All About Shawn  

My name is Shawn Tierney.  I am 17 years old and extremely tall for my age.  I am 6 feet and 5 inches and I weigh 225 pounds.  My “Auntie Sylvia” says I grow at least an inch every single day, but that couldn’t be true since I would have reached the galaxy by now. 

 I am a very adventurous boy and I can talk for hours about stars and planets, twisters, sharks and fighter planes.  I love to draw and so get lots of practice.  My pictures are really starting to look just like what I see.

 I love to laugh now, which is something I couldn’t do 7 years ago.  I can really understand a good joke and I love comedy.  My favorite comedy is Dorf Goes Fishing.  My mom just loves to hear me laugh, especially when I understand what I am laughing at.

 My favorite thing to watch on TV is Westerns and my favorite thing to do is go fishing.  I can set up the pole with bait and everything.  I love to play videos.  I love to play my guitar and I love to take pictures.

 I can take part in sports if you give me the chance to play and learn.  I can run really well and love to run all the time.  I take walks and even ride my bike all alone now, but I have a schedule of outside rules that I have to follow, and I have to make sure that it’s okay with my mom.  I get to go swimming sometimes too.  When I’m playing out in the yard, I can make my own bow and arrow out of twigs and branches, and with just a little rope from the hay bails outside, I can really make it work!

When I’m at home I love to cook and CLEAN! You see, I’m a really big guy who needs to eat a lot and I get really uncomfortable when things are out of place.  Maybe that’s why I like to cook and clean so much.   When I’m with my grandparents I get to take care of the horses and that’s fun.  I get to feed them and help clean out the stalls.

 When people fight it makes me upset, and when I hear loud noises like screaming and yelling or people get in my face, I back away because it makes me feel nervous and uncomfortable.  It is really difficult for me to look at people, at least to look into their eyes and I’m not really sure why.  Being with crowds of people gets me mixed up and I forget where I am going or what I am supposed to be doing and I get scared and even cry.  Most people think it’s really strange for a big guy like me to act that way, but I can’t help it.

 I also have something called dyslexia that makes it hard for me to learn to read and that bothers me a whole lot.  I want to read, but it is so hard.  It embarrasses me that I can’t do it even though I try really hard.  Sometimes I just hold a book and pretend.

  I need a schedule to keep me on track, and since I get confused when I am told too many things at once, it really makes it easier for me to understand if people tell me exactly what they mean and don’t give me too many things to do or choose from at the same time.  

Something really exciting happened to me last year.  I started working at Publix through a program at my school and I was given an outstanding employee award.  I love my job because it makes me feel all grown up.  At work I do a lot of bagging and talking.  The people on my job like me and I like them to.  I don’t get a real paycheck but I earn dollars at home for doing good work and I am learning something mom calls responsibility as well as how to manage my money.   So far I have bought myself a new fishing pole.

I have something called autism, but I like to hang out just like other boys my age.  If you asked me about myself and had the time to listen, this is probably what I would say, it just would take me an awfully long time and a lot of words to get it all said.  I have a hard time explaining what I think or feel, and the way I am may make you a little uneasy, so if there is anything you need to know, you can just ask my mom.

Written for Shawn by his “Auntie Sylvia”

Shawn’s lives at home in Marion County with his mom and step-dad, Susane and Richard Quigley.  

Shawn's sister, Christel-Jana Tierney works with young adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders as a Caregiver and Behavior Specialist at Threshold, Inc. in Orlando.  She is working towards  becoming a Certified Behavioral Analyst.

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