The Coronavirus Pandemic: Lucian’s Neurodiverse Journey
The Pandemic: Lucian’s Story:
About the Author:
Lucian C. Gagliola is a graduate of University of Connecticut-Storrs and aspires toward law school. He is a writer for Different Brains and has worked as a political operative for years. Lucian carries a diagnosis of high-functioning autism, anxiety, and ADHD, and stresses viewing autism in a positive light and removing the stigma of having a different brain.
Life Before the Pandemic & Reacting to the Coronavirus:
Q: Describe your everyday life before the pandemic hit. Include social aspects, such as school, work, extracurricular activities, and spending time with friends and family.
A: Before the pandemic hit, I was actually enrolled in a law school in a jurisdiction program. I was also looking for work. I had a part-time job as a mentor for autistic students at Ben Haven Academy, and I was looking for something that would offer more hours. I saw friends almost every weekend. We’d have a board game night. I also played D&D [Dungeons and Dragons] at the church in the church hall every Tuesday night, so I routinely saw a large group of friends. I used play diplomacy competitively, I would go to tournaments, and those have basically been cancelled.
Q: Describe how you initially reacted to COVID-19 and the social distancing.
A: I didn’t react a lot. I mean, we’ve had other health scares in my lifetime with the swine flu and bird flu, so I just kind of treated it the same as those, which was to be relatively dismissive towards it. With history as my guide, there was no good reason to be alarmed… I will say, my first reaction to the pandemic in regards to the shutdown was actually, “I wonder how [the coronavirus] is going to impact the election.” For the social distancing, I joked and said, “I’m already very socially distant, so this is great”, to everyone. I was actually a little bit cranky about the fact I my social life had to be altered. It was fine the way it was, but you have to play ball sometimes. I thought this would be over quickly, but it wasn’t. I said it would be over soon, I said it wouldn’t be a big deal, you don’t need to be alarmed, and that all changed pretty fast.
Life Changes & Adaptations:
Q: In what ways did your life and schedule change as a result of the coronavirus?
A: Well, I wasn’t able to go to D&D at the church anymore. I wasn’t able to see my friends in general. I actually have a couple friends who are not that afraid of the virus, so I have been hanging out with them more. I decided not to go back to school and to put that on hold temporarily [until the coronavirus ends] because I wasn’t that sure how well online learning would do for me. I’m not sure if online learning is the right course [for me] and I don’t want to risk that.
Q: What have you had to do in order to adapt to these circumstances?
A: It was really just doing things online instead of in-person. My friends and I have tried to have an online game night, but that didn’t go very well. We have certain online parties like a murder mystery dinner party, we had an online birthday party for some people; myself included in December. There were at least certain ways to keep things kind of normal or at least have an illusion of normalcy.
Neurodiversity & The Coronavirus:
Q: If you are neurodiverse, how has the pandemic affected your condition(s) or how have your conditions affected how you’re dealing with the coronavirus?
A: I don’t think it’s made a big difference, actually. I have diagnoses of anxiety, autism, ADHD, and a sleep disorder that’s otherwise unspecified, but none of that has really had an impact, I don’t think. Having high-functioning autism, you’re already living a relatively limited social life, at least compared to others that you may know. I don’t think [my neurodiversities] have really changed with the pandemic, at least.
Coping With Change, Life Lessons, & Advice:
Q: What coping mechanisms are you using in order to deal with these strange times?
A: More just finding ways to keep myself busy with computer games, reading, writing, and working as needed and when I can. I also keep myself as socially active as possible, which obviously, is limited.
Q: What have you learned about yourself and the world around you about these circumstances?
A: How to wash my hands even better. I wish I could give you more, but that’s all I have.
Q: What advice would you give to someone that’s having a hard time dealing with the coronavirus?
A: This will end at some point. This is a great chance for you to pick up a new hobby.
Story by: Lucian
Interviewed by: Julia Futo
Interviewed on: January 29th, 2021
