Introduction

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Hi Steemit, my name is Joel Teng and I have autism.

Short greeting video:

I’m taking over my brother @aaronteng old Steemit account, and from now on, I’ll be posting my content here. Please follow if you want to follow my Steemit journey

I was born in the year 2000

.. and apparently my way of communication and most of my daily behaviours go against plenty of the society norms.

Regardless of the stigma, I want to share my story to all of you in reading in Steemit.

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To make this post more understandable to you guys, my brother will be interpreting my story on my behalf

Autism

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If you told me the date of your birth, I’m able to tell you which day it was before you even blink.

I can’t explain how I know .. I just know.

I guess this is how it feels like to be a little different than the average people. My family like to call me a “special kid”

Autism, or autism spectrum disorder, refers to a range of conditions characterised by social skills challenges, repetitive behaviours, speech and nonverbal communication, as well as by unique strengths and differences. There are many types of autism, caused by different combinations of genetic and environmental influences.

I might be socially challenged but I’m not shy. Most people find it hard to understand my grammar and pronunciation but I’m talkative to people whom I feel close to.

I’m not able to commit to a normal conversation with you. I would always bring out factual details to you like what I did 87 days ago, at 4pm .. or annoyingly recalling the smallest of unimportant occasion.

I like to tell you details of what happened on a specific date that could ranged a few years ago. This is my normal. I don't talk about moral conflicts which I might be facing or share with you my feelings in a deep level.

My life is filled with ups and downs. I was officially diagnosed with autism at 2 years old.

My family was confused and stressed at the beginning but quickly adjusted to the new normal. My mom literally got to know every relevant doctor and speech/occupational/play therapists in town. My dad pays for all my therapy bills. I’m forever grateful.

Growing up, I’ve been enrolled into different schools. I was once enrolled into a special needs school but my parents were adamant not to have me surrounded in a special needs environment. The want me to be as normal as possible. So they enrolled me into a public school.

However I got bullied, and I didn’t even know how to get angry about it. I just felt the pain and sadness, and choose to treat my friends with kindness anyways.

My parents quickly switched my school again. I ended up being homeschooled in a local centre, where teachers can have a closer supervision of my learning journey and mix with a small social circle.

Today, I have a close set of friends from school and my local church. Most importantly, I have a loving and supportive family.

I’m already content.

In recent years, I start to get serious at playing the piano

My mom is a big believer of me eventually travels to various places, events, gigs to perform.

So she pushed me learn piano when I was at my teen.

I practised every day just to put on a good show for my audience.

River Flows In You Piano Cover

[Goblin 도깨비] Crush (크러쉬) - Beautiful Piano Cover

I also play the violin & guitar which I'll progressively upload to DTube.

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Closing thoughts from the brother @aaronteng

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I majored in psychology, which is greatly due to my desire to help my brother out. I came to learn that having a sibling with autism taught me how to love better, how to be more patient, how to seek acceptance through empathy.

It is not a disability.

In fact it has enriched my family and in levels we could not imagined. He will face numerous life challenges especially he’s 18 now.

And if he does lives with me for the rest of my life, I will be the most blessed brother ever with his authenticity, innocence and joy.

I hope this story inspires some of you who are reading this in Steemit. We look forward to document more of Joel’s life and deliver more inspirations.

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If you find the content useful, please upvote, comment, resteem, and follow. Thank you! @actsman

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