See

What impresses me about this chapter is my identifying processing issues/delays without knowing what any of that meant.

When reading Finding Kansas, you really should know that I knew nothing about autism whatsoever except my life experience. I didn't know what "processing" meant. I didn't know what "theory of mind" is, but this chapter is a mix of both.

Since I wrote this chapter, I've presented over a thousand times and have explained what processing issues are, and the misconception so often is that the issue means, "slow", but as this chapter illustrates, that is anything but the truth.

It isn't straightforward, but because one part of my brain is going so fast, it makes other things seem like trying to pinpoint a spot on a wall from a quarter mile away in a dense fog. To illustrate, when someone comes up and introduces themselves, I'm frozen in an infinite number of possibilities as to where the conversation will go which makes a response delayed, and yet, when I'm working at a racetrack, that same speed of thought becomes a gigantic advantage as to my reactions to a situation.

My last takeaway from this chapter is that I'm extremely thankful I knew nothing about autism at this point. This isn't to say that people tried. My dad and Dr. Cameron tried to get me to read Temple Grandin's or Dr. Attwood's books, but I would have none of it. Maybe I'd have experienced hope in a sooner time fashion, but then again my analogy and metaphor skills might not have been put to use as I continued my journey of self-discovery.