Dustin's Dynasty

In the last few months since becoming independent again, I have noticed benchmarks that I continue to achieve as time progresses. While they may seem little to some, for me they can mean the world because it is proof that I can adult and know how to properly take care of myself. If there is any advice, I can give to anyone raising a autistic child, it simply is that knowledge is power. The more th...

Loving the sun, and just near a week and a half until Daylight Saving time begins here in the US, the sun is rising before I head out on the days I do and they sun is setting after six (finally). I also think with the snow melted and the clouds opening up some last week has cheered my mood, for the most part. Finally, I experienced a weekend where I didn’t shutdown a lot. Instead I was busy gettin...

As we are nearing a year anniversary of being under the pandemic, many I know are hitting a wall. It is when we are just tired. Tired of daunting the PPE, tired of following additional rules, just plain tired of everything. We, as in everyone want to be back to the way things were, so we can be happier and see a better time ahead. This episode is also available as a blog post: http://dustinsdynast...

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://dustinsdynastyusa.com/2021/03/01/adulting-motivation-to-adult-and-care-about-others/

What a difference a week will make, or a few days for that matter! While here in Southwestern Pennsylvania should be used to rough Februarys, we haven’t experienced them as continually snowy in many years. Being independent, along with being in a national pandemic makes it more unpleasant to experience. However, as I am writing this week’s wellness update, we are making changes to the betterment o...

Likely you turn on the TV today and you hear about “the vaccine”. Like the many other orders and guidance from our leaders around the world and the United States, distribution is being done in a varied amount of methods, especially the latter. Furthermore, when you break it down by states, distribution plans are left up to either the state, county or other local governing board. This makes it very...

Being independent comes with a great deal of responsibility. When I left my last independent situation, I thought it would be some time before I would be on my own again, however an opportunity arrived. At times in recent weeks I questioned whether I made the smart decision of being independent again. However, I have came to the realization that I have indeed made the right decision and to not sec...

This winter has been one for the books not only in here in Southwestern Pennsylvania, but across the United States as well as across the pond. For us here we have had weather that I haven’t experienced in almost a decade, at least of continuous pattern, add a National Health Emergency, and that tops the feeling of isolation even more.  As I am writing this post, I feel with the citizens of Te...

Well, another week has come by and it has been seriously a week of highs and lows. From experiencing a near meltdown about having to walk long distances in the local supercenter, to actually making changes to better my health and adapt portion control and seeing some weight come off, I am hoping that I am finally seeing the turn of the coin to the realization point that I cannot eat whatever I wan...

Today, marks 11 months of the United States classifying COVID-19 as a National Emergency. It has been a trying time for several of the world’s population, including autistics who abruptly and for many times several months have had their daily routines, something we thrive in be uprooted and a long sense of unknown. Then came the summer and fall that wasn’t really fun for many. Lastly, we have had...

It definitely has been a weekend. Accepting the fact that I need to lose weight and for real focus on it. If you recall, last week, I was in sort of a slump of Autistic Shutdown and experienced a phase of ordering delivery to my house a lot or getting takeout. This for a person of my size is a recipe for disaster. I need to focus on bettering my food palate so that I can become a healthier person...

Dancing in the Dark  is the eleventh and final track on Evolve. The song is not only the album’s closer, but it’s also one of the smoothest and most low-key songs the band has ever made. Dancing in the Dark serves as a mellow closer for the energetic, upbeat, and explosive album that is Evolve. The song is perhaps the most minimalistic on the album, with its sparse beat and its soft, bouncy i...

This week on my blog we have been focusing on shutdown and sleep. Related to that is the necessary to sometimes for autistics to take a break and recharge our batteries. Sometimes we just have had a full palate of a day whether that is at the day program or working a job that consumes a great deal of our energy because of our sensory overload, attention to detail, the working of our keen minds, wh...

Sleep. Its one of the most common know ill effects of the autistic brain. Many autistics struggle with It continually through life. To find that perfect balance of sleep and liveliness is key and crucial to living. For many autistics sleep deprivation happens quite routinely mainly because we cannot get our information loaded brains to stop working after being in action for a lengthy period of tim...

I know that in writing this week about Autistic Shutout , I have found out that I am certainly not the only one experiencing these symptoms. Also, to be included is the autistic, neurodiverse and neurotypical individuals that are suffering because of the prolonged effects of being under the siege of a pandemic. The attitudes of everyone, the universal masking, the constant reminders to do all thes...

When a person experiences Autistic Shutdown, the best thing to do is to just let them get the rest they need. We as autistics have just been at times too overstimulated and just need a serious recharge of our inner selves. COVID and all the changes, restrictions that come with it have caused many autistics to experience more periods of autistic shutdown. This episode is also available as a blog po...

There has been a lot of discussion on the web about moms, specifically the moms of parents with special needs. These moms deserve all the credit they can get. They are usually the first one to step up to bat for their child and make sure that they get what they need, especially when they cannot be in their presence. They oftentimes want to make sure that they have their place in society and in the...

So, I don’t know if this is common with many in the autism community, but I am experiencing an heavy amount of the “Winter Blues.”  A snowier winter, alongside with being isolated more due to COVID and snow cancellations has made me be in a more sleepy and down mood. While I am grateful for many things that I do have, I at times feel like I have no control of things and just want this pandemi...

We are nearing the 11th month of the COVID-19 Pandemic, it indeed has been a test on the autistic community by far. But one has to be thinking, what about all that screen time we spend online in virtual meetings, social media, completing work, and so forth? Many have been living in the virtual world in some capacity for almost 11 months now. It is getting to the point that many are virtually exhau...

First, I want to credit that I was inspired to write this upon a fellow autism blogger that touched on the subject. I personally have witnessed the victimization and trust be compromised in not only autistic individuals but individuals both with and out mental and neurological health conditions. It, along with the awareness of those that we as autistics do not know, must be given the proper skills...

I have been doing a lot of reflection this week on autism and the things I do to get by on a day to day basis. While certainly no one is perfect, nor is there one fix all to todays societal problems with autistic individuals such as myself, I personally feel like one thing is in common with us…We just want to fit in. This episode is also available as a blog post: http://dustinsdynastyusa.com/2021/...

I know I sound like a broken record when I say that my post for Wednesday is late, but I’ve heard many great things this week and have too discovered many great things. One of those things is that wellness doesn’t just include our physical health, but it includes our mental and spiritual health too! We cannot be physically well without our mental health. I have said many times that Mental Health a...

Yesterday was one of those days when what could go wrong would go wrong. In a world when autistics such as myself just want the things we need to work perform it function without any issues, especially in a pandemic internet dependent world where we rely on the power of a fiber optic line to convey our technological needs and to be also in an environment where the noise is minimal and we can perfo...

So as I am getting adjusted to independent life again, it has made me realize the need to do things that just are sort of unspoken and what should be routine. For many autistics, including myself, this presents challenges. It is just not on our “radar” and at times our hyper focuses are geared far away from what must be done and rather what interests us. This episode is also available as a blog po...

Most of 2020 and gearing into 2021 we have had a great deal of change to routine. To the autistic community, this can be perceived as a nightmare. I hear of many individuals and families struggling and not being able to do the things that they can do pre-COVID. It stresses many and leads to autistic burnout, meltdown and shutdown. There are many that learn to adapt, however some have the inability...