Growing up was confusing to me. For my whole life, it felt like no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t get things right. People gave me strange looks. They became angry over things which didn’t make sense to me. It seemed to me that people were just being nit-picky. I tried to tell them that I was lost, but no one seemed to hear me. In 10th grade, after 15 long, tiring years, I was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome. Of course, at that time I didn’t know what it was. I shrugged off this “official” diagnosis, because after all, I hadn’t changed.
What I wasn’t expecting was for people to stop being so mad at me. They began to listen. I studied more about what Asperger’s was, and my life began to make sense. Now that people had started listening, I felt maybe I could get across what I had been trying to say before. I made a website and I started to blog about what my life is like. I realized that people who are not on the Autistic Spectrum think, feel, and live differently. It is my job to teach them about what it’s like for me.
As I have learned through years of advocating, I cannot speak for anyone else but myself. Each person on the spectrum is an individual. However, I now realize that what I have to say can still give others an insight to what I experience.
My name is Erin Clemens. I’m 24 years old, and I want to help others understand what my life is like living with Asperger’s Syndrome. My hope is that people can learn from what I have been through, and apply it to what may help someone they know on the spectrum. To me, autism isn’t a death sentence. It’s just a different lifestyle.
West Chester, PA
