Right now I am 28 years old female and have recently come to a place of acceptance of being autistic. Life has not been easy, that is for certain. But I wouldn't trade the difficulties for anything! You know why? Because I have learned so much! Life has blessed me with challenges that although have been insurmountable at first glance they have showed me how strong I am as a person and as someone with autism. I am very fortunate to be able to walk as my mother was told by doctors that I would probably never walk. I am also very fortunate to be able to talk and communicate verbally (even though my favorite form of communication is writing!). I want my story to get out there because I have started to become more vocal about this part of my life and I want others to be more vocal as well. I want other autistic adults like myself to share their story and to celebrate their uniqueness as I have been and will continue to celebrate and rejoice in mine. I feel like autism is the face of change and revolution in this world and each one of us is the face of this change. We are meant to change what it means to be "normal" or "conventional". But we need to first accept who we are. We are autistic, yes we have difficulties, but that doesn't take away from who we are. It adds to who we are. We become "fixated" with certain objects, hobbies or intellectual matters. We are deemed eccentric or "weird" because of it. But that is the beauty of it. We become so passionate and entranced by these things that those things become a way we communicate to the world about who we are as people as opposed to a person who is autistic. And take those fixations and passions and turn them into something productive and meaningful as opposed to hiding them out of fear of rejection. Autism is the face of change, acceptance and appreciation. It starts with you.

Louisa Nelson
St. Croix Falls, WI