February 23, 2003

• I was reading an autism support group on usenet, and I got to a message where someone, obviously the parent of an autistic child, said this:
  

  Jake spends most of his free time dashing to and fro stimming and grunting. Ask him what he’s doing and he’ll reply, “making up videos in my head”.

  And someone else, who is autistic, resopnded this way:
  

  I’m glad someone else did that while running back and forth.

  
  It got me thinking about the Winter Olympics.
  
  Back in the early 70s some time, I was a pre-teen, and the Winter Olympics were on TV. I remember getting really excited about the downhill skiing, because it was so fast and thrilling. I could imagine my body being pushed around by gravity and momemtum, and pushing back against the skis and the wind.
  
  I was so stimulated by this, that I took my little table into the front room. I pretended that its upturned wrought iron legs were the push-off point at the top of the mountain. I’d push off and feel like I was skiing down the mountain as I ran through the house. Down the long hallway and into my parents’ room, where I’d skid to a stop like a skier who just won the gold medal.
  
  Then I’d ‘ride the lift’ back to the top and do it again. This happened three or four times, and then I’d go watch some more skiers on TV, get stimulated enough to go back to my little virtual ski slope, and do it some more.
  
  I can’t recall anyone‘s reaction to all this, even though I know my parents were around.

  • 10:38 pm
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