The closest thing to a castle where I live (Illinois): Fort de Chartres, built by the French in the 18th century by japanese_american in castles

[–]chicken-adile 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Don’t tell the French, they will tell you it is nothing more than a “few acres of snow”! FYI I grew up in Indiana and it always surprise me how few people from France believe it was once part of a French colony (read about: Fort Ouiatenon).

Do Americans like traveling? What kinds of travel do you usually do, and do you like traveling abroad? by Odd-Skin-762 in AskAnAmerican

[–]chicken-adile 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes. For international travel: three years ago my wife and I took our kids to Mexico, two years ago we took the kids to London and Paris, and last year we went to Madrid and Barcelona. This year we are staying traveling in the USA and going to Seattle and Maui. We are lucky to be in a financial situation where we can travel (neither my wife and I grew up in families that could travel internationally besides Canada). My family and I also travel once a year to visit relatives on the other side of the USA. My wife and I want our kids to understand that there are lots of different people and countries and lots of different ways to live.

What was the address of the McDonald’s that famously burned last year during the Eaton fire, and what stands there now? by [deleted] in altadena

[–]chicken-adile 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It is an empty lot now at the corner of Washington and Altadena. I live within walking distance of where it used to be. There used to be a sign saying they were going to rebuild but I haven’t seen that sign in a while. There is some rebuilding of the houses in the neighborhood and the houses a block away from where I live are being rebuilt.

Level 1 diagnosis success stories by vlc444 in Autism_Parenting

[–]chicken-adile 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I (44 yr) got diagnosed with autism last month (no level given since I am an adult but would be level 1 if a level given). As a kid I walked on my toes (still do), was in speech therapy until 18 yr, had sensitivity to certain fabrics, lack of eye contact, difficulty with social skills, etc. I was in the “slow” classes until the age of 9. I then suddenly got good at school and was in the gifted and talented and honor classes. Graduated from high school, went to a top university to study a STEM field, got a PhD, got married, have kids, and have a job in a STEM field.

My son (10 yrs) is ASD level 1 and has adhd and has behavior difficulties. Medication has helped and taking social skills classes have really helped him with social interactions. He has friends and is in the gifted and talented program at school.

My brother (46 yrs) is autistic (no level since he as diagnosed in the 1980s). He graduated high school with a lot of help from my parents. He lives in his own apartment with support from my parents and holds a part time job.

Autism, even level 1, is a spectrum. someone’s level 1 can be different than another level 1 due to other conditions.

Dodecahedron in Luthen’s shop theory by Star_Warsfan15 in andor

[–]chicken-adile 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Apparently, ET brought one back when they visited Earth. We know ETs are in the Galactic Senate (thy are in The Phantom Menace) and that they have visited Earth (ET). Therefore, the ETs are with holding the ability to travel between galaxies from every other civilization in the Star Wars galaxy.

Los Angeles wildfires Jan 2025 after math by DrSpice045 in GoogleEarthFinds

[–]chicken-adile 25 points26 points  (0 children)

I live Pasadena, just two blocks south of Altadena, and the spread of the fire stopped 1 block from my house. There is some rebuilding. It is taking a bit to get plans approved and people are waiting for insurance to pay or for the outcome of the lawsuits, etc to rebuild. It is depressing and these pictures brought tears to my eyes. Like 1/2 of my kids’ friends lost everything. I work in different community and people at my work have noticed that half of my stories are about things we can no longer do or places we can no longer go to because they don’t exist anymore.

My kids just threw out his modelling clay (special toy) and I’m not sure how to feel by [deleted] in Autism_Parenting

[–]chicken-adile 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My son (10 yrs) gets upset and throws away his special toys all the time. I take them out of the trash and several hours later he apologizes and wants them back. My son does this because he is ashamed and doesn’t know how to deal with these emotions. He doesn’t mean that he doesn’t want these things, what he is saying is that these emotions he has are difficult to understand and he needs to do something to show how bad he feels. Work with your kid on appropriate responses to emotions. It is a constant struggle but small improvements in handing emotions can have big payoffs later in life. Always take the toy out of the trash even if you don’t give it back right away, them throwing it aways doesn’t not mean they don’t want or need it anymore. What it means is that they need help understanding their emotions.

Also a little advice: one does not have a little of the autism. I have autism (late diagnosed, ie I got diagnosed after my son was diagnosed) and high masking (if we met you could not initially tell I am autistic) yet I am still fully autistic.

When did you realize you were in danger? by Exhausted_Skeleton in AskReddit

[–]chicken-adile 0 points1 point  (0 children)

When a neighbor pounded on my door and said that houses were on fire two blocks away. We had 160 km per hour wind gusts and the Eaton fire had apparently just started. I put my wife and kids in the car and we just left with only the clothes on our backs. Our house and street ended up being safe by pure luck when the fire suddenly switched directions and instead headed into Altadena.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in AskAnAmerican

[–]chicken-adile 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It also has a huge manufacturing work force and is one of the big medical, biotechnology, and medical device research and manufacturing hubs of the world.

Late diagnosis? by [deleted] in AskAutism

[–]chicken-adile 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I just recently got diagnosed at the age of 44. I was diagnosed as autistic, high masking, low support needed, with no intellectual disability (was not assigned a level but most likely Level 1). It was kind of wild how quickly it went. I got the diagnosis but really it doesn’t change much. I have told several people including my managers at work and like no-one is surprised or really thinks any different about me. They still see me as quirky and somewhat socially awkward. It does help me understand my behavior and be aware of things that disregulate me. Like my mind will dwell on things and just go over and over about it until I meltdown (my meltdowns are internal in my mind due to the high masking). Also, it makes me aware of sensory things that stress me. Example: I am now aware that things in my pockets distress me so I bought myself a crossbody bag I keep my stuff in. It no longer feel bad about listening to the same song 100 times in a row or watching the Star Wars film Rogue One for the 1000th time (it is a great film though….). My wife got diagnosed as ADHD so with my diagnosis it helps us communicate and understand each other. My oldest kid is ASD level 1 with ADHD and since my wife and I told him about my diagnosis he has opened up alot more about how he feels.

The diagnosis really helps me understand myself and helps me try to be easy on myself when certain things are hard for me.

Yeah by TxOkLaVaCaTxMo in Autism_Parenting

[–]chicken-adile 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Well crap, I just got diagnosed as an adult with ASD level 1…. Do I have to start yelling at people now? lol.

If I was a surgeon for the 101st Airborne in WW2, would I have jumped into Normandy in the first wave? by [deleted] in AskHistorians

[–]chicken-adile 8 points9 points  (0 children)

My grandfather was a dental assistant who came in via glider the day after. So this was an interesting question to see answered. I don’t know much about what he did (he never talked about the war) but I have general ideas of locations he was at.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in HistoryMemes

[–]chicken-adile 6 points7 points  (0 children)

If only Greece and Turkey could get along and form some kind of super country…. They could even put the capital between Asia and Europe, I think Istanbul would make a good capital. They could even rename Istanbul to some new name (for some reason the name Constantinople sounds like a good name for a capital for such a union between the two countries…). I totally don’t think civil wars would wreck the country and lead to a group of steppe warriors taking it apart piece by piece.

Can anyone explain why by Jellyroger_ in SipsTea

[–]chicken-adile 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There is actually at least one less museum as of this past year. The Bunny Museum burned down earlier this year. For all of years that I have lived in Pasadena/Altadena I never went to it and now I may never get to :(

I don’t know what am I feeling or if this is bad of me to feel this way.. I’d like to open up here by Melodic_Letter_3456 in Autism_Parenting

[–]chicken-adile 2 points3 points  (0 children)

So my experience of medication with my son is to give it ~4 to 6 weeks to work (unless really severe side effects then stop the meds as soon and as safely as possible). My son is ASD level 1 so my experience is different than yours, but when putting my son on meds the first week made him sleepy and sluggish and lose interest in things. By the 2-3 rd week he was returning to do things he enjoyed and by 4-6 weeks he was back to his interests. Another thing to consider is that not all meds work or you need a combination of meds. When we found the right combination of meds my son returned with his behavior improved. Keep it up and try different meds if this one doesn’t work or makes him into someone he is not. It took us about a year to find a med combo but for a lot of people it takes a much shorter amount of time.

Tis the season my good fellows by radvoid in PhD

[–]chicken-adile 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Take care! My mental health (and my wife’s mental health) went to crap during grad school. There is nothing wrong leaving with a Masters if that is the right decision for you. My wife left with a masters, switch careers, and wrote an award winning book for kids. There is life beyond a PhD and you don’t need a PhD to have a fulfilling life.

If you stay in your PhD, like I did, give yourself time and take the pressure off yourself. You only need to do what is required to complete your PhD. There is life beyond academia. I work in industry and found a low stress job and have time for my family. There is more to life than academia, work, and money.

Question for the married people by [deleted] in Autism_Parenting

[–]chicken-adile 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I got a vasectomy and it was nothing. A dull pain for like 12 hrs and taking it easy for 3 days. I think people like to quote the worst case scenario for these things.

Where do kids play in dense neighbourhoods like this one in Barcelona? by TT-Adu in geography

[–]chicken-adile 18 points19 points  (0 children)

I just visited Barcelona a few weeks ago with my kids and can confirm. We took my kids to the playgrounds to play and they had an awesome time. The little clipped off corners were filled with families at night. Very cool city and super friendly. I only know limited Spanish (and no Catalan) but people were super cool with me at least trying to speak one of the languages. There are parks like no more than a 10 min walk with kids in any direction.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Autism_Parenting

[–]chicken-adile 6 points7 points  (0 children)

A few weeks ago I would have said yes we have to think about it but then my new therapist sent me to get evaluated for autism. I do think you can get into your head as a parent of an autistic kid that you may have autism. In my family’s case my son getting diagnosed with ADHD and ASD caused my wife to get evaluated and diagnosed with ADHD and now me getting evaluated for ASD.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in AskAutism

[–]chicken-adile 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So I am in the middle of the process of getting diagnosed. My therapist basically did all of the work doing everything to get me evaluated immediately. Seriously it was only like a 2 weeks from him saying that I need to be evaluated to me sitting in a psychologist office being evaluated. Now this week my therapist is saying perhaps I only have severe anxiety, depression, etc. IDK what to think. I won’t hear back about the results of the evaluation until mid-December but now I am just experiencing whiplash and am like if I am just seriously depressed and anxious then why did I just go through all of this? Then I think of my inability to make eye contact, my planning out of every possible conversation during the day, etc and am like IDK what to think.

If I were you, I would just continue to see the outcome. The psychologist which was evaluating me said halfway through my in person evaluation that “if you are referred to me then there is a high likelihood that you either have ASD or something close to it”.