Welcome To My Autistic Life

Hello, my name is Eric and unfortunately, I have some type of Autistic or Asperger's disorder. I think the cause of this is that when I was born the umbilical cord was wrapped around my neck stopping oxygen running up to my brain and I was blue. My parents told me this and I saw pictures of when I was just a few seconds old. I was diagnosed Autism at age 14 when I was in middle school because I got into a lot of trouble in the 7th grade and the principal suggested to my parents that I see a psychiatrist and the doctor said I was like Autistic.

That's my graduation picture from high school. I graduated in 2000 with a regular diploma. So, if there's any Autistic people out there or any parents of an autistic child, it's possible for them to graduate. People who have autism look normal, but don't think the same. By looking at my Graduation picture, you probably wouldn't think I have any disorder. Right now I'm currently attending a school to learn everything about computers.  Update: View my resume or about me page for an update since this page was made in April, 2001.

People with some type of Autistic or related disorder are slow in comprehending, they keep to themselves in their own little world, (like when I was young), can't or have trouble communicating or maybe shy. I can communicate in an "e-mail" or chatting online better then in person or over the phone. I remember when I was in school, I had trouble asking the teachers for help and didn't make that many friends. Some people with Autism can't even talk even when there old enough to talk.. I seen a movie about an Autistic child that was 12 or 13 and he couldn't talk and the mother had to shout at him, it's not that he wasn't listening, it's that he couldn't hear her because he was in his own world and it's not that he didn't want to listen or refuse to listen, that's just the way Autism is. Rain Man was different. He was a savant, which only make up 10% of the autistic population. He counted toothpicks in a few seconds and did large number math calculations in his head in seconds, which is amazing, but he was also stubborn, he always had to be in bed at 11pm no matter what and watch his favorite TV show no matter what. I can't do large number math calculations in my head in seconds, but I seem to remember numbers for some reason like if someone named off a set of numbers to me I might be able to say them back and when I read I seem to always remember the numbers in the book more then the words or what the story is about. That's just the way our Autism brains work.

What I really want is to be cured! But currently there isn't one, but the Cure Autism Now (CAN) organization is hoping for a cure! There a nonprofit organization, so feel free to donate any money to them, (they accept credit cards.) The NAAR, National Alliance for Autism Research -- www.naar.org organization is also doing research for biological treatments and maybe a cure. There are also others doing research.

It is a fact by doctors that specialize in Autism that they have an unusual blood stream and they digest food differently then a normal person. For some reason the chemicals in the dairy and wheat products go through the blood stream in an Autistic body differently then a normal person. The "second" that an autistic person eats a dairy and wheat product, those chemicals somehow end up in the brain and cause the person's brain to malfunction. In other words, the dairy and wheat products block out their brain cells and causes the autistic person to be somewhat drunk and not to be as smart as they could be. The dairy and wheat free diet helps an autistic child or related disorder. It helps them to become smarter and to get better grades in school because that's what happened to me. I don't enjoy being on the wheat-dairy free diet, but I know it helps me. Most doctors don't believe in this, but that's because they don't specialize or know of Autism.

My mother told me I cried a lot when I was a baby more then my older brother and my parents didn't know why then, but now we all believe that my stomach and brain was upset because of my baby milk formula. My mother made a web site on: dairy and wheat free recipes and tips. This diet can help special people, (people don't have to get sick from the wheat and diary to go on this diet), I never got sick. People that have any type of medical retardation can maybe benefit from this diet. It's how the Autistic person feels, not how they look/acts like cause the diet is not a cure for Autism, but it does help them in someway.

A few years ago, my father done research on Autism and found out about that diet. I was against it at first because cutting out dairy and wheat is hard. I had to fill up a bottle of urine for a day and sent that to Dr. Cade in FL to examine it and he called and said that it was "very close" for me and I should go ahead and get a blood test done. So I done that, had blood withdrawn from my arm and that was sent that to him (doctor in FL) and he sent the results and it said that I was infected by wheat and dairy and in the results it said I was infected more in the dairy then the wheat. So, that was in the 10th grade when all of that was happening. So, the following summer I started the wheat-dairy free diet, but it takes time, my father said and on the autism - wheat-dairy free diet web sites it said it would take 1 year before all of the chemicals in the wheat and dairy products wouldn't be in my brain anymore. The reason the wheat-dairy free diet is good for autistic people is because autistic people don't digest there food "right" and too many chemicals from the wheat and dairy products went into my brain instead of through the butt. It's very hard to explain how or why that is. You can go to the Autism page and find where it says Nutrition Related and it has all info about the diet. I sure wish I can get the Secretin or any other medications so I won't have to be on this diet anymore, a medication that would made the dairy and wheat digest the way it should, but I don't know of any medication. Their is no miracle drug! Even a cure for Autism would help. If I get cured from Autism then maybe I wouldn't have to be on this diet anymore. Update: When I originally wrote this webpage, those were my feelings, but I don't feel that way anymore. I don't mind being on the diet anymore. I'm not going hungry, there are foods that I enjoy.

When I was in school in 11th grade, I had a hard time finding foods that are wheat and dairy free at lunch; sometimes I didn't have a choice unless I brought my lunch. I remember 1 day in lunch, there was a choice between spaghetti, pizza or cheeseburgers. What am I supposed to eat?! Well, I ate pizza and every bite I took of that pizza, I felt my brain acting different. It doesn't take long for the chemicals from the wheat/dairy products to translate into my brain, because I really felt it happening. I ate the whole slice of pizza and in the following class I coughed 2 times probably because my body and my digestion system is not used to wheat and dairy because I've been on the diet for about 4-5 months. I sort of messed up right there.

The diet has helped me a lot though out the years because I felt better about myself and I got better grades in school and I didn't get into trouble that much anymore. I know it's hard to find products that are wheat and dairy free because everything fried just about has a coating on it like the Burger King onion rings and fries and the Arby's, Hardee's, and Wendy's fries. But the McDonald's fries are okay (my mother read on a web site before) - Update: The McDonald's fries aren't okay anymore, they now have dairy and wheat in the oil used to make the fries since approximately March, 2006.  The Captain D's fries are okay, but not the country style fish (it's made with flour) and the hushpuppy too and also the batter fish is made with milk. The Baked or boiled fish and rice are okay.

As my parents told me, I didn't start talking until I was 5 years old. At first I thought this was normal because I've heard on one of the old Andy Griffith shows that "Goober Pyle" didn't start talking until he was 5 years old too. It was the color show where "Aunt Bee" was taking care of a baby for a week and every time she tried to hold the baby, the baby cried. Anyway, Goober came over one day with some toys for the baby to play with and he mentioned in these words: "I didn't start talking until I was 5 years old, I guess I didn't have anything to say." Those were his exact words from the show. I've seen those shows so many times.

My mother told me when I was 2-4 years old, I attended a "pre-school" and then when I was 5, I attended a "workshop" for kids. Then when I was 6, I started Kindergarten, which in my county that's a year behind, I should of started Kindergarten when I was 5, but my mother said I wasn't mature enough and I wasn't quite potty trained. That's why she held me back a year and I remember my Mom said I even peed in my pants in Kindergarten! I sort of remember a little bit of Kindergarten and 1st grade and 2nd grade and so on. I had "speech" in pre-school and every year of elementary school up to the 4th grade and still as of today I mispronounce some words like I would say: sink instead of think. In an Autistic brain, I thought I was saying think, but it sounded like sink. That is part of the language and communication problem with Autistic kids/people.

When I was in the 5th grade I was a manager for the school's basketball team because the principal was trying to help, because I was getting into a lot of trouble in elementary school and he thought that giving me a good job would change me, but it didn't. I guess he thought I didn't appreciate school and making me a manager would make things different, but my behavior problem wasn't that I didn't appreciate school, it's just that I couldn't control myself. I remember when I was in school if somebody did something to me, to make me mad, like throwing a paper wad at me or calling me names, I would always throw the paper wad back and of course the teacher only saw me and not the other person or I would get very mad at people calling me names. I remember one time in the 6th grade, the whole class was playing a joke on me to see how many nicknames they can come up for Eric and one day during they had over 100 bad and I actually lunch nicknames screamed aloud in the lunch room like a girl! I don't get that mad easily anymore.

Being Autistic vs. normal is not the same. Autistic people always think of things differently then a normal person. I've lived for 20 years and I know that I'm different. I hate being different and thinking different. Sometimes Autistic people don't realize what they see as in looking at something, and they could be looking somewhere they shouldn't be because they're daydreaming. Their minds can wonder off easily. When I was little, I picked up on the weirdest things like stupid nicknames and sometimes I hear something different in my head then what people are really saying and I would pick up on repeating the weirdest things. I also would have to know ever little thing when I was young, things that didn't really matter. Now I try to be not like that. Probably all Autism or related disorder peoples think their okay, but their parents might think something is wrong with them, and the child doesn't understand why because I didn't understand why my Dad printed off and read a bunch of Autism research when I was in the 10th grade in high school, but now I know he was trying to help me and who knows where I'll be today if I've never started the dairy and wheat free diet and took medications.

As for me, my mind is like a box that doesn't know much. I have this tone or ringing sound in my head at times or at times my mind goes completely blank or if I'm thinking about something, I can easily daydream. That is just a part of my slow Autism self.

My interests include: the internet, the computer, country music, and old TV shows like The Andy Griffith Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, I Love Lucy, The Jeffersons, All in the Family, Three's Company, Honeymooners, Mama's Family, Chips, Matlock. The current shows I like are Diagnosis Murder, The Practice, Family Law, Judging Amy and a few comedies like Everybody Loves Raymond, King of Queens, Yes, Dear, and Becker (The Monday night shows on CBS) and "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" on ABC. I'm a big Andy Griffith fan! I have all of the Andy Griffith shows and Matlock shows on tape and a few of the other shows as well. I also like playing Monopoly and sometimes checkers when I win of course, haha.

If you want to contact me, you may leave a message in my guestbook or e-mail me at ericalsome@hotmail.com  Good luck to everybody who is affected by autism or related disorder.

Update: Visit my new website at www.ericsissom.com