Update, March 29: what I’ve been doing lately & Autism Awareness Month

Hello, my Pretties! 🙂

First, I promise not to litter this blog with updates; this is the second one I’ve ever written (the first one being two weeks ago), and since they’re boring, I’m going to keep them to a minimum and write one a post of this type only when I deem it especially important to do so.

I just wanted to give everyone a quick update on what my world has been like recently…

The major component of late has been the intense studying for a huge upcoming exam.  It takes place on the morning of Monday 3 April, and lasts most of the day.

The exam is no small feat.  With a length of 200 questions, which are multiple choice (all of the choices of which are good answers, and we have to select the single best choice), a time span of 6.5 hours, and a price tag of USD $800, I’ve got a lot riding on getting a passing score. 😉

The preparation for this test has been no small feat, either.  It seems as though going through all the practice and review materials doesn’t do much good; I either already know the information, or it’s almost impossible for me to learn.  But with only a few days left before Exam Day, I’m trying my best anyway. 🙂

This means that the majority of the posts you see had been pre-written a few weeks ago, and scheduled to be published periodically, so as not to bombard anyone (lol).

This also means that my presence on Twitter has been relatively infrequent, and I may miss–or forget to respond to–Direct Messages and public comments or retweets or what-have-you.  I’ll remedy that as best I can when playing catch-up after my exam is through.

This also means that I’ve been extremely delayed in responding to personal messages, emails, and longer comments.  It also means that I may miss a comment or re-blog.  I promise that as soon as this exam is over, I’ll go back through the past month or so and respond to anything I might have missed or anything still outstanding.  Never fear – I’ll begin to play catch-up as soon as I can, on the evening of Monday 3 April.

I do find that I have to take periodic breaks from studying, and I do check into WordPress first, so as not to make anyone feel abandoned or ignored.  So that’s where you see me liking and responding to comments and replies.  I’ve probably missed a few of those, too – I’ll catch up more thoroughly on that once the exam has been taken.

As most of you know (and might be trying to forget–sorry ❤ ), April is conventionally known as Autism Awareness Month.

Since I spent last April reading up on Asperger’s/autism and finding myself (and this blog didn’t exist yet), I didn’t/couldn’t participate much in the awareness campaign last year.

That’s going to change for this year. :). I’ve been coming up with ideas since last April and saving them for this year.

You’ll probably see a bit more of my autism advocacy/activism side this April, as I voice some of my opinions to the world at large.  This will probably consist of:

Op-Ed rebuttals to the typical “autism awareness” campaign as carried out by the mainstream establishment,

Attempting to promote not just awareness, but understanding and ultimately, acceptance,

Reaching out to the genuine neurotypical parents of autistic children in an effort to build a bridge between neurotypes and foster increased understanding and support,

Calling out the persistent ignorance perpetuated by the world at large and adding my voice to the already-existing chorus that’s urging the willfully-ignorant segment of the world to open their eyes, straighten up, and fly right, and

Advocating for inclusion, neurodiversity, and depathologization of the Asperger’s/autism spectrum.

This “warrior” theme may or may not be any more noticeable or pronounced than my current level of activism/advocacy, but just in case you begin to wonder, you now know what’s going on. 🙂

I have no plans to leave my comfortable couch of (what I hope is) rationality; y’all pretty much know by now that I’m usually not an extreme (or extremely emotional) activist.  I try not to be the “angry” type, nor the “in your face” type.

You’ll probably also see more “reframing” and “reflecting” themed posts, because that’s where I was a year ago around this time, reading my newfound Life Instruction Manual 🙂

The most obvious elements you’ll probably notice are the uptick in “awareness” and “acceptance” themed posts, the more-frequent parent-directed-themed posts, and the reframing/reviewing-type posts.

That’s not all that April will bring, however; there will still be plenty of the types of posts you’ve come to know and (I hope) love 😉

I saved the best for last: a big “Hi!” and shout-out to this blog’s followers, both longtime and newcoming!  I wanted to thank you for all of your support, likes, comments, replies, reblogs, and following.  I literally beam every single day, physically, with a goofy grin spread across my face, while looking at my mobile, reading what you have to say, giggling with your humor, sending you love and strength when you’re down, cheering you on when the sun shines in your world.

Thank you so much for reading!  Y’all are truly my Spirit Family. 🙂 ❤

With Love,

~The Silent Wave / Ms. Wave / Laina 🙂

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