13 Years Of Autism Special: Meanwhile In Another Timeline
Thirteen years ago today (July 5th, 2023), my parents took me to an ice cream social held at Haugland Learning Center (HLC). To this point, I'd been in and out of doctors' offices, and they all told my parents that I was not on the Spectrum. My parents explained to the woman who gave us a tour of HLC, Kathy that they were skeptical, and she replied, "Oh, he's one of us!" While I wasn't officially diagnosed on that day, it was from this point on that we knew I was autistic. A month after this, I turned 13 years old. This means that as of today (if we round a little bit), I have known that I'm autistic for most of my life. In honor of this momentous anniversary, I wanted to answer the question: What would have happened to me if Kathy had not been hired at HLC? Well, my parents likely wouldn't have had the confidence to seek a diagnosis, so I would not have gone to HLC… But what would have happened next?
Let's start with the positive. If I had not gone to HLC, I would not have gotten held back because the teachers didn't think I was ready for high school. This means that Ryan would never have caught up to me in school and I would never have started comparing our lives, and I would have had a more healthy reaction when Cousin Simple started. However, everything else seems to be negative.
As I depicted in my first book, The Greattastic Adventures: Miracle Child, my "sisters" and I didn't always get along. If I hadn't gone to HLC, I never would have met my friend Max who has a special interest in movies. I would never have made a movie with him or have been inspired to rekindle my relationship with my "sisters." Even if my "sisters" and I had decided to stop fighting, it would not have lasted long because they wouldn't have understood some of my quirks, and there would have been no explanation for them.
I most likely would have gone to Bishop Watterson High School because it was the closest Catholic High School to my parent's house. The problem is August and Arden went to Watterson for a short time, so we would have clashed, and this would have been on top of the bullying that followed me from my grade school. Ryan still would have chosen to go to St. Charles, so I would not have had any family members at school with me.
This would not have meant that I was alone. My two closest friends would have been my grade school friend Anna and my neighbor and soul "brother," Greg. Greg, Anna, and I would have been inseparable until we graduated in 2016. Greg would have moved to New York for college, and Anna and I would have grown apart because of our differing paths in life.
I would not have discovered that I wanted to be a teacher at Watterson. I don't know what I would have done, but I probably would have just gotten an office job. I'm not saying it's not a good job; some people enjoy it; I just know I wouldn't be happy. When Covid would hit, I would have moved back in with my parents and spent the lockdown with them and my family. And while that would have been great, eventually, we would have to return to normal life, and honestly, I think I would have been depressed!
Finally, let's talk about Paige. Since our brothers still went to high school together, we still would have known of each other. When Paige and I ran into each other at the Cousin Simple Newport show, in this reality, there's no way I would have been self-confident enough to pick up on her flirting, let alone do anything about it if I had! I'm not saying it would have happened exactly like this, but this is my best guess of what my life would have looked like without my Autism diagnosis. I'm so thankful that Kathy was put in my life to intervene and put me on the path I am on now.
Have a Greattastic Day and Be Safe
J. Mitchie Ulibarri
On Monday, June 26th, back in this timeline, Kathy got on her computer at 9:00 a.m. Seattle time. She has lived in Seattle since she left New Story (formerly HLC) last year. She opened Zoom, logged in, and let me join the session. After we spent a little time catching up, I said, "So I have something I want to run by you…."
"What is it?" She asked. I smiled and told her my plan…
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