Meet Mary Zimak!

Today is World Autism Awareness Day and I thought you might enjoy some insights from my daughter, Mary. I asked her to write about what it’s like to live with autism. I didn’t edit her words at all. I’m sure you’ll agree that my daughter is one amazing young lady. Please share this post and keep Mary in your prayers as she attempts to find meaningful employment that utilizes her God-given talents. Thank you!

Hi everyone.

My name is Mary Zimak, and I am one of the twin daughters of my father, Gary. I am writing this today because I want you to know something unique about me.

I have a mild form of autism known as Pervasive Development Disorder, or simply PDD. I was diagnosed with this form of autism when I was four years old. I actually don’t remember being diagnosed with it because I was so young—in fact, I never knew I had it until my parents told me many years later.

Since then, there have been many strengths and weaknesses of PDD that I have had over the years. Here are a few examples:

Strengths:

-I have a good memory. Whenever my parents ask me about something that had happened in the past (such as where we went or when we went there), I usually remember when they can’t.

-I am good at Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune. Whenever my family doesn’t know the answer to a question, I immediately know the answer right away, depending on what the question is about.

-I like going to local events and young adult groups that are specifically designed for people with special needs. I have made several new friends there and I always look forward to going to these places.

-Because of my PDD, I tend to have “unique” obsessions. Two of my current ones are YouTube and Spotify.

Weaknesses:

-Sometimes when someone in our family mentions something I liked or did in the past (i.e. a certain TV show or movie I grew up watching, something that happened to me in elementary school, etc.), it tends to upset me. (Once, a few years ago, my parents were on YouTube looking up several theme songs and/or segments from several TV shows I grew up watching. Thankfully, I wasn’t in the room with them, but I’d probably start crying if I was.)

-I tend to get angry very easily, especially when it comes to something I don’t understand in math. (Sometimes if I’m working on a math problem, it easily frustrates me because I’m having trouble understanding it.)

-I have trouble adjusting to changes in a routine. (I’m not going to give an example of this because it’s pretty self-explanatory.)

I would take the time to write more, but these are some of the many strengths and weaknesses of PDD that I have had over the years. If any of you reading this have PDD or some similar form of it, then maybe you can relate to some of the things I mentioned above. One thing to remember: You’re not alone. God made every one of us unique and He loves us all, no matter what!

Thank you for reading this and have a great day!!

~Mary Zimak