• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Geek Club Books

Autism Education, Awareness, Acceptance, Advocacy

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Home
  • About
    • Autism Storytelling for Hope and Change
    • Speaking
    • Creative Team & Educational Specialists
    • Advisory Board
    • Our Benefactors
    • Press
    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclaimer
  • Blog
    • All Articles and Interviews
    • Articles By Author
  • Families
    • Welcome Autism Families!
    • Autism Resources Bundle!
    • Freebies
    • Mighty League Autism Moms
  • Educators
    • Welcome Educators!
    • Autism EDU
    • Bluebee TeeVee, Autism Information Station
    • School Visits
  • Comics
    • Autism Comics Overview
    • Autism in Real Life Comic
    • Autism Spectrum Comic
    • End Awareness Comic
    • Understanding Autism Comic
    • Mighty League 1: Autistic Hero Comic
    • Mighty League 2: Autistic Hero Comic Book
  • Resources
    • How to Find Resources
    • Asking Autistics
    • Autistic Self-care
    • Amazon Autism Book Shop
    • What is Autism?
    • Books By Autistic Authors
    • What is Autism Awareness?
    • Autism Glossary
    • Autism Myths
    • Autistic or Person with Autism?
    • Speech and Language
    • Autism Business Ideas
  • Zoom Magazine
    • Issue 18: The Black Autistic Experience
    • Issue 17: Health
    • Issue 16: Travel
    • Issue 15: Powerful Women
    • Issue 14: Trailblazers
    • Issue 13: Family
  • Take Action
    • How to Advocate for Autism
      • #Activate4Autism
      • Activator Heroes
    • Make a Difference
  • Contact
  • Donate

Do You Believe in Magic?

July 15, 2014 By Jodi Murphy Leave a Comment

Share on TwitterShare on FacebookShare on PinterestShare on LinkedInShare on RedditShare on WhatsApp

genie-lamp

By Lydia Wayman

I do.  In fact, I don’t just believe in it… I live my life in a constant state of a kind of magical joy that most adults seem to leave behind in childhood.  I find reasons to be excited in everything from trips to the post office (I like to check out what new prints they have for packing options) to working on my Master’s thesis (which allows me to write about my favorite topic).  There are reasons for joy in the smallest of experiences.  Even when something seems like less than a fun thing to accomplish, I find something to make it fun: Cleaning the litter box isn’t so unlike a treasure hunt, complete with sand, while having to do the most necessary of laundry items in the kitchen sink is a great opportunity for sensory fun.  After all–bubbles!

At 26, it’s uncommon for people to ask me what grade I’m in, and while I certainly look young, I think a lot of the reason people estimate my age so incorrectly is because my sense of magic, which is hard to hide, is something we usually associate with children.  It’s very rare to find a typical adult who shares my immense pleasure in Disney characters, but I have met a higher proportion of spectrum adults who do.  I like to connect with friends who share not just my interests but also my tendency to practically levitate at every good thing that comes our way.

Many typical adults (and this applies in every bit the same capacity to adults who are quite familiar with the spectrum) can’t reconcile magic with intelligence.  How can someone be finishing graduate school but spend her free time with Frozen and VeggieTales?  They seem to think that academic interests necessitate free time spent in strictly-business pursuits.  The truth is that you are also quite likely to find me studying up on the history of the English language, the latest neuroscience findings in relation to autism, or even the nitty-gritty details about the discovery of the Denisovan bones a few years back.  I’ve met typical adults who enjoy typically-childhood interests in a collecting, informational sense, but that’s not what I’m talking about; I still feel much like most 6-year-old girls feel when they walk through Cinderella’s Castle in Disney World for the first time.

But, it’s also important to remember that I’m not a child.  It irks me when I hear reports of a child who “has the mentality of a 3-year-old,” for example, because, unless he is a 3-year-old, then it’s not true.  Regardless of the fact that (some of) my interests are much more common with young children, and regardless of the fact that my body language and clothing style and lack of fancying up my hair and face make my image reflect someone ten years younger than I am, it doesn’t mean that I have the mentality of… well, of anybody but me.  I have lived for 26 years, and that means that I have 26 years’ worth of experience in this life.  In some ways, I have spiritual insights that most 60-year-olds haven’t grasped.  In other ways, I’m happier watching Disney than the most popular TV shows.  I can write a thesis but not cross the street by myself, and run my own personal hospital out of my studio apartment but go into overload at grocery store checkouts.  My mentality might be unusual, and it might reflect an uncommon pattern of strengths and weaknesses, but it’s mine, which means it’s real, which means it’s a valid way of being.

But it’s hard for people to understand.  They think that, if I have the intelligence to do such-and-such, that I must also understand that the magic can’t be real.  I do, and I don’t.  I have serious health issues, and I’ve spent a great deal of time in hospitals.  In children’s hospitals, child life specialists work hard to bring therapeutic fun right to the kids.  There are play rooms, and bright colors, and if kids are inpatient during a birthday or holiday, the celebrations come to them.  In my world, birthday parties are a given, and stuffed animals have a draw I can’t resist. In a way, I still need those things, but I’m supposed to understand that they’re for kids, and I’m an adult now.  And, as I said, that’s true–I am.  But I’m an adult who still believes in magic, and it’s heartbreaking when I realize how not okay that is in our world.  After all, I think it would be downright hard to find a grown-up who wouldn’t be excited if hit with a little unexpected magic in their lives, and the only consequence of bringing magic to adults would be a world with more joy.

I can’t see anything wrong with that!

Read more about Lydia

If you liked this post, you may also like:

  • The Magic of Conner Cummings
  • How I Found My Happy Ending
Share on TwitterShare on FacebookShare on PinterestShare on LinkedInShare on RedditShare on WhatsApp

Filed Under: Autistic Speaks, Blog Haps, Penfriend Project Autism Columns Tagged With: autism writing, Lydia Wayman, magic

About Jodi Murphy

Jodi Murphy is the founder of Geek Club Books, a registered nonprofit committed to creating a world where autistic individuals are fully accepted, valued and have a voice. Her priority is bringing autistic individuals creative and leadership opportunities that are meaningful, empowering and support their advocacy. She works with a creative autistic team to produce pop culture-based autism awareness education that is innovative, engaging, positive and opens hearts and minds to a new way of thinking about autism. Sign up for Geek Club Books mailing list for free apps, resource guides, curriculum, audio stories and more: https://geekclubbooks.com/autism-bundle.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Join Our Neurodiverse Community:

Read Our Current Issue:

Search

Latest

  • Why My Autistic Daughter’s College Experience will be Better than Mine
  • Why I’m Letting Go to Let My Transformation Happen
  • #AskingAutistics: What Triggers Your Meltdowns?
  • #ReadYourWorld – How Does It Feel to Have Sensory Differences?
  • Why are Black Disabled Activists Being Ignored or Forgotten?

Topics

  • 501c3 Mission (8)
  • Anxiety (8)
  • App & Product Reviews (12)
  • Autimisms (29)
  • Autism Acceptance (13)
  • Autism at Work (9)
  • Autism Entrepreneurs (17)
  • Autism Resources (6)
  • Blog Haps (542)
  • Buzz (6)
  • Classroom (15)
  • Curious Interviews (117)
  • Day in the Life (9)
  • Dorktales (4)
  • Impactful Blogs (9)
  • Labels (4)
  • Love (5)
  • Mighty League (31)
  • Neurodiversity (2)
  • Our Personal Autism Journey (28)
  • Penfriend Project Autism Columns (221)
    • Adriana's Awesome Autistic Book Lists (2)
    • Aspierations (16)
    • Autism Insider (77)
    • Autistic Speaks (27)
    • Being Brave (26)
    • Chloe Rothschild (3)
    • Fidgets and Fries (3)
    • Happy Aspie (9)
    • My Shaynanigans (8)
    • Neurodivergent Rebel (21)
    • Positively Autistic (17)
    • Proud Autistic Living (6)
    • Tud Sense (5)
  • Pop Culture (8)
  • Safety (8)
  • Self-Care (7)
  • Self-Esteem (3)
  • Self-Improvement (10)
  • Sensory Needs (10)
  • Social Skills (4)
  • Speech and Language (6)
  • Tell Us Your Story (29)
  • Zoom Autism (64)

Footer

Stay Connected

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2021 Geek Club Books

To improve your experience on our site we may use cookies. Find out more.