Bruger:ChickenCornCorner/sandkasse

This article is about the life of Helene Meyer Refslund dating to 2024.

Hidden diagnoses

Living with autism and not getting the help needed, can be very difficult. Helene went to a normal school all the way from kindergarden to 8th grade. In the later grades, she also felt very misunderstood and had trouble socially connecting with people, because no one seemed to have any interests in common with hers. So she started ro shut herself away from other people, since the thought of saying anything wrong seemed scary to her. And the senses constantly being overstimulated, by being surrounded by so many people and so much noise all the time, caused a lot of stress in her. And because of that Helene took more and more distance from the school and herself. Things like homework and schoolbags she started seeing as "dirty," since it had been in contact with the school, and she would start washing her hands and shifting clothes everytime she got home. It was a form of survival mechanism to distance herself from the bad feelings associated with school, but it soon took over. After corona and the lockdown in 2020, she had been inside for months, and wouldn't even touch her own family. She would barely touch anything really, besides her ipad, that started to seem like her entire world. Just the idea of going outside, seemed so impossible to her. It was very hard both for her, and the people close to her. But she would still be forced back to the school after lockdown was over, but most of the time she would end up skipping school to cry in her room instead, which she considered a safe haven. Nothing in there had been in contact with school. There was only the few things she needed. Helene would then be taken to the hospital, where she was diagnosed with autism, anxiety and OCD. Everything started to make sense after that, and they finally got a better understanding of what she needed.

A positive change

Helene was then transferred to a school for teenagers with special needs. There, the building was nice and warm, and the overall atmosphere was way more calm than what she was used to. The teachers and support-adults were also way friendlier towards students and were always around. There were only seven students in the class, and everyone had similar backgrounds to Helene. It wasn't long before she started engaging in the conversations, which was about so much more than just clothes and makeup, which she was used to at her previous school. She slowly started to break more and more out of her shell, and she went to school every day. School became a nice place to be. She still washed hands and shifted clothes when getting home, beacuse it was so ingrained in her. But there was no longer the constant anxiety following her with being outside, the constant thoughts of "What if I touched that, am I dirty now?" So the shift of school turned out to be one of the best decisions made for her. And there she finished 9th grade.

Helene with pet chicken Amaryllis

Veganism and beliefs

In 9th grade around 2022, Helene also started going to a farm specifically for teenagers with autism who struggled, where she would sit and pet the animals for hours, and she really got to know them and each of their very different personalities. That was when she realised she could no longer eat meat. Sitting and hugging a pregnant sheep and then going home to eat lamb chops, just felt wrong. And never had her morals and actions aligned so well. It felt really good for her to be able to make that choice, and stand up for what she believed in. And now in 2024, she will continue speaking up for animals, and do what she can to make their lives better. (For example painting stones with vegan messages for people to see)

Pet chickens

In the summer of 2022, Helene also decided to get pet chickens and give them a good home. She still spends a lot of time in the garden with them, getting to know their very funny indivudal personalities. They bring so much joy to her and comfort when she is stressed. Therefore they have become such a big part of her life. First she got Tulli (For tulip) and Lilje (For lily in danish) They were faverolles, and had feathery feet and beards. A very funny breed with a french-kinda accent. Tulli would say "oooOoO" all day, hoping for treats. She was very determined and clumsy, and would sometimes sound like a trumpeter. Lilje, on the other hand was much more careful and scared of almost everything, but she was very gentle and enjoyed the small thing in life, like dustbathing, sunbathing and scraping for worms. When she felt wronged, which she often did, (cause she was very sensitive,) she would make a sound, that sounded like she was crying. Both of them unfortunetely passed away from natural causes, but will live on in Helenes heart forever. Now she has two other faverolles, Azalea and Amaryllis. They're both very lively and all over the floor. There's also Mynte and Syren, two creme legbar chickens. Mynte is very reserved and shy, while Syren is the opposite and loves attention. But they're all really sweet and amazing in their own way.

Writing

Helene has always liked writing. Ever since she was about seven she would write small fantasy stories on paper, that she folded and drew on. Then later she would turn to write longer stories and poems on her computer. Therefore it has always been a good way for her to express her feelings and get some of the heavy thoughts out. She hasn't published anything yet, but hopes to do so one day.

Here is one of the poems she has written:

Control

A thought triggers action

Action triggers thought

My nervesystem laughed

My body scared

But my brain bored

Feelings melt together

They don’t have names

Tears

They’re on my face

But I don’t see them any better

Blurry memories

Past years

Reason haven’t settled in my brain

And I’m blaming my body

My organs don’t connect

And neither do I

The world I see is foggy

I wash the blood away with sadness

A fragile line between logic and madness

My tears are my sins released to day

I wash them away if they get in my way

A circle of blame and murder I see

But I need to feel clean if I have to breathe

So I kill more people with my soap

But I have to follow these chains

It’s my only way to cope

I’m asking my brain to free me

As if I’m not in control

But I don’t know my soul

I could as well be someone’s doll

I’m not here

I’m not present

I wasn’t there

And this wasn’t my goal

I’ve lost

Control

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Kategorier:

• Autism
• Chickens
• Veganism
• Writing
• Biography