never failed to inspire me to be a better teacher and most importantly, person. Look forward to seeing your great talents! :)
Very great story and its sad how public schools tends to pick on people with disabilities, people that they know cannot fight back so they tend to take advantage on that. What's important is that found your passion despite your disability and steemit will only help you grow better to connect with many positive people that will support you long term. Welcome to steemit! Feel free to check my posts to see if there are anything that interests you. :) Upvoted and followed too!
Thank you ..
Welcome! I have a grand nephew who is autistic. You are an amazing as anyone and am glad you are in Steemit to express your thoughts and feelings! Keep blogging!
Really cool stuff I wish you much success!!
It’s so cool to be able to get a view of the inner workings of this unique type of mind, keep it coming.