I have a big family, but I'm not part of it. At last count, I had nine siblings, 4 uncles, 4 aunts, and 13 cousins. That is certainly inaccurate. Regardless, I have no meaningful relationship with any of these people. They are close with each other on their respective sides of the parental divide. Why have I separated from my family? Contemplating this, I arrived at another question: why has my family separated from me? I've always been different. I don't meet my family's standards for what someone who is worth their consideration should be like. I'm an outsider, and that means I appear to be a waste of normal people's time. No one in my family wants to talk about the only topics I'm interested in, so being around me isn't very fun or comfortable. When I was young, even though I was weird, there was at least some potential that I might come to be someone my family could relate to. So, naturally, young me is what my family wants to see. The few members...
My name is Ryan. I'm a published author, a musician, and a cartoonist, and I'm autistic. My therapist suggested that I write a book about living with an autism spectrum disorder. I decided to try a blog first. I try to be clear and succinct in describing my experiences. I don't feel like I have special insight, but maybe this will help some people.