You would think I would know better, as someone who often uses my hands to communicate too — I guess I didn’t think that one through before I asked! Thanks.

I’m not just autistic, I also have constant migraines, movement difficulties, and stamina issues (which may be related to the movement difficulties, and are sometimes also related to asthma), all of which become more prominent the more overloaded I get. It’s likely that spending a lot of time on a film set would throw the migraines into the realm of vomiting and the movement issues into the realm of freezing, both of which would preclude acting. Things as temporary as CNN interviews and speaking at short conferences have been known to induce one or both of those things, as well as weeks of exhaustion and varying degrees of incomprehension. Pretty much anything I do has to cooperate with my body’s unpredictable schedule, and my body is so far unwilling to cooperate with any schedule I personally set for it, let alone an outside person like a film director.

If I could do things like that on a long-term basis, I’d have a job. Prior to the onset of (or in some cases the increase of) various physical things, I did have a job which I enjoyed. The only way I ever get away with long-term projects (including my videos) is if they can be done at home or relatively close to home, and on a totally erratic schedule that doesn’t tend to obey my wishes or anyone else’s. I’ve learned not to commit to things I know I won’t be able to follow through on.

Amanda, I am working on a film in LA and the director is interested in talking to you about a part in the movie. What is the best way to get a hold of you?

-ian

The big dog is BIG- I think he would make my Mal (Malcolm the Smooth Collie, my service dog in training, otherwise known as Captain McPokeynose and Destroyer Of Guppies) look small, and Mal is quite a substantial dog!

Hello Amanda

I am sorry that I do not speak English but I understand a little bit, your articles, which are very interesting.

I will come back and see you from time to time

My sister is autistic but does not express (herself) except with drawings.

Kisses

Val (from france)

keep if you need, you can delete if you don’t

sorry I’ve missed you for so many SL meetings, so much to do all the time here….

later
Ivan

BIG dogs still scare me, even after getting to know Rose. Dogs of any size that bark a lot still tend to intimidate me, unless I know them well enough to know what barking actually means for that individual dog and how that dog actually behaves.

I never had a dog or a cat when I was growing up, but my grandmother had a dog who I would see maybe about twice a year, so I suppose that gave me a chance to get used to dogs at an early age. Plus, meeting occasional dogs in the neighborhood.