Author Archives: Bart Shoaf

Nerves.  Nervousness.  Is there a relationship between these conductors of information that travel all through our bodies and the state of being “nervous?”  I don’t know if the generation that coined the term “nervous” knew it, but I’m learning that there is a connection. May is Mental Health Awareness month, and I am working onContinue reading “You’re Plucking My Main Nerve”

I have not seen the show Love on the Spectrum, but I’ve heard a couple of podcasters talk about it.  It’s a real thing – trying to connect with someone for love and companionship — when connecting with others is one of the basic struggles of non-neurotypical people.   I found myself thinking how blessed IContinue reading “Dating – Pre and Post Diagnosis”

Henry Winkler, Matthew McConaughey, John Wayne, Tom Cruise…are they as cool in real life as the characters they have portrayed?  I’m not.  And I’m not as good of an actor, either.  Oh, I’ve been acting, and sometimes even passing.  But if one uses the Fonzarelli yardstick, I do not measure up to the Hollywood definitionContinue reading “Cool Jackets and Hot Irons”

I scrubbed the oven this past Saturday morning. No foams, no self-cleaning-burn-it-off-smoke-up-the-whole-place method—just old-fashioned vinegar, then soak, then scrub. I’ve had it on my list for about 6 weeks, but my wife has had it on my list for about 3 months. I actually enjoyed the activity. While listening to a couple of my favoriteContinue reading “Cleanliness is Next to Therapy”

I love sports, but never made the varsity. Now I am okay with getting my sport fix on the radio, or a few games a year whether during March Madness, or football season. I wanted to play baseball as a kid, but after years of trying to make first string, I stopped making the teamContinue reading “Not Seeing Fast Enough”

I tried selling life insurance for a short season in my young 30s. It sounded great, helping people move toward financial security, but I wasn’t getting it done. If I had known then what I now know about myself – ASD, ADD, anxiety when things aren’t perfect, “filter problems” – saying the wrong thing –Continue reading “Hyper-Pro No Mo’”

Many studies have been done to tie autism to genetics. Before my diagnosis, I was stood somewhat firmly in the “environment” camp. As a child, and then as a father, I figured we humans were mostly products of the different environments we were subject to. Now I see that it is not an “either/or” thing. Continue reading “Genetics or Upbringing?”

I’m coming out of the closet.  It’s not a gender identity closet, or a secret sin closet, or even a secret nerdy interest closet.  It’s a closet that I didn’t know I was in for the first 53 years of my life.  It’s a closet for some, a desert island for others, and a socialContinue reading “Discovery or Diagnosis?”