People used to say that Dougie Houser was so “unrealistic.” And they seemed exasperated that the youngest-ever graduate of Princeton aspired to be a game show host. But that’s the thing — we just don’t have to all BE the same kinds of “mature” and that’s all someone else’s judgment when they’ve never walked a mile in our shoes. Enjoy the quirks. I’m lucky to have grown up in an environment where most of the people who mattered to me appreciated and enjoyed the quirks.

I love how the autistic community is pushing back and saying “we don’t need to be ‘fixed.’” Not all autism is a disability (some is, and some is a challenge, but in some cases it’s just a different way of seeing and being — a diversity in one’s approach to the world and something to be appreciated). I don’t know if I’m autistic at all; my mom said, once, that she thought I might be, but I functioned just fine and she wasn’t into pathologizing different degrees of normality. I wish the world approached all our differences like that — if it’s not hindering one’s enjoyment of life, why label it, medicate it, and act like it’s a problem?