The Spectrum made me do it

 To explain a little Brian stuff to those who may not know him:

  

 He lives with Autism. Some classify his position on the spectrum as "high functioning" but i am not one for labels.  I feel every individual under the spectrum of Autism has their own unique ability to "function" under different circumstances. While some individuals may share in similar behaviors and levels of comprehension in some ways, they may be very different in other ways. People have asked me, is he classified Asperger’s? I remember once asking his psychiatrist that very question early on (Shout out to the amazing people at UNI Home). I really had no concept of the autism spectrum. I thought autism was either they were non-communicative, flapping hands, and tantrums or very, very intelligent. No in-between or variations of the two. That was autism to me. She said, I don’t like classifications. It limits who they are to the rest of the world. Simply put, he is on the autism spectrum - PDDNOS. He has ADHD and Anxiety disorder indications that come along with everything else. He is Brian, not a classification.  

It turns out, that is exactly how it is. He is like no one else. He is simply the way he is. 

He has an amazing memory, a kind super hero heart, and he LOVES weapons. You can ask him anything about weapons! He is a virtual encyclopedia. He can tell you where and when they originated from, their predecessors, and what they have evolved to today and why. The other day we watched Indiana Jones. He paused the show several times to name the weapons and refuted some that should have not been in the movie because they didn’t fit the timeline of the period. 

To name a few struggles- he doesn’t understand sarcasm, pick up on facial cues, idioms, gray areas, and socially he is much younger than he is physically. His best friends ages range between 4-15 years old. 

  
He loves to live roll play with the kids. Every kid in the neighborhood knows right where Brian's room is and where to find just the right Nerf gun when they join Brian outside playing. 

His social level has proven difficult more so now as an adult. A 22 year old guy out playing with little kids?? Over the years, on lookers have become more suspicious and concerned by this. If they only knew what a kindhearted person he is and that he is just a mix of Peter Pan + Buddy the Elf + and Po (Kung Fu Panda), life would be much easier. I understand people's need for precaution but wish that it might also occur to them that there may be other explanations aside from the disgusting and scary ones. I have often thought, throughout his life, if somehow he had physical indications of his differences, things would be easier. People often see someone with Downs and immediately forgive any behavioral quirks. Brian, on the other hand, looks like a typical 22 year old (that just doesn’t have any fashion sense - am I right Karl?) and is expected to be like one. That is until he opens his mouth  :) 

Life with Brian is not an easy one, but the rewards of loving and knowing him far surpass the difficulties it takes to be his mom.


**** Update since posting this.. Brian found my rough draft of this on a word doc. Not knowing what it was for, (because he would kill me for telling his stories), he said "mom i corrected your thing you wrote about me. I am NOT friends with people 4-15!! they have to be AT LEAST 5!! I don't play with 4 year olds, jeez!!" ;)