As a grade schooler, I sought very little social interaction. I was physically clumsy, had odd speech patterns, and completely failed to pick up on the social cues most of us take for granted.
Even as an adult in my 50th year of life, I don’t do smalltalk, I have no close friendships and I’m uncomfortable around emotional people and transparency. I realize I speak in a boring monotone, but I don’t know how to fix that. I have to work very hard to express interest and not space out when people talk to me.
I envy people like Ted of Biking In LA, who can express a great deal of empathy toward people who suffer tragedy. While most people innately “get” social skills as a human trait, I had to learn these skills intellectually in the same way you might memorize math tables.
My wife is the completely opposite of me, and has helped me to better understand human intersection. She is Captain Kirk to my Spock personality. As a licensed marriage and family therapist, she counsels families with children on the autism spectrum. She bought The White Bicycle by Beverley Brenna for her practice. Because it involves a bicycle, I read this young adult novel and, wow, it impacts me like no other book I’ve read.
