Greetings all! My name is Taylor Duncan. I am 20 years old from Atlanta, Georgia. in 2000, I was diagnosed with autism. In 2012, the diagnoses was updated with an Asperger's equivalent, High Functioning ASD. I have chosen to start this blog to be able to share thoughts, and experiences with other autistic athletes around the globe to maybe relate to them, and/or maybe motivate them to work hard and succeed. If you'd like to talk, please do not hesitate to follow me on Twitter at @tcduncan26 or e-mail me at tcduncan26@gmail.com.

As aspiring athletes, it is hard enough to try to "work your way up." However for folks like myself, and others with Asperger's or Autism, it can be a social and/or physical disaster. From the first day they start working hard, they tend to face even more obstacles with many ranging from the clumsy mechanics that ones usually start out with (as a result of not being able to play sports and learn to "do things properly" at a younger age) to teammates and coaches flat out refusing to understand another's situation in favor of their own obsessions over the "W"... As a result, despite the hard work being put in, we still hear teasing and criticism when we fail, because the other "typical" athletes and coaches (whether it be in hardcore competitive ball or recreational ball) may just come to the conclusion that "He has autism, he cannot and will never play at our level." So without further ado, here are a list of criticisms that might sound a bit familiar to you:

I. "Stop being so negative. You need to change your attitude!"
This is one of the two that generates the most frustration, because usually when this is said, we're having enough of a hard time trying to fit in and put up productive numbers. When we have bad days (Those in some cases, have anger outbursts and meltdowns.), afterwards we hear "You're so arrogant. Nobody likes you" and "Stop being so negative. If you're going to continue to play, then change yourself.", they obviously do not understand the critical thinking and the mental approaches people with ASD tend to take... Not to mention, the work ethic it takes for us to work on difficulties and improve... In slowpitch softball, many of the men think that might sound motivational when saying these things, but all it does really is make us even more frustrated. We're frustrated in the first place because we usually feel like we can't be accepted in physical recreational activity. So, I feel like the best thing for those of you that go through hearing it in similar instances is to probably try to explain to them that it's further frustrating you when they try to "step in." That, and to ignore them if they just flat out refuse to understand anything except "You're a detriment. You ruined (name of event)." Then afterwards, try to find someone else or another program looking for players that would be much more understanding and much more respectful towards people in general, and willing to work with you on your worst difficulties and what you'd like to work on.

For those of you slowpitch softball players, ask the best players to help you. Not local players, but players that play on that national level. They've been in your shoes before most likely. There are events where you can meet those athletes, and get instructional advice from them. You can even contact them on Facebook for advice. Just look at what's out there for your sport that has a good supportive base... Not necessarily saying easy (nothing's ever easy or will ever be handed to you without showing work ethic.), but something supportive to help take you to the next level.
Another thing would be to just be yourself. I know you might think, "Well that's going to get me absolutely nowhere." However, I feel it's mentally better to be yourself and fail than to "be like X, Y, and Z" and live an absolute lie. Life is way too short for that, and I know God would not want that for you. If you be yourself, and just show yourself (For some, your "out there" personality), you will more likely feel a lot mentally better and more confident in the long term. Use your own style!! If people don't like it, then that's their issue. It's their fault for prematurely judging you for your differences in the way you do things. It's not yours for your efforts, PLEASE REMEMBER THAT. I'll write it again: It's NOT YOUR FAULT FOR YOUR EFFORTS!!! YOU DID THE BEST YOU COULD TO YOUR ABILITY! IT'S ABSOLUTELY NATURE TO HAVE OFF DAYS FROM TIME TO TIME! YOU STILL ARE DOING THE BEST TO YOUR ABILITY! IT IS NOT YOUR FAULT IF PEOPLE ARE UNWILLING TO ACCEPT YOU!! 

II. "That's not the way it's done! You're wrong!! That's negative!"
People have different ways of doing things, whether it be putting on practices, the ways people practice, different batting stances, different ways of throwing a ball, or whatever. Us, we definitely have a lot of differences... To those, it's "terrible" and "negative" to play and practice the way we were taught to by players and mentors of higher caliber... So they have the audacity to try to "change things." They want you to do things "the bush league way" (meaning their own ways of doing things that are ineffective for us), and it's often their way or no way. My advice is to just do things the way you feel comfortable doing and try to find tune it from there... It's OK to ask for help, but if someone's refusing to understand you and still giving you rough times, and if things are not clicking, then it's time to leave the program/team/practice/whatever you want to call it and look for better help elsewhere.

III. "You don't have a thick skin! You just aren't cut out for this!"
Jesus Christ, this is probably the most frustrating thing to hear. It's in the same family as "You're so negative!" but much more severe. If you're young and trying to learn things at a later age like in your teens, there's bound to be frustration. In some competition where people are literally belittling you and cheering for you directly to fail (because they know they are taking advantage of your inefficiency to know what's joking and what's teasing, so they tease you anyways), it's definitely the worst to deal with. And then when we give them the show to laugh at, despite the hard work we put in, we still get to hear "Well, you just don't have a thick skin for this. Sorry bud..."... I tell you what, if we truly didn't have thick skins, we wouldn't have lasted a week, or a day...
My philosophy is this: If you continue to work and push hard, then you've definitely got a thick skin. Really, it's just a matter of learning and practicing new mental strategies and overcoming low self esteem/low confidence levels to be able to apply to those situations. I definitely think every single athlete, regardless of mental difficulties and challenges, can make it to whatever they aspire for. In 95% of cases, it really doesn't require prescribed medication either... Every person has the ability to naturally learn new coping strategies. There's no person that's "incapable" or "disabled", it's just a disadvantage. In the end, it's up to you how you perceive things. If they aren't willing to help you and support you to grow as an athlete, more importantly as a person, it's time to find a new team/program.

Alright, so those are my feelings towards the most common things in recreational sports that I hear anyways. At the end of the day, keep working hard physically and mentally. Every sport is mental, it's not entirely physical. Even if you don't have the best physical body, there is still a way to succeed and win. I guarantee that. Every comment I've responded to, I've pretty much said FIND SUPPORT!! Support that will take you under their wing, and help you improve physically, mentally, and spiritually.  If you're one of those that gets frustrated, keep working on ways to keep yourself motivated. Keep working at it. There's always hope... Of course it is nature in sports to win, however don't worry about those that are self-centered that want to win for themselves. Don't worry about their clueless comments. Keep working on what works for you, and fine tune it. There is a difference between winning as a team who works together and supports each other, and winning as a group of individuals that just want to take things for themselves and run over whomever is a "threat" to them. Take every experience and try to learn from it. Where there's bad, there's good because you have the chance to learn from each fall, every mistake... Keep working hard guys and gals! Let me know how you're doing!

Sincerely,
Taylor C. Duncan
tcduncan26@gmail.com
+17703131762