NVN Thursday: CASE 1
by Louisa Schnaithmann
“Donald Triplett, the 1st person diagnosed with autism, dies at 89” –NPR, 6/17/2023
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I never meant to be a statistic. I only wanted my numbers, to multiply them faster than a calculator, to visit parts of the world people only dream about. I was just a man. I’m not sure why the doctors were so fascinated by me. Every day, I was only myself. What’s so special about that? I guess they found something there. Not sure what. My hometown loved me. Wish I could say the same about everyone else who grew up like I did. Maybe it’s easier to not understand than to try. Not sure. I was always better with numbers.
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Louisa Schnaithmann is a bisexual autistic woman whose poetry has been nominated for Best of the Net and the Pushcart Prize. Her work can be found in Anti-Heroin Chic, The Broadkill Review, Gargoyle, and other journals. She is the consulting editor for ONE ART: a journal of poetry and lives in southeastern Pennsylvania.