Autism can be a superpower once you realize that you are autisic.

This blog post was inspired by an on going conversation that I have been having with the mother of a lifelong friend,who herself happens to work with two autistic individuals. We have an ongoing conversation about what it is like to be autistic, now that I publicly admit that I am. I do not claim to speak for all autistic people. The spectrum is wide and there are many different permutations of what it means to be autistic. I speak as a 46 year old man with aspergers syndrome who is a photographer, byzantine iconographer, multi-media artist and a person who loves dogs.

I made a post this morning of a video about a cellist who has aspergers syndrome(like me). The video had the headline “Autism: Disability or neurological difference?” My response to my friend’s mom who said she found the video rather informative was “ There are some of us on the spectrum who view our autism as a superpower.”

I am currently 46 years old. It was not until I was 41 that I learned that I was autistic, and not until I was 44 that I was willing to publicly discuss the fact that I am autistic. Now that I understand what autism is and I understand how to control the emotional elements of it, I am able to embrace being autistic as a superpower . Autism is a super power because it is what fuels my photography and my artistic ability. My 1st ex wife loved my artistic ability but didn’t like the idiosyncrasies of my temperament. At that time I did not know that I was autistic but I knew that the idiosyncrasies of my personality were what fueled my artistic abilities. Now that I understand the parameters of the game, I feel I am able to perform it better and maybe even start enjoying it.

Maybe you will recall a cheesy sitcom from the 1980's called “The Greatest American Hero”? The premise of the show was that an average guy received a suit from aliens that gave him superpowers when he put it on. The suit was similar to what Batman or Superman would wear. The suit came with an instruction manual, but shortly after getting the suit the main character lost the instructions. When he put on the suit he was never really able to control it because he didn’t know what he was doing…

The experience of the protagonist of the show Greatest American Hero is kind of what it is like to grow up autistic without understanding that you are autistic. You know that you are different to others in that you have gifted abilities. The problem is that you don’t understand what the parameters are, how to use them and what you’re limiting forces are. Once you come to understand those things, you are not more free to enjoy the gifts which life has given you. Thus for many of us on the spectrum, diagnosis with autism is a blessing in a very real way. Often times what happens is that once a person is diagnosed the things that were misunderstood or not understood at all in life start to make sense and work for you. It is similar to an analogy which I use for the rules of icon painting. I compare icon painting to football. Icon painting has many rules which were established by iconographers over the last 2000 years. In the same way, a game of American football has many rules. People tend to think of icon painting as being very rule heavy and yet the same people don’t tend to think of American football as being rule heavy. Once you know the parameters of the game, you are able to play football. Likewise, once you know the parameters of icon painting, you are able to paint icons. For those of us who have either been diagnosed with autism or figured it out on our own, once you learn that you are autistic, then you can start to understand how to function within the elements of autism. Once you have done this, then you are free to view autism as a superpower, which is something that I now do. Glory to God in the highest!