Primary Occupation: Respiratory Therapist at one of the largest neonatal intensive care units in the world (#5). Secondary Occupation: Adjunct instructor for one of the local respiratory therapy programs at a local university.
Why? Being autistic (and didn't know it) and growing up in the late 1960's - early 1980's,...it was a different world. There was no such thing as political correctness,...think of all the nasty, derogatory, hurtful words one group of people could possibly say to another group of people. That was normal, everyday, public language in my world,...people didn't even think about it,...it just came out as matter-of-fact and without any sense of vitriol. Combine that with parents practicing "skillful neglect",...basically, we were feral children out on our own, away from home, no mobile phones, some change in our pockets, parents never had a clue what we were doing, sometimes miles away from home on our bikes,...every day,...we just had to be home for dinner before dark. We had street smarts for sure,...and yes,...children were hurt, killed, taken advantage of, went missing,...but it was a life lesson for the others. No media coverage, no such thing as cable TV or computers,...what happened in your town, rarely passed on to the other town. Spanking the behinds of children was totally acceptable punishment,...parents, teachers, and even your neighbors could swat your little behind for your bad behavior,...and your parents were thankful for the help,...a different world. Bullies were the norm. You just dealt with it. My way of dealing with it,...forcing myself into athletics and being the fastest and strongest,...so the bullies didn't dare. Most bullies are insecure,...that's why they act out, so they can belittle, control, and intimidate to feel better about themselves,...until they have to deal with someone who has the physical tools to really ruin their day. By the time I was in high school,...the bullies avoided me.
Fast forward to university age,...I was so into athletics I wanted to do that the rest of my life, and thought the best way to do that was to work in the field and become either a physical therapist or athletic trainer. I was unfocused though,...I would work out for 2-3 hours a day at the athletic facilities,...and later, try to focus upon studies. It wasn't good for me. My mind would wander, I didn't have study skills, I was further distracted by my girlfriend,...now my wife of 34 years. Money was an issue,...my parents made enough money for me not to qualify for financial aid, yet not enough money to help me,...so, I had to work while in school,...odd jobs working for the university (cafeteria, dorm security, summer construction projects, etc.). I had to cut financial ties with my parents in order to receive financial support for school,...so I married and became independent from my parents. But by then, too distracted and studies were suffering. I bought a cheap little car, got work at the hospital drawing blood, bought a mobile home off campus, quit school and used my money to help put my wife through nursing school. Meanwhile, after working at the hospital and seeing what others did, talked to people, and frankly, not liking the job I was doing,...I thought I would give it another go at school. My wife had just graduated from nursing school, and I began the respiratory therapy program at the local university. I finally figured out a system of how to study and was much more focused, and later graduated top of my class. The rest, as they say, is history. I wouldn't be diagnosed with an autism spectrum condition (Asperger's) until I was 52.
