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<h2>Summer Camps Request More Inclusivity in Training</h2>I wanted to share a wonderful victory with you all! As an autistic adult, I've often had neurotypical people tell me about my autism, explaining how they think I am, instead of asking me about my own experiences. So, I was thrilled when the director of Keystone Camp in Brevard reached out to me about six months ago, inviting me to train her counselors in neurodiversity. (FYI: Jazz Whyatt is one of the most professional, inclusive, and capable humans I've ever met.) Jazz specifically wanted someone neuroatypical to present and train her staff about neuroatypicality and searched the internet to find me. Yesterday, I gave a two-hour presentation to about 100 counselors there. It was incredibly well received. I enjoyed connecting with the counselors who came up after the talk to share with me. It was a great bunch of people. It’s heartening to see the mainstream making room for autistic voices. Things are changing. I hope that the next generation of autistic kids will grow up in a world where they'll be heard and valued for who they are.I hope I'll have many more opportunities like this in the future. I'm grateful to be in a position to be spreading this message of inclusivity and diversity.<figure id="figure-7u1bzrohtlx2586rb"><img id="7u1bzrohtlx2586rb" src="https://cdn.durable.co/covers/9yRIi9iuvAlpxBTZK9ngXdEPGal61EHb3hMeP5KY8c4fKjNtqZM1hxmZ4lJeTceE.jpg" alt="Training Counselors about Neurodiversity" title="Training Counselors about Neurodiversity" class="object-cover bg-gray-100 rounded-sm md:rounded-md lg:rounded-lg" style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; object-position: center center;" data-corners="default" data-aspect="16:9" data-caption="Training Counselors about Autism and Trauma" data-positionx="undefined" data-positiony="undefined" data-fullwidth="false" data-mce-src="https://cdn.durable.co/covers/9yRIi9iuvAlpxBTZK9ngXdEPGal61EHb3hMeP5KY8c4fKjNtqZM1hxmZ4lJeTceE.jpg" data-mce-style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; object-position: center center;"><figcaption class="body-normal text-gray-500 mt-2">Training Counselors about Autism and Trauma</figcaption></figure>

6/4/24 Neurodiversity Training at Keystone Camp, Brevard

<h2><a title="An ASD Story" href="https://boldjourney.com/news/meet-kara-nash-asdcs-rn/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-mce-href="https://boldjourney.com/news/meet-kara-nash-asdcs-rn/" data-mce-selected="inline-boundary">﻿Bold Journey Magazine Article</a></h2><h3>Featuring: Kara Nash, ASDCS, RN</h3>We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kara Nash, ASDCS, RN. Kara is the founder of The Autistic Autism Consultant and works with people on the autism spectrum, as well as educating others about what it’s like to live with autism. She’s presented at regional Autism conferences, schools, churches, law enforcement agencies, as well as to therapists and medical providers. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kara below....Kara, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose? Being born in the mid 70s when little girls didn’t have autism, or so was the common misconception, I struggled to communicate my challenges with the world around me. I didn’t want to be perceived weird or different or to disappoint my family, so I tried to hide the things that I struggled with. Even with all of the effort I put in, I was still bullied pretty severely by kids at school, and the older I got and the more importance was placed on being able to socialize with my peers.One of the key signs of autism is asymmetrical development, meaning kids on the spectrum may hit some milestones early and others late for their age, or never at all. Some examples from my own life are as follows.From toddlerhood, I was fascinated by letters and how they fit together to form words, which then fit together to form sentences. I’d copy the words off the backs of shampoo bottles, record album jacket covers, magazines, and anything else that had the text chunked into smaller blocks. &nbsp;I started reading around age 4. I’d read everything in our small town library by 3rd or 4th grade and had taken to reading the encyclopedia and different dictionaries. With the dictionaries, I took great pleasure in highlighting the words that I’d seen in books, along with the words that borderlines on “dirty words” like “damn”. I was after all in elementary school and some experiences are universal to most children.Although I was a happy child when left to my own devices and the world of books, I found fitting in in elementary school confusing and frustrating. There were things that the other kids could do that for some reason I couldn’t master that I tried to hide from my teachers and my parents. &nbsp;I often felt like basic directions were being given to me in a language that I didn’t speak.Until 4th grade, I was unable to distinguish my left from my right. Because I excelled in other academic areas this seemed to annoy the adults in my life who would say things like “You’re smarter than that” and “if you wanted to learn you would.” Teachers tried to teach me with techniques like the “L” in your left hand (meaning my thumb and pointing finger when extended made an “L”), but both of my hands had “L”s in them depending on how I held my hands.Looking back, I’d guess my confusion was a mixture of being too literal and having difficulty understanding the concept of fronts and backs of hands. Since the back of something is usually the part you don’t see, that means as I sit here typing the back of my hand is the lighter-colored side closest to the keyboard. At the same time, if I raise my hands off the keyboard and turn them palm up, then the back of my hand is the side that gets more exposure to the sun.I had a lot of challenges with visual spacial words and their meanings. Often, especially when I was young, my confusion came off as sassiness or being uncooperative. I didn’t understand what I was doing wrong, I only knew that the adults weren’t happy with my responses. &nbsp;At rest, it’s been shown that the autistic brain processes up to 42% more information than the neurotypical brain. With the increase in the amount of information I was taking in, it often took me extra time to answer adults verbally or to understand certain concepts. This was often misinterpreted as my not paying attention.To read the full article for free, click below:<a data-mce-href="https://boldjourney.com/news/meet-kara-nash-asdcs-rn/" href="https://boldjourney.com/news/meet-kara-nash-asdcs-rn/" title="An Autism Story" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bold Journey Magazine Article</a>

Bold Journey Magazine Article: My Personal Journey

This happened to me today. There are so many things about autism that make driving hard. Please don't make it even harder by judging us as doing something wrong, when we're just trying to get by. I've been driving for over 30 years.When I was in my teens and 20s, I had a box of index cards with the name of the place that I wanted to go on the top. One side had the directions to the place and a drawing and the other side had the directions home from the place and a drawing.The GPS revolutionized my world. Now that cars don't come with GPS in them anymore, I'm reliant on getting the same information from my cell phone.I get that I look like I'm texting or whatever. I'm not. I'm likely lost and just trying to figure out how to get to where I need to go. Please be kind.&nbsp;<figure id="figure-tmmxqi3fumlw2c9p8p" class=""><iframe id="tmmxqi3fumlw2c9p8p" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XsiTUkgKtGU" class="w-full bg-gray-100 rounded-sm md:rounded-md lg:rounded-lg" style="aspect-ratio: 16/9;" allowfullscreen="" data-url="https://youtu.be/XsiTUkgKtGU" data-corners="default" data-fullwidth="false" data-mce-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XsiTUkgKtGU" data-mce-style="aspect-ratio: 16/9;"></iframe></figure>

Autistic Drivers: We're Doing the Best that We Can

<figure id="figure-ugetuf5445lv9vwv1t"><img id="ugetuf5445lv9vwv1t" src="https://cdn.durable.co/covers/116wtMaMyQalFlDEidEkexMlIZXLzUKg9KKtbQxrNcyOUSHdAOzn1CdZ20RRXGvl.png" alt="woman standing near wall" title="woman standing near wall" class="object-cover bg-gray-100 rounded-sm md:rounded-md lg:rounded-lg" style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; object-position: center center;" data-corners="default" data-aspect="16:9" data-caption="" data-positionx="undefined" data-positiony="undefined" data-fullwidth="false" data-mce-src="https://cdn.durable.co/covers/116wtMaMyQalFlDEidEkexMlIZXLzUKg9KKtbQxrNcyOUSHdAOzn1CdZ20RRXGvl.png" data-mce-style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; object-position: center center;"></figure><a title="Misdiagnosed ADHD and Bipolar Disorder in Women with Late Diagnosis ASD" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xs49N_9QlO4" target="_blank" data-mce-href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xs49N_9QlO4" data-mce-selected="inline-boundary">Please click here to view content.</a>Over the years, I've seen so many women with late diagnosis ASD that have been medicated for Bipolar Disorder and ADHD for decades. Enter "Amphetamine Induced Bipolar Disorder" (Incomplete) List of Amphetamines: - Adderall - Ritalin - Concerta - Daytrana - Dexedrine - Vyvance If you are one of these people who have been mis-medicated based on a diagnosis that never applied to you for years, know that you're not alone. There are people who understand and believe you. If you'd like to share your personal story, I'd like to hear from you.

Misdiagnosed ADHD and Bipolar Disorder in Women with Late Diagnosis ASD

<h3>Facial Blindness and Autism</h3>There appears to be a significant link between some autism spectrum disorders and face blindness, also known as prosopagnosia. A symptom of autism is the inability to understand social cues, and one significant way this appears is with face blindness. Please like, subscribe, and visit me on my website. I'd love to hear from you. theautisticautismconsultant@icloud.comClick the link below for a short 2 minute video<a title="Facial Blindness in Autism and Something that Helps" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_A4627csmFI" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-mce-href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_A4627csmFI">Facial Blindness in Autism and Something that Helps</a> <figure id="figure-14x6osp5dtlur60px3"><img id="14x6osp5dtlur60px3" src="https://cdn.durable.co/covers/22INOBlYVFDC8JboMz6RP5yz7vXQF3Xu8Zj2ux2CKGLArqRgQ4VhyID4lgnwGL7j.jpg" alt="a bunch of wires are connected to a wall" title="a bunch of wires are connected to a wall" class="object-cover bg-gray-100 rounded-sm md:rounded-md lg:rounded-lg" style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; object-position: 0% 55%;" data-corners="default" data-aspect="16:9" data-caption="" data-positionx="0%" data-positiony="55%" data-fullwidth="false" data-mce-src="https://cdn.durable.co/covers/22INOBlYVFDC8JboMz6RP5yz7vXQF3Xu8Zj2ux2CKGLArqRgQ4VhyID4lgnwGL7j.jpg" data-mce-style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; object-position: 0% 55%;"></figure>

Facial Blindness in Autism and Something that Helps

I went to see Godzilla X Kong last night and was wondering if anyone else experienced engaging in their special interests this way. Please like, subscribe, and visit me on my website. I'd love to hear from you. theautisticautismconsultant@icloud.com #autismawarness #autismsociety #mentalhealth<figure id="figure-9ssncp677luocm7b3" class=""><iframe id="9ssncp677luocm7b3" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VQGn1XKQjZs" class="w-full bg-gray-100 rounded-sm md:rounded-md lg:rounded-lg" style="aspect-ratio: 16/9;" allowfullscreen="" data-url="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/VQGn1XKQjZs" data-corners="default" data-fullwidth="false" data-mce-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VQGn1XKQjZs" data-mce-style="aspect-ratio: 16/9;"></iframe></figure>

The Autistic Autism Consultant

Blogs and Vlogs

6/4/24 Neurodiversity Training at Keystone Camp, Brevard

Bold Journey Magazine Article: My Personal Journey

Autistic Drivers: We're Doing the Best that We Can

Misdiagnosed ADHD and Bipolar Disorder in Women with Late...

Facial Blindness in Autism and Something that Helps

Special Interests Almost Make It Worth Having Autism