"In addition to autism, I have sensory integration disorder." - Talitha

I’m Talitha and I’m 4 years old. I like to cuddle my favorite pony River.
I have autism. An advantage of this, is that I’m very good with numbers and letters, I’m very good at remembering lyrics, and I can flawlessly sing along in all languages. I can also withdraw myself well, and I don't care what others think about me. And my humor is amazing. A disadvantage is that I often have meltdowns, I also don’t yet understand a lot of things.

In addition to autism, I have sensory integration disorder, which is quite difficult. This causes all kinds of stimuli to be a lot more intense. For example, lights are much brighter, and sounds are a lot louder. Because of these strong stimuli, I go into a meltdown very quickly. I also quickly find many things scary, such as different types of surface. I have a hard time with crowded spaces as well. In order to be able to process stimuli better, I have a modified buggy, noise-canceling headphones and weighted items.

Oh yeah... I'm proud of my favorite pony River and of Tuttie, my stuffed animal too.”