Amazing autistic man gets married (video)

Spread the light

Judaism is not a missonizing religion, but there are valuable messages that can apply to everyone like the one I'm going to share today.

Last night started the first night of Hanukah which commemorates the rededication of the holy temple from the Greeks.

A very relavent teaching that everyone Jews and non-Jews can take is that A LITTLE BIT OF LIGHT GETS RID OF A LOT OF DARKNESS!  What this means is one little act of kindness can get rid of a lot of negitivity.  With our little acts of kindness to others we can bring light to the world, and make the world a much kinder place for everyone.

An area that aspergers people excel in

I remember all the way back to middle school that I excelled in this subject.  It has for so long been one of my best subjects by far.  That is history.  Memorizing facts was always easy for me.  For a lot of other people with aspergers this also holds true.

This doesn't only apply to history.

Last Friday night I ate dinner by a family I know back from Kansas.  I was able to remember quite a lot of things about them that I had not been using for the past 2 years.  I mentioned a conversation I remember having, and even a class that the husband gave right before he left Kansas City.

It's always important to remember and know your strengths.

Happiness is an attainable choice!

I'm doing this because I have seen a number of negative statements about being positive.  Yes you know what sometimes it is hard to be happy with what life gives you, but you know what you always have a choice.

Some people think that happiness is having a struggle free life.  Some people want a life without pain.  The true secret of happiness is appreciating what you have.  That is a choice that we have every moment of the day.  When we realize all the abbundance we have than we appreciate with our lot in life we can enjoy life much more.

EVERY PERSON IN THE WORLD HAS PROBLEMS!  The difference is appreciating that we can do something about them, or at least hope for a solution.

When I was a kid I didn't get invited to many things.  Did that bother me, no.  I now appreciate what friends are, but I was clued in.  I had a lot of things in life that I appreciated so I was happy.

For many people looking at the holocaust and what the Jews in the camps had to deal with can show us the depths of what we can be apprecitive.  But I also realize that there are many seemingly insurmontable diffucult sittuations that people face.  But even those we can do all we can, and hope for the best.

A negative attitude can only help you go lower.   A positive one can change your life!

The only disability is a bad attitude

Note that the Ravens won the Super Bowl that year 34-31

You label yourself not your disability

I have heard quite a few people who focus so much on the fact that they have a disability is such a limiting thing in their life.  For them it is because they let themselves get caught up in the fact that they have a disability.

Growing up I didn't view myself as someone with constraints.  I didn't know what I was lacking, but I knew I had the ability to do many things.  When I ran Cross County in high school, I didn't focus on the fact that I WAS THE SLOWEST (GUYS AND GIRLS) runner on the team, I just kept on running and went from 31 minute 5K to 24:40 5K in 4 years.   I didn't focus on my stutter, and people came to like what I said.  I didn't let that so many people could only imagine me doing something like accounting which I did not like because I liked being locked in a cubicle stop me from believing there was something out there that I could actually enjoy doing.  I didn't let aspergers, and failing 7 interviews stop me from hoping to do something helping other people which I knew I enjoyed doing,

This is not to say someone who is having trouble should just suddenly improve.  I am just saying don't limit yourself!

YOU ARE NOT A LABEL THAT PEOPLE GIVE YOU!  YOU ARE YOUR ACTIONS AND HOW YOU DECIDE TO GO ABOUT LIFE!

What someone with a disability needs

This last weekend I stayed by a friend from college.  This friend has a son who has down syndrome. I had experienced down syndrome people in school, and I have one cousin who I was close to (in the fact that I saw her often).  I told the friend that I don't have experience with down sydrome.  I did tell him and his wife one thing I could suggest to him is that the way his son should go about getting a job (if hopefully he is able to work at a job) is not by competing against everyone else (disabled people are at a disadantage when compared to non disabled people.

This friend though had a good outlook on his son.  He was focusing on his good point and not getting bogged down on what he couldn't do.  I myself could see that his son didn't have a hard time smiling (which quite a few normal people have trouble doing).

What anyone with a disability (and anyone) needs is love, and encouragement.  If you believe that they can overcome diffuculties and you give them that belief they can do amazing things!

How I got myself to smile all the time

NOTE THIS TAKES WILLPOWER ON THE PERSON DOING THEIR PART

I did smile a little in the past, but I worked on myself enough that I was able to make a noticeable difference that a cousin of mine commented on my improvement.

I was going through some hard times.  I wanted to be in a different enviorment, one where I would have more of an oppurtunity to learn about my Jewish heritage (because I realized Hebrew school taught me nothing)).  But then I realized why I was feeling so bad.  I was focusing on the negatives in my lifes and not on the positives.  I worked on being more grateful and started a gratitude journal.

Becoming interested in a Rabbi Nachman of Breslov I took to heart a saying he said "It is a big commandment to be happy all the time".  So I took another statement of a rabbi (the Rambam) "That your outsides (body) can affect your heart", so I decided to get myself to smile all the time.  I just concisously worked to keep myself smiling, and it became a habit.

Although someone commented that it requires a fake smile, it is a lot like doing acts of kindness the more you do the kinder a person you pottentialy can become.  The happiness that a smile generates in you does become a part of who you are.

NOTE THIS TAKES A LOT OF EFFORT

VoiceITT wins audience favorite honor at WSJ.D startup showcase | ISRAEL21c

VoiceITT wins audience favorite honor at WSJ.D startup showcase | ISRAEL21c

The Israeli startup VoiceITT, which is developing voice-translation technology for the disabled, recently won the audience favorite award at a startup showcase at the WSJ.D Live global technology conference.

VoiceITT’s translation app, Talkitt, is translates unintelligible pronunciation from any language into understandable speech.

The company says people with ALS, autism, Parkinson’s disease and other disabilities will be able to use the technology.

The company raised $25,000 on the crowdfunding site Indiegogo and has additional funding from the Israeli government.

Rabea Ziuod, Voiceitt’s vice president for business development in the Middle East and North Africa (who also has two siblings suffering from cerebral palsy and the inability to speak properly), presented the technology to the conference.

VoiceITT was chosen by Wall Street Journal editors as one of five finalists from more than 200 applications. The audience at the conference then voted on their favorite – giving VoiceITT 55% of the vote.

A tale of two people with asperger

Like I mentioned in previous posts I was not as skilled at social skills when I was younger.  I worked on my self, and the results were very much seen on Friday night.

I made plans to go to a family I didn't know for a Friday night meal.  This family had many other guest there.  Very ironicly there was a guy I KNOW has aspergers.  I know because of the way he was conducting himself.  He was not able to read a lot of the social cues, he was doing things that made other people look at him, hijacking the conversation to what he wanted to talk about, and he was not aware that you have to have in mind where some of the other people were on understanding what he was saying (like it was obvious that we knew what he was talking about).  This guy is undiagnosed, but has a proffesion, and even mentioned he made 2 movies (sound like home movies).  I have had experience with people with aspergers and telling people about how to get better social doesn't always go so well (I usually just hint, or immerse them in a social situation).

On the other hand myself I initiated conversation with other people, asked them about themselves, looked to read the social cues.  I have worked on myself, and it has shown that someone there complimented me on my social skills (unaware as usual that I have aspergers.

There are two things we can all take from this.  1.There is no one way that aspergers always looks like 2.People with aspergers can get better, they have to want it.

Autistic boy discovers gift after running away from state run therapy

http://wakeup-world.com/2013/06/04/autistic-boy-discovers-gift-after-removal-from-state-run-therapy/

By Carolanne Wright

Contributing Writer for Wake Up World

In yet another example of how an out-of-control Goliath state system can cause more harm than good, a teenage boy who was diagnosed with autism at a young age has risen to stellar heights after quitting the special ed system with the help of his concerned mother.

State therapy specialists claimed Jacob Barnett would never tie his shoes, read or function normally in society. But the boy’s mother realized when Jacob was not in therapy, he was doing “spectacular things” completely on his own.

She decided to trust her instinct and disregard the advice of the professionals. Instead of following a standardized special needs educational protocol, she surrounded Jacob with all the things that inspired passion for him – and was astonished at the transformation that took place.

Don’t fix what’s not broken

Following a diagnosis of autism at age two, Jacob was subjected to a cookie cutter special education system that focused on correcting what he couldn’t do compared to normal children. For years, teachers attempted to convince Kristine Barnett that her son would only be able to learn the most basic of life skills.

When exposed to the state system of educational therapy, Kristine noticed Jacob would withdraw deeply and refuse to speak with anyone. Even though she found it “terrifying to fly against the advice of the professionals,” she knew in her heart “that if Jake stayed in special ed, he would slip away,” Kristine relates in her memoir, The Spark: A Mother’s Story of Nurturing Genius.

So began a journey for Jacob that would lead to such unexpected achievement that the whole premise of standardized therapy for this ‘special needs’ child would be blown to bits.

A path of passion and discovery

After years of frustration and little progress, Kristine made a radical decision in the eyes of the special ed system — she took Jacob out of school and prepared him for kindergarten herself. As described in the New York Daily Times:

She let him explore the things he wanted to explore. He studied patterns and shadows and stars. At the same time, she made sure that he enjoyed “normal” childhood pleasures – softball, picnics – along with other kids his age.

“I operate under a concept called ‘muchness’,” Kristine said “which is surrounding children with the things they love – be it music, or art, whatever they’re drawn to and love.”

By the time Jacob reached the age of 11, he entered college and is currently studying condensed matter physics at Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis. According to an email Professor Scott Tremaine wrote to Jacob’s family:

“The theory that he’s working on involves several of the toughest problems in astrophysics and theoretical physics … Anyone who solves these will be in line for a Nobel Prize.”

Jacob also has an IQ of 170 — higher than that of Einstein. He is history’s youngest astrophysics researcher, has spoken at a New York TED (Technology, Entertainment & Design) conference, and appeared on a variety of news interviews, including 60 Minutes and the Time magazine website.

Not bad for someone who was classified by state experts as so severely disabled that he would never tie his own shoes or learn to read. If Jacob had stayed within the system, the prediction may very well have come true.

Better to be Kind

Better to be Kind

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Kindness is a trait that many "go-getters" of modern society need to learn. So what if the Downs people and the autistics are different? You're right; but, it's better to be kind than right.

- See more at: http://lazerbrody.typepad.com/#sthash.YcwHPBFi.dpuf

A thought on why a lot of jobs that are good for people with aspergers are not so well known

I have a few ideas why people may not think about so many of the careers I am putting on my blog.

1.PEOPLE UNDERESTIMATE US: Just because we don't have the greatest social skills doesn't mean that there are only a few jobs that we can do.

2.PEOPLE DON'T INTERACT MUCH WITH THESE JOBS: Part of why people don't think of these jobs is because they don't interact with these jobs much (if you don't talk to those people, and social skills is the big weakness of someone with aspergers couldn't that be the answer?)

3.PEOPLE WITH ASPERGERS FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH THE JOBS WE GIVE THEM: I very much admit this with myself and have seen it in many people with Aspergers that we can be very easily be conteted.  My current roommate marvels how very simple food keeps me very satisfied, and one of the people I am working with is doing a very simple job right now (which doesn't bother him (although I am happy to say he has hopes that he will get more complicated work)).

On bullying

Unfortunately too many people know of the pain of being bullied.  One person I worked with really bring it home to me how much bullying can ruin a person's life.

This person was a teenager when I met him.  It stood out to me that he was a kid who had a really good heart.  From the what he talked about I could tell he wanted to do things that would make other peoples lives better, and he also very often looked to do the right thing.  One thing that really hurt this guy was that he had so many bad experiences with bullies.  He told me that he had friend who betrayed him, and started to bully him, and he even teachers who bullied him because of his disability (which he couldn't help).  I remember him telling me about a teacher who was tallking about picking on him (where that is the oposite of what a teacher is supposed to do (to build up a student).

I once spent a holiday staying at a well known rabbi's house.  One of the nights the rabbi talked to us about the bullying he went through when he was young.  How one kid always worked hard to turn the other kids against him.  When he was a teenager he looked forward to getting the guy who was coming to his school from abroad as a roommate, because all of the other kids had turned against him (because of the bully).  When he saw the new kid also turned against him, he begged his parents to send him to a different school.

That's a horrible story, but there are still other details that need to be shared.  The rabbi continued, and told us how because he  left that school, the next school he went to he made a friend.  This friend helped this rabbi meet his wife (the friend's sister).  He told that because he was bullied he also became a kinder person.

Part of the message here is that there are times like when you are bullied that are hard.  But the fact is that where are a lot of valuable stones found?  In the dirt or the times in our lives that are not so great.  Sometimes you have to go through a long process before you can find those blessing in your life.

For those who are dealing with bullies here are some steps that can help you

1.From my own experience with a bully I saw HOW MUCH FRIENDS CAN BACK YOU UP AND GIVE YOU NEEDED STRENGTH (PARENTS OF ASPERGERS CHILDREN GO OUT OF YOUR WAY TO MAKE SURE YOUR CHILD HAS ONE GOOD FRIEND WHO CAN GIVE THEM SUPPORT WHEN THEY NEED IT (ONE OF THE WAYS I CAN HELP YOU (TEACHING HOW TO HELP YOUR CHILD DEVELOP AT LEAST ONE OR HOPEFULLY MANY FRIENDS)).

2.Follow some of the advice on this wiki how (I like this one because it recognizes that there are different circumstances with bullies) 
http://www.wikihow.com/Deal-With-Bullies

Advantages that come from Aspergers

Aspergers is different from a lot of other disabilities in that the people who are affected can actually get advantages from it.  Everyone has some different things that Aspergers has affected them in different ways.

Share some advantages that Aspergers has given you.

For me I am a fun guy (because of the eccentriciness), I can be detail oriented, I can REALLY DEDICATE myself to a task if I really believe in it, I'm able to help fellow aspies, and I don't go with herd mentality, very honest (probably are more).

The right way for an asperger person to see themselves

I can easily understand that many people with aspergers have a low self esteem.  They see the challenges they have, and how much easier a life people without aspergers may have because social skills come much easier to them (everyone in the world has troubles).  They are looking at things the wrong way.

A great rabbi who passed away half a decade ago R Eliyahu Dessler gives a better point of view for a person who has aspergers and doesn't feel good about themselves.  He talks about where everyone finds themselves in this world.  There are some people who are born at the top of the mountain (so much comes easily to them), and then there are people like those with aspergers who didn't have everything come easily for them (in this case social skills) who have to work their way up to the top of the mountain, but as I have seen from many people with aspergers they often improve.  Who is more praiseworthy the person who was born at the top of the mountain and didn't go any higher, or the mountain climber who worked hard to get to the top?

Goals an important part of life!

Everyday I have certain activities I want to complete.  Quite a few of these things are breaking up something much larger into smaller parts.

The thing about life is that if you just look at being a fan in life you won't achieve much.  You need to have goals, things you want to accomplish.  When you see that you reached that accomplishment you feel so much better about yourself.

So take some time out of you day (especially from facebook) and achieve something!

8 successful people with Aspergers from Answers.com

http://specialeducation.answers.com/teaching-strategies/8-successful-people-with-autism-spectrum-disorders

Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) each have different abilities and levels of functioning. What the future holds for each child with ASD is as unique as their individual personalities. As we learn more about autism and other disorders on the spectrum, we can better understand individuals living with ASD. Below are eight successful and widely-known people with ASD who can be positive role models for children growing up on the spectrum.

1. Temple Grandin

Temple Grandin was diagnosed with autism in 1949, at 2 years old. With the help of great teachers and family members, Grandin graduated from a school for gifted children and went on to receive a bachelor's degree in psychology and a doctorate degree in animal science. She's spent her life working to both improve the treatment of animals and to bring awareness to autism.

2. James Durbin

As a contestant on season 10 of "American Idol," James Durbin was open about having Tourette syndrome and Asperger syndrome. Durbin feels that his Asperger syndrome has helped him focus on his vocal talents. Since "American Idol," he has continued working on his music. He released his first album in 2011 and is releasing his second in 2014.

3. John Elder Robison

John Elder Robison wrote the New York Times bestseller, "Look Me in the Eye," published in 2007. In the book, he writes about it was like growing up with Asperger syndrome but not being diagnosed until he was 40 years old. Robison has helped with autism research and has published two more books, "Be Different" and "Raising Cubby."

4. Daryl Hannah

Daryl Hannah was diagnosed with autism as a child and felt isolated from others her age. Her experiences of isolation helped driver her love of old movies and interest in acting. Hannah's acting career has spanned more than three decades. She has starred in dozens of films, including "Wall Street," "Grumpy Old Men," and the "Kill Bill" movies. Hannah is also an environmental activist. In an interview with People magazine, a friend remarked that when she "feels passionate about something, she loses all her fears."

5. Satoshi Tajiri

Some children with ASD may be excited to learn that the creator of Pokemon was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome. Satoshi Tajiri turned his childhood fascination with bugs into the worldwide phenomenon of Pokemon. Representatives of Nintendo have remarked on Tajiri's creativity but have also called him reclusive and eccentric.

6. Sarah Lonsert

Sarah Lonsert, who was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome in third grade, became the youngest songwriter to win the USA Songwriting Competition in 2009 when she was 17 years old. Since then, she has won several other songwriting competitions, released her own album, and acted on stage and in films.

7. Susan Boyle

Known for surprising the judges and viewers with her incredible vocal skills on "Britain's Got Talent" in 2009, Susan Boyle has released five albums, been nominated for two Grammy Awards, and won the Radio Forth Award in 2013. As a child, Boyle was diagnosed with brain damage, but she sought a better diagnosis as an adult. In 2012, she was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome. Boyle has said the diagnosis was a relief because she has a "clearer understanding of what's wrong."

8. Dan Aykroyd

"Blues Brothers" and "Ghost Busters" star Dan Akyroyd was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome in the early 1980s after his wife convinced him to see a doctor. He's said that he has an obsession with ghosts and law enforcement, which led to the creation of "Ghost Busters." Aykroyd's career as an actor, writer, and producer has spanned 40 years.

Kids often love to see people "just like" them. While the path of every child with ASD will be different, seeing well-known successful people with ASD can help inspire children as well as give them someone to look up to.

Do you know someone with aspergers who is thriving and able to live "normaly"

One thing I have seen from a lot of the comments on my article is that Aspergers includes a wide range of people.  People usually only think of those who can't function normally.  This is a part of the aspergers population, but it is not everyone.

If you are or know someone with aspergers who is succeeding and is in a position where they can tell publicly that they have aspergers (with no harm to any aspect of their life).