When I was on my way back to Providence from Pittsfield just a few days ago, I ran into this young man. He seemed intriguing and there were not many seats available in the coffee shop so I had to share a table with someone. This young man seemed very harmless, so I approached him and sat down with his approval.
He was an open and nice person who was willing to share backgrounds. Very quickly I noticed that he seemed to suffer from a mild form of Autism, or possibly some other mild disorder, but regardless, he was very, very alert. Apparently, he was originally from Northern California and he strived to become an actor.
Hearing that he was so interested in acting I reacted by asking why he had not stayed in Cali for this dream, but Cali was too much to handle for him. Some of his close relatives had been living in the Western Massachusetts area and so he moved out to the more remote area.
This man was only living at the YMCA and attending the local community college, but he was super content; just living the relaxed lifestyle and slowly making his life come together. He was proudly conquering his disability with very efficient communication skills and acting in various local and school based plays.
I had on my long white blazer, so he asked me if I was a doctor, although I had already told him that I worked for a bank corportation, but it made me chuckle that he used his imagination like that.
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Just last week, one of my closest friends informed me that her 6 year old sister was diagnosed with Austism. Again, it was a mild form...but the way I see it after the above experience is that on the plus side, these individuals will conquer a greater task in life. They can be content in a more calm enviroment versus the hectic lifestyle that many of us choose to subject ourselves to.
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