Autism's Hidden Sentence - Communication

In Robin's next update in his series "Autism's Hidden Sentence," he talks about his frustration with communication and his desire to be understood.

"Communication... Have you ever been at a loss for words, as they say? People forget things all the time. I understand that. I mean more than just a momentary lapse. Although that is relevant. An officer would not give me a shower because he said the other shift had marked me down as having one. I explained to him that I am not a person that would lie about that. He made a rude comment to me stating I was lying and walked off. I was not expecting him to say anything. I was literally stuck and could not actually talk correctly. A sergeant came by and I stopped him but I was unable to actually articulate what was going on. My cellmate at the time had to step in and explain what was going on. I tried to talk but it was jumbled. The sergeant was looking at me like I was crazy. I started to explain some but got frustrated and my cellie had to step in again. I got a shower but the officer was mad about it. The next day the lieutenant who knows about my autism asked why I didn't ask for her. My cellie did but no one would get her so she did not know about anything. Sure when a sudden change is made in a conversation I get stuck. When a bigger issue that has the potential to escalate happens. Then what?"

- Robin