{"product_id":"poems-of-a-spectrum-autist-9781951472108","title":"Poems of a Spectrum-Autist","description":"\u003cp\u003ehe term Spectrum-Autist is how I describe one who is diagnosed with Autism-Spectrum Disorder. Since I do not think of Autism as a \"disorder, I prefer \"Spectrum-Autist.\" Being a Spectrum-Autist is to live in the in-between. In-between a typical person and a profound Autist. The in-between is a difficult place to be. People can see me both as normal and as strange. At first meeting me, there are not obvious signs and people often assume that I am like conventional humans. The more time they spend in conversation with me, however, that view can rapidly deteriorates, but they do not quite know why. They often recognize introversion, though I have been told by other introverts that I am \"off the chart\" introverted. For a while, \"painfully introverted\" suited me for a label. It is quite literally painful, to be among a group of people, expected to interact, and also to be alone, unable to be the person that I want to be. At times I thought that I would slip into deep autism, never to emerge. Meanwhile, I somehow got through school, college, graduate school, and a doctorate. I learned other languages as part of my educational requirements. Autistic people are not supposed to be good at language, right? It was only later that I discovered, with the help of a brilliant and compassionate psychologist, Doctor James Pallas, that I have (what was then called) Asperger's Syndrome. \"What is that?\", I asked. He first put it in simple terms. \"You are a verbal-autistic.\" A verbal autist. Who knew? He took me through the diagnostic criteria, and it explained so much of my life, my behavior, and the way that I express myself.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Parson's Porch\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/23\/2019\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781951472108\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 222\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.67lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.47d","brand":"Marcus Holmes","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52418845671605,"sku":"9781951472108","price":14.41,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_101039d4-66c4-4349-ab1f-dfdcb0ed2d8c.jpg?v=1775570590","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/poems-of-a-spectrum-autist-9781951472108","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}