Permaculture and Autism, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and Asperger's

Laurie St Thomas wrote: ... This is interesting to me, because my sentences often start with "I", maybe because it was drilled into me that you can only talk about things from your own perspective instead of assuming what someone else is thinking or feeling.

Even saying things from your own perspective (which is the right thing to do!) is possible without starting the sentence with 'I'.

"I" can often be left out of a sentence as a sort of stylized way of writing, or it can just be assumed. For example,  "Once home, there was a sense of tranquility and normalcy not found during the hours spent at work." In that sentence it is understood that the person who has returned home, is the narrator or the "I" of the sentence. It can be written to be more blunt for whom the sentence is about by rewriting it, "Once I was home, there was a sense of tranquility and normalcy I could not find during the hours of work." The second example is running a bit long, and the process of repeating who the sentence is referring to becomes unnecessarily wordy.

Steven Willis wrote:"I" can often be left out of a sentence as a sort of stylized way of writing, or it can just be assumed. For example,  "Once home, there was a sense of tranquility and normalcy not found during the hours spent at work." In that sentence it is understood that the person who has returned home, is the narrator or the "I" of the sentence. It can be written to be more blunt for whom the sentence is about by rewriting it, "Once I was home, there was a sense of tranquility and normalcy I could not find during the hours of work." The second example is running a bit long, and the process of repeating who the sentence is referring to becomes unnecessarily wordy.

That is related to something I've noticed lately.  My best writing leaves something to the imagination, but as an almost inevitable connection.  It lets the reader feel smart and involved.  

Heh. Suspected as much, but not until this year.
I’m 58.

Thank you for filling out this questionnaire.

Your broader autism cluster (Aspie) score: 159 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 45 of 200
You are very likely on the broader autism cluster (Aspie)

Envelope Jackson wrote:Heh. Suspected as much, but not until this year.
I’m 58.

Thank you for filling out this questionnaire.

Your broader autism cluster (Aspie) score: 159 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 45 of 200
You are very likely on the broader autism cluster (Aspie)

But you are also very likely on the broader cool people cluster.

Bump.
This is a critical, perfect and overlooked bridge for those of us with Aspergers. Permaculture is the missing link for young and older Aspergers  people who are sick of trying to force themselves into the fake, synthetic, wasteful and thoughtless consumer life we were all taught to embrace.
I'm  working on my little corner already.
Looking for others in Minnesota or adjacent states to work with and learn from.
Starting the PDC course in a few weeks.
We need to create a way for Aspie people to find us.
Open to suggestions,  Ro

Neil, Awesome idea!

My sister-in-law who lives in the Sierra mountain range works with autistic kids for 40 years.   She has great success with horses and children.  
Oddly my sister is painfully shy.   Although quite average in all other respects.

Best of Luck in your quest.

If you are in need of a job/mountain home please let me know.

My nephew is non-verbal autistic and the sweetest child imaginable. I wish I could do more to help him flourish, but I live far away and my ex-sister-in-law has primary custody of the kids. He's afraid of most animals and loud sounds, but he loves drawing and puzzles and I think he'd be a lot happier in the quiet of a permie homestead than he is in the city and public schools. I think one of the reasons I'd love to one day have my own quiet home with a garden and maybe even a homestead is so he and his siblings could have a place to retreat to once they're older and can make more of their own decisions.

Of course, having a diagnosed family member has revealed several autistic tendencies of the rest of our family. Like my parents had to teach me how to maintain eye contact with people, and how to hold conversations, and how 'most people' work. And maybe most second graders don't get so obsessed with things that they draw a detailed reconstruction of the Titanic and could relate all the details about the different classes on board and what happened when and to whom, then moved on to the Eruption of Mt. Vesuvius and then the next obsession and the next... (my second grade teacher was the best teacher ever - she encouraged my special interests even though she had a giant class to teach).

I sometimes worry that permaculture is just another one of my obsessions that I'll lose interest in over time, especially once i am able to purchase land and actually begin working it, but I'm hopeful that it is varied enough that I can just cycle through different parts of the permaculture experience without boredom!

Caitlin Robbins wrote:
I sometimes worry that permaculture is just another one of my obsessions that I'll lose interest in over time, especially once i am able to purchase land and actually begin working it, but I'm hopeful that it is varied enough that I can just cycle through different parts of the permaculture experience without boredom!

Wow that resonates with me! Permaculture has been a special interest of mine for a looonggg time. I had kind of put it aside in the last few years (I had too much on my plate), but came back to it this year and the interest is stronger than ever hahaha! Especially now that I found the BB program on this blog and I am just obsessed...

One thing I like about permaculture is how diverse it is. I can hyperfocus a few weeks on food conservation during fall for example, then spend winter with my textile projects, then move on to the garden, etc. The cycling of the tasks through the year following the seasons is a big advantage for me. It is stable and planned enough for my ASD and diversified enough so I don't get bored for my ADHD, haha!

I ran across this meme on facebook, and I just had to post it somewhere!

ASD confirmed... 52 years young, stuck with my demonic sister, who now wants to move us into a high-rise condo in dt Houston, TX... Which I absolutely will not do. I am desperate to get FAR AWAY FROM HER.

Please help.

Thank you.

Harold Quintano wrote:ASD confirmed... 52 years young, stuck with my demonic sister, who now wants to move us into a high-rise condo in dt Houston, TX... Which I absolutely will not do. I am desperate to get FAR AWAY FROM HER.

Please help.

Thank you.

If you do end up in Houston at all… we can help each other.  

By the way y’all I’m driving the classic “over five hours” tomorrow as a step in obtaining my diagnosis.  
Expensive stuff! Feel like a smuggler