Fritz Johnson

Fritz Johnson Autistic Realtor® working with clients nationwide.

Visit me at https://www.bettercallfritz.com if you need to buy or sell a home anywhere in the US or read my blog at https://blog.bettercallfritz.com

12/04/2025

Thank you for coming along with me

12/04/2025

Why I post about overcoming autism

My fear of learning how to drive was one of my biggest - dumbest - hangups in my early 20s.I was afraid of the responsib...
12/04/2025

My fear of learning how to drive was one of my biggest - dumbest - hangups in my early 20s.

I was afraid of the responsibility and danger that came with having a license. Getting over that was a big part of becoming an adult for me.

The Day I Met Temple Grandin (Continued From My Last Post)Temple's talk concluded - and she then took some questions fro...
12/04/2025

The Day I Met Temple Grandin (Continued From My Last Post)

Temple's talk concluded - and she then took some questions from the audience. At first, my nervous, autistic self just sat and watched.

A couple of the questions other people were asking struck me as totally inane, and I think that made it easier for me to stand up & get in line at the mic.

When my turn came, I told her a bit about my diagnosis and my endless struggles with school & work.

Then I simply - weakly - asked... "What do I do?"

I probably sounded more desperate than I wanted to at the time.

My life was going nowhere. I had some programming skills but I was still living with my dad in a town with no tech jobs. I didn't know how to drive or do *anything* except code at a basic level

Here's what she told me:

First some comfort - something akin to "You're 21 and not in jail or a he**in addict. It's not too late to figure things out."

Then - in her typical brusk manner... "Do you have any useful skills?"

I told her about my programming skills & the bootcamp I'd been attending.

"Build something incredible. Be so good they can't ignore you."

Finally, she spoke to the gathered audience of local business owners.

She encouraged them to come find me after the talk if they had a job opening, or anything I could do for them.

And that's how I got my very first paid programming gig. That's how I got my life started. That's how I found hope.

So I just want to say... "Thank you, Temple".

You paved the way for me, and so many others.

Temple Grandin - perhaps the most notable people to ever be diagnosed with Asperger's Disorder - came to my hometown of ...
12/04/2025

Temple Grandin - perhaps the most notable people to ever be diagnosed with Asperger's Disorder - came to my hometown of Fresno, CA to speak to agricultural business leaders about her work with cattle eight years ago.

I didn't expect to attend the talk, and frankly, I didn't even know who she was at the time, but my mom told me to go - and I wasn't doing anything else in my life - so I went.

It was easily one of the most important decisions of my life.

She started by telling her story - all about her famous "hugging machine", the sign-painting business she started out of college, and more. I went in totally disinterested, but within a minute or two, I was hanging on every word. She so clearly "got it".

I don't mean that in the way that a therapist or a psychologist "understands" the symptoms of Autism. Temple had lived them.

And though I sat in a crowd of ~100 people, I felt like she was talking directly to me. I've never felt that way before or since.

She spoke about her struggles with sensory issues, getting weird looks for muttering while you think, or missing social cues to great detriment.

She finished by laying out a case for how people like her - like us - saw the world differently, and how there is value in those differences.

By the time her talk ended, I was crying. Of course I was! I'd never felt so seen - so understood - in my struggles.

If you didn't know, most adults with (what was called) Aspergers are either unemployed or woefully underemployed. I sure was.

I've known my "odds" were terrible since I was 15 at the oldest. I'm basically a high-school dropout, mind you.

But she "made it" - and I realized that I could too.

(Story continues in my next post)

12/03/2025

One of the most common questions autistic people struggle to answer…

Just in case you didn’t know… (varies by market tho)
12/03/2025

Just in case you didn’t know… (varies by market tho)

12/03/2025

What if autistic people didn’t exist?

12/02/2025

Staying in touch with people is so useful even if it’s hard

12/02/2025

I had a rough childhood. Many people did. Even so, misanthropy is no way to go through life.

Finally past thanksgiving. Merry Christmas!
12/02/2025

Finally past thanksgiving. Merry Christmas!

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