Rebecca's Blogs

An experience of Sleep Paralysis occurs when the mind becomes conscious, yet the person’s physical body remains asleep (and therefore paralysed) for up to several minutes. Most people experience Sleep Paralysis at least once throughout their lifetime, and some people (including myself) experience it regularly or on a nightly basis.

Whenever something unexpected occurs which leaves me with no other choice than to change my timetable, I experience extreme anxiety and often have a meltdown as a result. In addition to having autism I also have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder which multiplies those challenges by two.

Every event of my life that is most significant to me occurs in the month of December. It contains my birthday, Christmas and New Year's Eve which are all very exciting but at the same time cause me stress and anxiety for various reasons

General characteristics of an autistic meltdown can involve amongst other things yelling, banging or thrashing around. On the surface they look very similar to immature temper tantrums but in truth are very different. Rebecca Sharrock explains from her own personal perspective why this is the case.

 A person's memories are very important as they make up every part of who they are. Without our memories we would have no knowledge or emotions from past experiences. We would also have no communication skills or strategies for learning new skills. 

 

I have been identified as having an extremely rare kind of memory which is called HSAM (or Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory). It means I can remember experiences from as far back as my newborn days.