Video: A few themes in my Asperger’s / Autism experience 

Laina Eartharcher,

I did it!  I’m a little late in getting the third video posted on YouTube, but I made it happen  🙂

This one runs a little longer, just over 13 minutes.  I did try to move pretty quickly through the material I wanted to share, though, so hopefully it remains interesting throughout.

I’m particularly pleased with myself for (finally) getting this done; I sandwiched it between the ending of an exceptionally busy workweek (which is good; I needed that, as work had been moving at too slow a pace for too long) and an extremely early morning tomorrow (I have to get up no later than 3:30am to catch a 6am flight).  But where there’s a will, there’s a way, right?  🙂

I apologize if my excitement translated into me talking too fast (grin).  If y’all would like me to break this video into smaller pieces and cover the concepts in more depth, with slower speech, just say the word and thy will be done (grin again).

OK, here’s the video!

And the link to my YouTube channel for those who would like to have it.  Thank you to all who’ve connected with me over there!  ❤

I may be out of commission for the rest of the evening; I have to start trying to wind down so that I can (try to) get some sleep before traveling tomorrow, and then there’s the flight and then getting my bearings after I land.  I’ll check in as much as I can, though, even if it’s really brief until I can get “nested in” by tomorrow night, US timeframe.

Cheers until then!  ❤

Over and out.

❤

❤

❤

Published by Laina Eartharcher

Feet on the ground, eyes toward the sky.

50 Comments

  2. This is interesting to me as I try to work out if I’m on the spectrum. I would like to hear more about a lot of this.

    Thinking in images is something I’ve heard about recently as being an aspie/autistic thing. I am a bit weird like that. I certainly don’t think in pictures all the time. I’m not sure if I do sometimes, my thoughts can be very fast sometimes and hard to follow. But I think a lot of the time my thoughts are mixtures of words and images, often images from TV shows, ones that matter to me. It’s like reading a blog where someone has embedded GIFs between the paragraphs, I guess. This happens in particular when I have a lot of extreme emotions (depression, agitation, anxiety etc.).

    I also have quite wide interests. I think one of the reasons I wasn’t diagnosed with Asperger’s when I was assessed was that my interests were considered too wide and ‘healthy’ rather than narrow, obsessive and irrational.

    I don’t like being interrupted either when I’m concentrating on something. I can also get very absorbed in things when I’m concentrating. I won’t watch TV with my family much because I say they talk too much and I can’t hear what’s going on and I miss dialogue and lose the thread (there aren’t many current TV programmes I watch, but those I do watch I take pretty seriously and watch very carefully, following the dialogue). I can watch DVDs with them, because I can wind them back and pause them.

    If I can offer some general advice, it would be good if you good speak a bit slower when you do these. As someone who has done public speaking, if you think you’re going far too slow, you’re probably going at the right speed. Otherwise, it’s good.

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    1. just wanted to say that even though i was able to follow lainas vid at even 1.5, the speed she was talking, i agree that youre offering good advice– in case my other comment seems to counter it. the ideal for making a youtube video would be to talk more evenly and not as quickly, to separate a 13 minute talk into 2 or 3 smaller ones.

      more objective me knows that is better video production. biased me wishes every video was just like lainas vid 🙂 but your advice is absolutely solid, cheers.

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    2. as for “assessment,” it seems in professional practice (as a rule) to be defined as “how well the person fits a cliched stereotype based on early observations that are constantly being challenged by people that actually pay attention and learn, rather than a bunch of dime-store counselors** that are happy to use a 20-year-old textbook notion to assess someone in an entirely different century.” but i digress?

      ** bastard people

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    3. Thank you, my friend! 🤗🌺. I think I let my travel excitement and to-do list urgency get the best of me this time lol 😊 I’ll probably re-record it in sections and yeah, I’ll talk slower 😁 Thank you so much! 💚💙💚

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  3. loved this one, it tops the other two.

    its really easy for someone to say “i can relate to every word of this” but a lot of people wont, and either way i can. conversely, as for having trouble finding the right word for some things, im really good at translating stuff like that so if youre ever looking for a way to do that, lay it on me.

    i love when your hairs down, and as for the speed i watched the video at 1.5 speed, i was able to keep up. i like how youtube will play at 1.5 without making you sound like minnie mouse. (in high school i did some stuff with sample waveforms that should explain how that works. i was interested in editing pcm audio files at the time.)

    i know it wasnt easy to get this out while youre doing everything else, but im happy you did, for me its like a christmas card from laina.

    love and hugs, great vid, safe trip, sis! ❤

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  4. I was glad to put a face to your writing, Laina. The video went by quickly because you are so articulate and able to give us a feeling about thoughts for which there are no words. Thank you for helping me to understand.

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  5. Hi Laina! I missed the first two videos; please forgive me. In the beginning of this one, you said “y’all”, and I got distracted. I am an American Southerner, and ‘y’all’ is vernacular for me. Previously, I had not reckoned you were a Southerner. But your use of that contraction threw me. Do you live down here near me, or has ‘y’all’ just become so common that it’s more of an Americanism that Southern vernacular?

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    1. Hiya luv! Hehe yeah it throws some people off because I write in mixed dialect 😁❤️. I write like I talk, except I tend to “translate” my southern dialect into more of an international one; although every once in a while, a Texanism slips through lol 😊😁. “Y’all” is definitely pretty exclusive to the southern US; the Yankees (up north) generally wouldn’t be caught dead using it 😉😂❤️💜

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      1. I really did. I introduced you to my hubby and son. They like you too.
        I thought it was very powerful. Besides, although you feel you lack words to describe how you feel and what goes on in your head, I can tell you one thing. You’re one hell of an intense person (in the most positive sense possible), very well-read and eloquent. You have a rare gift of presenting complex matter in a relatively simple manner so that everybody can understand it. Two thumbs up dear and go on doing this. You’re brilliant.
        Kisses from all 3 and hope you get to enjoy xmas with loved ones.

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        1. Oh wow, thank you very much for the intro to your family! Please give them a big hi-howdy for me 😁. Thank you bunches, also, for your terrific feedback 😘. I really really appreciate that; hehe I never quite know how I’m coming across to others lol 😉😊. Hugs and kisses to all 3 of you! 😘💖💖

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  8. Happy Holidays, Laina!
    Re. the mental imagery (arm -> arteries, muscles, bones, etc.) – have you seen The Good Doctor yet? It’s full of that kind of visualization imagery.
    Namaste!

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  9. Loved the video. English isn’t my main language (I listen to English videos without French subtitles only since few months) and I didn’t felt like you talked too fast, I understood everything and it was really interesting. Even 20 minutes (or more) wouldn’t be too long when the topics are this interesting and useful. What a relief the hear/read someone who experience the world in a way I can relate to! Wish you a pleasant and safe flight. Happy merry everything to you and all your loved ones.

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      1. No worries. Yeah, I understand, it took me some time to find and work out the rules. But I wanted to participate because I want to take this opportunity to thank some of my fellow bloggers. The award itself is secondary. Take all the time you need 😊 💌

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        1. You’re the bomb, friend! I want to take this opportunity to thank you right now, too; your caring, support, encouragement, and most of all, your friendship mean so much to me! I can’t express it in words 😘😘❤️❣

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    1. Thank you so much, Autism Momma!! I really appreciate your watching and reaching out 😁. Yep, videos can be pretty easy to make (!) 😊. It depends on how “polished/produced” you’d like them to look. Right now, my videos are very basic, with zero know-how and no post-production editing or effects (lol). All I have done is sit down in front of the laptop (a Mac), open the Photo Booth utility that comes onboard the OS, and hit “record”. Then I hit “stop” when I got done. The app is very basic and it doesn’t have much by way of capabilities, but it works for technology-challenged beginners like me 😉. The toughest part is getting the right lighting; bright spots develop pretty easily on computer video cams, so I try to eliminate those with trial and error lol 💚💙. Yes, but think that doing videos is a lot of fun, and I can totally see its therapeutic value. I say go for it! You’ve already got a supporter here; just let me know when you do it and I’ll happily watch and subscribe! 😘❤️

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  16. Hope you have a safe and happy traveling experience, Laina! My fingers will be crossed and 🙏 you are in my prayers, dear.
    Will watch video in a few minutes. 🙂 Congratulations on your ability to get this accomplished! 🌟
    Hope you have a great New Year’s Eve and next Day, too. 🎆 🌟 🎉

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