How do you do? My name is Tyler McNamer.

The long awaited sequel to Population: ONE is available to purchase!

Becoming ONE

Adolescence was one of the most difficult times in my life, becoming a young adult was even harder. I had to come to terms with being different, learn how I could use my differences to find my place in the world, then find and maintain relationships that would accept and support me. 

Professionals told me I would not live independently. Those limiting beliefs affected me deeply.  Thankfully with help of my parents, mentors, therapists, and friends, I now have the ability to live on my own.

My training for adulthood started in middle school. If you would like to help your child make the shift into young adulthood, now it the time to prepare.  The work you do now will have a profound effect on their future. 

Your child with autism has a tremendous gift to give.  They...

I was taught to keep my hands to myself when I was very little; This post isn’t about human interactions, it is about what I would like to call: Environmental Interaction.

One of my favorite things to do is to touch things and explore things by feeling them. Sounds strange, I know, and I get called out for it a bunch of times getting different impressions on whatever I do; Especially when it comes to this topic. Why did I enjoy touch? Why did I enjoy the tiniest of touches? This is why.

Exploration has always been one of my favorite things. All a part of the adventure. When I was little, I would literally lie down on the grass and softly feel the blades by the smallest of touches. The only thing that I can hear is the small gusts of wind, the small sudden chirps of birds, and the sound of insects flying around. Just wanted to have my moment with the grass. Why did I do this? It was because of things.

• Shut everything off for a moment
• Escape to my own world for at least one...

Have you ever wondered if your child is trying to figure out why you do the odd things you do?  Or perhaps why you can't do the extraordinary things they are able to do?  Watch this video blog for a fathers perspective.

Nighttime is a wonderful time of the day with it being all so quiet, so I figured the topic of snow would be an excellent tie-in in relation to the subject of autism.

Snow! You see the wonderful white stuff during the season of winter. When the temperature is cold enough, you’ll see the snow coming down. Would love to talk more about the snow on what it is and where it comes from, but I will get back on the topic of autism getting to the point on why snow is so very important in the topic of autism.

Think of it this way. Snow.

• Cold
• Soft
• Hard (Ice)
• Cushions a fall
• Enjoyable to look at as it all goes down
• Tastes like a snow cone with no flavor but water

Snow is something special. One thing that I have not mentioned in the list of six things is something I find the most important.

Silence.

In about three feet of snow where the roads are not too safe for any car except the most likely exception of four wheel driving vehicles, the days and especially nights become...

Nighttime

Want to know one of my favorite times of day? Nighttime. Here is why.

The daytime is very nice too. Bright lights, sunshine, and it’s very warm most days during the summer. Nighttime however is something special. Time to go way back and understand the benefits of nighttime.

Everyone has their own experiences relating to the topic, here is how I see it in the experience of nighttime.

• Dark
• Stars
• Quiet
• Crickets
• City Lights
• Crashing Waves

We lived on this island; several miles away from the city of Seattle. Though far away, we can still see the space needle from the shore. When I was a toddler, my mom would take me on a small joyride in her car and we would go by the shore of the island and look at the city at night. That would be the last thing I want to see before falling asleep. Worked every time when I needed to sleep. Just a trip to look at the city lights and all lights will be out; falling asleep and not wanting to open my eyes until morning. Next to the visual...

I hated getting on the bus.

I LOVE going on the bus!

Little bit of elementary lesson there about past tense and present tense. Class dismissed!

The school bus is a humongous breakthrough for me. Perhaps the bus can be yours too. Here is how the bus system works in the topic of autism.

I had to go to school. Being dropped off by my parents was not much of an option back then. Off to the bus whether I liked it or otherwise.

It would be easy to say something on the lines of:

• "I got used to the bus after a few hundred times of riding it."

True, many things become much better over time, but there is a bit more to it than just time. You see, I didn't take the BIG bus to go to school, I took a much smaller bus going to school. A bus so small it can carry around ten students at a time. We call it: The Little Bus. That little bus was not so noisy; Only about four students that ride it including me, and it would always be a quiet ride the whole way to the school and back home.

I...

Watching paint dry.

It is a very common activity to think about when a boring activity comes to thought. Who'd want to sit there and watch paint dry?

I DO!

Probably not today, but as a toddler, I would totally be into something like that.

HERE IS WHY.

Not just about the paint drying that is the topic. Other subjects that fit the boring category.

• Boring movies.
• Boring games.
• Boring video games.
• Boring cartoons.
• Boring colors.
• Boring music.

Examples of many boring things in the topic. This all can do some incredibly good things in the topic of autism, and I will share with you why that is.

The entire world excites me! Full of action packed adventures all over the place. I would not be going on buses and letting them take me to somewhere new if I did not start with the boring. Here is how I see it.

• Before you go over ninety on the open highway, you must first spend the first months admiring the tires.
• Before taking the exciting chances at poker, you must first familiarize with the...

As the late great Al Jolson would say:

"I love-a to- I love-a to sing!"

After he would tell his audience that he loves to sing-a about the moon, the month of June, and the season of spring.

I love to sing! Used to sing with my mom and my dad when we were in the car. Whenever Dad sings, it's always so cool how he turns with a smile and goes: "Do ya like ma singin'?" In recent news, I learned that he used to slay it in karaoke bars back in the day. Trying to follow his footsteps. One more personal note real quick is that I discovered this thing called Twitch Sings, and I can sing all kinds of songs with lots of people online! It's a lot of fun! All kinds of singing styles are a joy to sing the tunes with. Spent the last several hours singing and dancing when no one was watching.

Wish I can talk a whole lot about personal singing experiences, folks; But onto the same topic relating to autism. Here is why the topic of singing to me is incredibly important and something to be positively...

Bad habit! Bad bad bad! I do not approve.

HOWEVER! I would like to take the time to share with you why this gross habit can be so popular with people that have autism or otherwise; Sort of a universal thing that a lot of people would do. Including me. Not as bad as much earlier, but I am so much better at stopping myself before it continues.

Lots of people have their reasons why they bite their nails. I would like to share with you my reason why. I hope this can help you understand why the nail biting happens. This is going to be one of the most discussing and embarrassing things I have ever put in words.

Here we go!

It was true that I have had a habit of eating nails. Finger nails, toe nails, and even actual nails used for construction. Actual nails where I attempted to swallow but dug them out by sticking my hand down my throat and getting them out. Easily learned that you just don't do that; Swallowing nails, just stick with the swords; I don't encourage sword swallowing, just...

"C'mon, Tyler! We're going to Idaho!"

No way to negotiate involving staying at home, minds were set, and we were on our way to Idaho to see my uncle and aunt.

Traveling is one of the biggest challenges relating to autism. One of the biggest reasons why is because traveling involves the one important key word that can be a challenge:

DIFFERENT!

• Different place
• Different people
• Different location
• Different experience
• Different environment
• Different way of going from place to place

May expect some chaotic moments when it involves travel. I know it was painful whenever I would travel. Couldn't even go to the city of Seattle; Which is one thirty minute boat trip away by the way.

That is why I have identify traveling as a skill.

The more you travel, the more you get better at it. It is very possible to become a master traveler, all there is is just some practice.

I could make it easy by saying keep on traveling, but I would also like to share some strategies that can help making...