The Christianville Spirit: My Brothers View on Me- A Coronavirus Special!

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Gives Hope

March (Marzo) 25th, 2020- TCS # 681

Stay Healthy, My Readers! Boy, I have got to tell you! My Facebook Feed was The Greenest that I have ever seen! Thank You Friends and PTLS Family Members for Wearing Green. Yes, even My Neighbors wore Green because We had an Ice Cream Social a Couple Days after PTLS Day on March 11th. (Record Scratching) Yeah, Sorry, Not This Year! You Know, I’m going not going to Lie, Looking back, PTLS Awareness Day came at The Right Time because If It was around This Time, It would be Cancelled. Just so You know, It is still PTLS Awareness Month! But, What a Sharp Difference a Couple Years Makes, The Ice Cream Social We had in Our Neighborhood was in 2017, This Year, We are doing this thing called “Social Distancing” because of Fears of a Virus called “Coronavirus”. Perhaps Next Year! So, to Keep PTLS Awareness Month on a Positive Note, Coronavirus be Darned! The Show must go on! 

So, I am going to Re-Share a Newsletter that I added to My “Christianville Classics” List (It is on The Lower Right Corner of My Newsletter Site). You see, This Newsletter is actually an Entirely Different Point of View. It is actually The View of Myself from My Loving Brother, Michael. PTLS Family Members, They don’t make it be know too much, but They do worry that How The Siblings of PTLSers feel about Being The Sibling of a PTLSer. I am here to tell you, My Brother views me Very Greatly, but You will have to read on to Find Out How! Without further a due, This is The Christianville Classic “My Brother’s View on Me”!

This Newsletter was Originally written on June 2oth of 2012 (Refer to Newsletter 305). Hope that You Enjoy what My Brother has to say!

So, Now that I have written Last Week on My View of My Brother and you enjoyed it. Well, now your really going to enjoy this! It’s the long-awaited Newsletter on how My Brother views me. This idea has been in My Head for a while before I finally decided to do it. My Mom and PTLS Family Members had always wondered about My Brother how My Brother felt about me having Special Needs and Having PTLS (or dup.17p11.2, as it used to be called). The idea came when one of the PTLS Members suggested that I should do a Newsletter on My Brother and his view of it all. I mean, considering that I mention him a lot in My Newsletters, people start to wonder about him and how he deals with it. It took a while at first, getting the nerve to ask him to do this, and even the idea of what questions do I ask? Because first off, I didn’t know what to ask him or even more unnerving, what would he say? So, I sent out a post on Facebook to PTLS Members on what questions they want answered and/or curious about and I got quite a few responses about what they want to know. After reading a couple questions, I thought, “Man, these are deep questions” and “I’m not sure if I really want to know about it or not.” So, then came, “How do I do this? A talk? Dictation to My Mom? or an Interview?” Well, long story short, I asked My Brother about it and he said, “We’ll do an interview” and finally, after a while of asking him (because both he and I kept forgetting or it wasn’t the right time of day,) He sat down to answer the questions. He finished it yesterday and it’s ready to go. First, I want to thank him and let him know I appreciate his honesty and willingness to do this. So, Get Ready Everyone cause here’s the interview. As a note: the Bolded Questions are from the PTLS Family Members and below it are Michael’s Responses. So, as they say in Television and Radio, Roll it!!!!!   

TCS: When you were about 10-13 years old, can you tell us as a sibling how you felt when your bother had an aggressive outburst? Did you truly understand what was going on with him?

 Michael: For as long as I have known him, which is practically my entire life, he has never had an aggressive outburst. For the most part if he ever got really upset he would get more emotional. He would work himself up and start crying. There would be the occasional times where he would raise his voice but nothing that could ever be put as an aggressive outburst. At that age I had already seen him do things like that before so I wasn’t to worried about it. I just figured that he was more sensitive to things then I was, I never really linked PTLS to his sensitivity. I also figured out by then he was extremely stubborn and if he didn’t want to do something, he would put up quite a fight. Which would also cause him to get upset.

  TCS: How did having a sibling with PTLS effect your life both good and things that were difficult?

 Michael: Well growing up, nobody knew what PTLS was including myself. I was told that my brother had special needs and I just took that as the literal sense. I never considered him special or different though. I treated him like my bother with no exceptions and restraints. Naturally I picked on him and gave him a hard time. The one thing that I did do growing up was take on the role of big brother. I looked out for him and tried to teach him things. Christian has also taught me a lot growing up with him. I learned from a young age that people in the world see things differently. There’s nothing wrong with looking at the world differently and having a sense of individuality. Everyone goes through highs and lows, it’s how you deal with the situation that makes the difference.

TCS: How do you deal with your peers asking questions about your brother?

 Michael: Honestly, when I was younger I can’t really remember to many people asking about him. I think the main reason was that he was always pretty friendly to everyone. No one really could tell just by meeting him that he had special needs. After a while of getting to know him or seeing him then they might ask questions. I’m always proud to tell them what’s up. I just tell them that he has this rare chromosome duplication and he was forth to be diagnosed with it. After that, some people keep questioning and are really interested others just move on to the next order of business, whatever that might be.

TCS: PTLS kids need a lot of attention/ extra help. Were you ever envious of this?

 Michael: Nope. If anything when I was younger I found it annoying and frustrating. Not that he was getting more attention then me or anything like that, it was just because I was ready to move on and progress while Christian was still trying to learn.

TCS: As a sibling was there a time say around preteen where you were embarrassed when you were out with the family?

 Michael: Not really.

TCS: What did your mom do to help you understand Christians PTLS?

 Michael: I think that the best thing for me was learning patients and acceptance. I was taught that not everyone learns the same way and each person is different. Some people require more training on particular topics. Really that advice goes for everyone and didn’t segregate my brother from other people. It didn’t hurt that my mom likes the medical field and could give me facts and explain information easier to me.

TCS: When did you realize Christian was different?

Michael: I don’t think there was really a point of epiphany where all of a sudden I knew he was different. Living with him and growing up together, you just kind of known as life. Its really the same as getting to know anyone else, you hang out with them enough you learn things about them. All it takes is some powers of observation.

TCS: Growing up, can you give some examples of things you showed him how to do/ taught him?

 Michael: Ha ha ha!!! When I was seventeen or so I let Christian drive my car down the neighborhood street. That was exciting to say the least!! I taught him how to play video games and things like that. To recall everything I taught him would take some time. I just try my best to show him and explain to him anything that he has questions about and would like to learn about. His memory is pretty freaky. He can recall all sorts of random stuff. If others put in the effort and energy to teach him, he can learn anything.

TCS: Do you feel any angst or nervousness about being Christian’s guardian later in life?

 Michael: I suppose so, it is kind of nerve racking. I’m not stressing out too much though. We get along great and for the most part he is pretty self-reliant. I am confident in my self and my abilities to overcome any obstacle that dares to stand in front of me. Ha ha ha! But for real, I have known about being his guardian for a long time now, so I’m mentally ready.   

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So, I hope all of this helped to answer your questions on Siblings and My Brother. It was quite surprising to hear some of these because I didn’t expect it. Well, you know, I guess it’s like they say, “You’ll Never Know Until You Ask”, simple as that. This whole interview turned out to be more fun than I thought it was going to be, but then again, I didn’t know. I mean, you know, how much someone loves you but, sometimes, every now and then, you might be curious as to how much that person loves you. As for me, I know that My Brother loves me and understands me, and I love him so much for that. All in all, I say it a lot, but I’ll say it again, My Brother, Michael, is Awesome!

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Let the ones you Love in your life, know that you love them; Everyday.

The Christianville Spirit: My Mom's Birth-Month Rerun

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Brings Hope

March (Marzo) 18th, 2020- TCS # 680

Happy Birthday, My Readers! Okay, so This is an Odd Greeting but, It is quite meaningful. Now, Yes, It may or may not be Your Birthday This Month, although I know a lot of People who have Birthdays in March (“Marzo”, as I call it), but One Highlight Person wants to Wish You Happy Birthday even if It is not, My Grandma Honey. Speaking of which, She wishes Her Amazing Daughter (aka My Mom), A Very Happy Birthday! Okay, so My Mom’s Birthday is actually on Monday. But, I am thinking that Because of The Coronavirus, It, like Everything has been Cancelled. However though (Keyword here, However). It does not mean that It is Cancelled in My Heart or in Christianville, for that Matter. Everyone is Fine in The Christianville Metro Area, Everything is Open, NO ONE has The Coronavirus, and All Metro Wide Events are still going as Planned. This includes The Birthday/Birth-Month Celebrations of My Mom! Happy Birthday to The Most Brilliant and Amazing Mom!

Anyway, on to This Week’s Newsletter! This Month has been a Month of Celebration with PTLS Awareness Month as well as My Mom’s Birthday this Month. “It’s My Birth-Month!”, My Mom would say. Our Friend, Max told us that You should celebrate Your Birthday not just a Day, but A Week, or Even The Entire Month. The Possibilities are Endless. I came to The Realization that I have not written about My Mom’s Birthday. I had written about Grandma Honey’s Birthday. So, Why not do both! First I should mention The Birth of, In My Humble Opinion, the Best Mom Ever! Then again, I have a Good Relationship with My Mom. To Me, that is Very Important. Come to Think of It, a Little Deeper, If It was not for My Mom,

I would have not been born! Cause and Effect! You can follow it as far Back if You want!

If It was not for Great-Grandma Mimi, There would not be Grandma Honey; If It weren’t for Grandma Honey, There would not be My Mom and Of Course, as I always say; If It weren’t for My Mom, then There would not be Me. Funny if You think of It that Way. It becomes More Interesting the More You look at it and Yes, even how far back You can go. So, I thank Grandma Honey, on Her Birthday for Giving birth to My Mom, who gave birth to Me.

As You have heard Me say, I am proud of who I am. I would not be here Today if it was not for My Mom being Born. Believe it or not, Both My Mom and Grandma Honey have Interesting Birth Stories of Each Other. For Grandma Honey, When She was Pregnant with My Mom, She went to The Hospital 3 Times with False Labor until The 3rd Time (3rd Time’s The Charm, They Say!) when My Mom was finally born. However, Funny Story, as a Result of Grandma Honey pushing so hard birthing My Mom, Her Knee came up to Hit The Doctor’s Nose and Broke It! Oops! Now, of Course, with that kind of Luck in The Family, You know that My Mom birthing Her First Child, Me, would come with an Interesting Story. My Mom gave birth to Me via Cesarean Section without ANY Medication, She basically felt Everything. Well, Okay, She was given anesthesia but, It did not work. Plus, I was in Distress trying to come out, so The Doctors decided to do a C-Section and Like I said, She felt Everything. I believe She felt Everything with BOTH My Brother and I (The C-Section Meds did not work when Michael was born either) at The Times we were born. My Mom likes to refer to it as, “Natural Childbirth by C-Section”

So, A Word to The Wise, Anyone who messes with My Mom or Grandma Honey, My Mom She felt Everything and My Grandma Honey will Break Your Nose. To Me, that is Love! So, to Continue The Honoring I will Rerun a Newsletter about My Birth but, It also honors My Mom in Many Ways.

Portions of This Newsletter was written on August 9th of 2017 (Refer to Newsletter 556)

So, This Birthday Newsletter is going to be a Little Different. Less than Traditional. So, Something that Most People don’t think about, Your Birthday is not just Your Birthday, It is also for Your Mom. Your Mom?! You would say. “It’s MY Birthday, not Hers!”. But, Here is the Thing, We would not be here without Our Moms. Our Moms giving birth to us. My Mom and I were talking about it one Night and I asked her, “What would You call the day of My Birth?”. “Mother’s Day of Birthing” and Everyone has one. In Other Words, In a way, Your Birthday is mainly about You but, also about Your Mom. So, What about Your Mom? Well, in Honor of Her, My Mom is Awesome! The Thing is about Your Mom is that You don’t realize how much She does for You from Birth to Now. I Thank My Mom for that Every Day and not just in a “Thanks Mom for Dinner” kind of way. After all, She birthed me, She burped me, She cuddled me, She took care of me, and Sent me to School among Many, Many Things. She does a lot too! She does a lot of Work (that is often Unseen, as to How hard she works) and Representation of not only Myself but, My Special Needs of Potocki-Lupski Syndrome (or PTLS for Short). That Alone deserves an Award! She does a lot of Work for Furthering PTLS and does not Get Paid (Which She should, just My Bias here!) and Eventually Will be! She tells me that She knew I had Something Special about Me and that I was Unique from The Minute that I was Born! From The Moment that She felt Everything giving Birth to Me, She knew She was going to be in for Quite a Ride! Not in the Very Least a Typical Up and Down Ride! How about an Up, Down, Upside Down, and Spinning Ride?! and, Quite a Ride that She has ridden up to Now and Will continue to Ride. Now, Imagine this Whole Ride of PTLS, Working Hard Unseen, and Raising Him Up. Comes to Her Oldest Son turing 30 Years Old on Friday! That is just Cray-Cray! I am not a Gift Receiving kind of Person (It is not My First Love Language), I would rather feel Love with Quality of Time. I would rather Celebrate The People that I know and Love as My Gift. So, that is My Gift to You. All in all, I Thank You to My Readers for Being in My Life. And, I thank My Mom for Birthing Me for You to be in My Life!

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Giving Birth to Give Life. Now, that is Love.

The Christianville Spirit: A Letter to PTLS Family Members, New and Old

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Gives Hope

March (Marzo) 11th, 2020-TCS # 679

Welcome Back, My Readers! Welcome Back from An Absolutely Amazing “PTLS Holiday” known as Potocki-Lupski Syndrome Awareness Day, known to PTLS Family Members as either PTLS Awareness Day or just PTLS Day for Short. Before We get to This Week’s Newsletter, I want to Thank All of My Awesome PTLS Family for Helping Spread Awareness and Of Course, Wearing Green and Showing off their PTLS Gear! Of Course, Thank You Very Much for Any and All Donations to The PTLS Foundation as well as All Fundraisers to Raise Awareness for PTLS Ones from PTLS Family Members in Louisiana and California come to Mind. Of Course, A Special Shout Out to Friend and Expat, Heidi because She spread Awareness wearing Her PTLS Shirt while Hiking in Peru! From The Bottom of My Heart, It means a lot to Me and I Thank You! 

So, onto This Week’s Newsletter! So, I came to a Realization recently. So, My Mom posted on Facebook, Thanking The People involved with having us Speak in Sweden two times. You See, as of This Week, It has been Four Years since The First Time that We went to speak in Sweden. But, One Comment really made me think. It was from a PTLS Family Member that I know very well and She said that When Her Child was Diagnosed, The First Thing She did was find My Newsletter and that is how She got to know, not only me but, More Importantly, Potocki-Lupski Syndrome (PTLS). I thought to Myself, not that I know what it is like to be a New PTLS Family Member, but What is The First Thing that They want to know? About PTLS, Right?! Well, Yes and No. They want to know about PTLS but, Most Importantly, They want to know if Their Child is going to Okay or not. In Most Medical Situations, from Syndromes to Illnesses and Ailments, They want to know “How Bad is It?” PTLS is NOT Bad for the Record, nor is it as Bad as You think it is. I looked over at My Christianville Classics List (By The Way, New Family or Not, You can always check that List) and I was Shocked to find out that A Newsletter that I had written explaining Who I was and What PTLS was was Not a Classic! So, with that Said, I am going to make it one. 

So, Without further a due This is Christianville Classic, “A Family Letter”. This Newsletter was a Part of My “Letters to Loved Ones” Series. 

This Newsletter was written on September 25th of 2013 (Refer to Newsletter 369)

So, Let’s Start This Week’s Continuation of My Series, with yet another question. When was the Last Time that You wrote a Letter to a Family Member? By That, I mean, A Family Member can be Your Uncle, Your Cousin, Your Grandma, or even Your Aunt. It can be someone in your Immediate Family, or someone in your Extended Family. It is, believe it or not, Rare to write a letter to a Family Member unless They are Serving Overseas. Thank You for Your Service, By The Way! The Most Common Written Letter is a “Love Letter” but, a Family Letter? Well, Most People will tell you while leaning back, “Ehh, We have Email for That!” True. But, Again it is Rare and Getting Rarer. So, In My Case, Because I have 3 Families (Immediate, Smith, and PTLS Family, respectively) I’m going to write to My PTLS Family. So, without further a due, This is The Christianville Spirit Series, “Letters to Loved Ones!”. For the 2nd Installment of the “Letters to Loved Ones” Series, I’m going to write one to My dearest PTLS Family.

“Dear PTLS Family Members,

Hi! For Those who don’t know me, My Name is Christian Centeno, I am the son of My Mom, Julie Smith-Centeno. although I liked to be referred to as “Christian Smith-Centeno” but, I answer to both. I am now 26 Years Old (I am now 32 Years Old) and Yes, I have PTLS. I am actually proud to say that I have PTLS (or Potocki-Lupski Syndrome). Also, known as Duplication 17p11.2 and Yes, all that Medical Lingo Matters! I have had PTLS My Whole Life, although I didn’t really know until I was about 9 Years Old but, it didn’t really matter much to Me. It doesn’t matter to Me now. For Those that are wondering, “Why am so I Proud to have PTLS?” Because it makes me Unique. Not in a “I’m-Better-than-You” kind of Way but, in a more “I’m One of God’s Many Unique Creatures in This World.” So, People will always ask me, “How do You handle having this ‘disease’?” First of all, It is NOT a “Disease”! It is a Unique Chromosome Disorder, and, How do I deal with it? I have lived with PTLS, My Whole Life so, It became part of My Life. Anyway, The One Thing I wanted to tell you, besides Giving You an Education about It, is that Everything is Going to be Okay! Life through My Eyes, it is pretty Awesome! Excuse Me if I sound like My Mother for a minute, but Your Child is going to Talk either words or through their eyes; Your Child hears and understands Everything and I mean, Everything, Believe Me, I drive My Mom crazy when I hear her talking on the other side of The House and I have always understood what was being told to me; Your Child might want to have a Girlfriend (like I did) or Boyfriend; Depending on the Child’s choice, They could go to Homecoming or Prom (I went to Homecoming, but I didn’t go to Prom); and, Finally, as scary as it sounds, Will find someone and Will get Married (As I plan on doing). A little note about PTLSers having Children, There is a 50/50 Chance of their child having PTLS. As for Me, I don’t plan on having Children for that Reason, Crying or Children/Animals in Distress really bothers me, as well it would be Hard for me to take care of. So, Will they get to Go to College, Get a Job or Drive? Well, College will be up to the Child’s Discretion and Abilities. As for Me, maybe I’ll take a few Continuing Education Classes but, College isn’t high on My List. A Job is a Definite Yes! I have, had one before and I was really good at it. and, Driving...Well, I’ll put it this way, If we lived in a Small Town where Everyone knew who I was, then maybe I would Drive but, considering I live in a Big City, it might be Hard. Of Course, That is not to say that I never Drove before. Because My Brother had me drive around the Neighborhood and When I was younger, We had a Go Cart and I drove that a lot around the yard. So, Your Child will get there eventually, it just takes a lot of patience. So, If you are reading this and you have been here a while, You pretty much know all this. For Those that are New, Welcome to The Family! Remember though, that No Family is Perfect and Remember too, that Family should always come First! I believe that we are literally, a Family, we may not be Blood, but We Are Family!

I Love You All, PTLS Family!

Your PTLSer, 

Christian Smith-Centeno”

So, as You can see, whether You are New or a Veteran, We welcome you with Open Arms, a Hug, and Lots of Encouragement. All in All, Family may be what you make of it but, Family is Important!

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Remember the Importance of Family!

The Christianville Spirit: Best Of PTLS Awareness Month II

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Gives Hope

March (Marzo) 4th, 2020-TCS # 678

Happy Potocki Lupski Syndrome Awareness Month, My Readers! Wow! That is a Mouthful! Yes, That is Right, it is PTLS Awareness Month. If You can believe it, A few years ago, There was No Such Thing as PTLS Awareness Month, The Saying, “Be Seen, Wear Green for The Happy PTLS Gene” (that is The Extension of the “Be Seen, Wear Green” saying), There was No Logo (The Key), and There was No Such Thing as Potocki-Lupski Syndrome. Before March 8th, 2007, Potocki-Lupski Syndrome was just known as “A Duplication of Chromosome 17p11.2”. Now, that is technically what Potocki-Lupski Syndrome is, A Duplication of Chromosome 17p11.2. But, Try explaining that to Someone when You want to tell them how Unique You are. It took many years to get where we are today. We are at 1 in 20 Thousand Kids Now. My Unique Syndrome was named for Two Very Down-to-Earth Doctors in Houston, Texas; Doctor Potocki and The World-Renowned Doctor Lupski (although He won’t admit it Outfrontly because He is a Humble Man). My Mom tried many years to get them to Name It. She, Of Course, had kinda settled on “Christian Syndrome” if They were not going to name it. Funny, My Syndrome, could have been named after Me! So, That is The Background of The Story of Potocki-Lupski Syndrome. So, Why I am I so Celebrative about PTLS Month? It is Just a Month after all, with St. Patrick’s Day and My Mom’s Birthday. But, To Most People, It is just a Month, but To Me, It is a Chance to Celebrate My Uniqueness and Celebrate The Fact that, Yes, I am That Unique. I still Remember, The First PTLS Awareness Day, before Anyone knew about it. It is at a Time when My School screwed up My Class Schedule, meaning that I had to go Home early. In Short, I chose The Wrong Class! Anyway, on March 8th, My Mom picked me up and we pulled out on the street, and start driving home when My Mom told me. “Guess What?!” Mom says. “What?” I respond with. “Your Special Needs was Named!”. Now, at the Time, I needed a Minute to absorb what She was saying, “My Special Needs was Named?!” then, She told me, “It was named after The Doctors in Houston, Doctor Potocki & Doctor Lupski”, She continued, “It is called Potocki-Lupski Syndrome or PTLS!”. I was so Thrilled! I finally could say, “I have Potocki-Lupski Syndrome!”. After about a Year of Figuring it all out and Enough PTLS Families (Today known as PTLS Family Members) were around, we started to tell them. 

The Best Part of PTLS Awareness Month, I feel is that It is a Time for Raising Awareness. We have a PTLS Foundation that working hard to help support us and It is Important to make everything Positive because We PTLSers see Life in a Positive Light.

In Order Words, Show that We PTLSers matter in The World! We are NOT Special, We are Unique! Guys, PTLS is a Big Gift from God to You. We want to be seen and be heard! Now, Yes, Your Child may be behind and Not Progressing the Way You want them to but, We need to Stay Focused on What all of us PTLSers CAN do, But, On Their Own Time! It is Important to Me, and I know All My PTLS Brothers and Sisters, that You believe in Us and All we can do. We are the ones that Have It and We want you to be Proud of Us. We need you to stay positive for us.  No, PTLS is not Bad. It never is Bad, We are Very Happy People. But, There are things like Anxiety, Irrational Fears, and Being Overwhelmed when We want to have Fun but, We need you to understand us so we have time to adjust. 

So, To be Clear, PTLS Awareness Day is March (Marzo) 8th and PTLS Awareness Month is The Entire Month of March (Marzo) so You can “Be Seen and Wear Green” at Anytime of The Month. So, At The Realization that I repeat The Story of How PTLS was Named (In My View). I have decided to give you a “Best of” Newsletter. A Newsletter with References to The Original Story of The Naming of PTLS Awareness Day/Month as well as a Rerun of What I feel is The Best Newsletter that I have written on or near PTLS Awareness Day. So, This is The List of What I am calling, My “Christian’s Best Of PTLS Day Newsletters”

PTLS Awareness Month Kickoff (2015)

Unseen Newsletter about PTLS (2015)

The History of PTLS Awareness Day (2014)

My Love For PTLS (2013)

So, Now that We have that. This Next Section is a Perfect Explanation of How I feel that PTLS Awareness Day is like.

So, This Newsletter is going to first sound Not PTLS Related but, Believe Me, It is! So, It is A Little Known Tradition in Most Countries, on Their Main National Holiday like Fourth of July (Independence Day) in The United States; Canada Day in Canada; Constitution Day in Norway; or Australia Day in Australia, They have What is called a “Citizenship Ceremony” where People become New Citizens of a Country. Well, I would like to think that PTLS Day is sort of The Same Thing. Now, Yes, PTLS Day is a Celebration of People of PTLS and Their Families, but, What about New PTLS Family Members that have been Recently admitted to What I call “The PTLS Union of Families”? I would imagine it would be like a Train passing by with a Bunch of People (To You, at least for the moment; Strangers) that have Children, Young Adults, or Adults in General that look like You or Your Child and One Person grabs you and says “Welcome to The PTLS Family! Let’s Get You Admitted and Soak You In The Family!” Some Newly Admitted Family Members are Ready for It! Just rip that Bandaid off and Jump In! Others though, They are pulled on The Train and They are Lost, Panicked, and Just not Sure (Which is Understandable!). Well, I feel like PTLS Day is a Day where We stop at a Station (or at least Should), Start Admitting New Members, and Welcoming Them with Open Arms and Take them along in Their Own Pace. Some like a Slow Pace of Learning Everything about PTLS and Some hop on and say “Give Me All You Got!”. Of Course, that is Explaining The Average PTLS Family Members. The Rest, They like to just Get all The Information and Hop off The Train and Go on Their Marry Way. Although, They are Part of The PTLS Family and They are Welcome on The Train at Any Time. Anyway, Whether You are New or Just Need a Re-Fresher, or Just need Hope for a Moment,   

 I am going to Rerun one of My Gold Newsletters of The Most Common Questions or Concerns about PTLS. (This is  The Best PTLS Day Newsletter) So, Take These Questions and Answers in Whatever Pace You like. You can read the Whole Newsletter Now or Read some of It now and Some later. I do have to Edit it a little bit because This Newsletter was originally written in May of 2015 (Refer to Newsletter 450). Enjoy and Happy PTLS Day!

So, as The Late Joan Rivers would say, “Let’s Talk” and This is a “Let’s Talk” Newsletter indeed. (Joan Rivers passed away in May of 2015 and I figured that I would honor her) As My Veterans know, I often cover the Same Thing about PTLS In Introduction but, As I say, There are always New PTLS Family Members that are “Admitted into The Union” per se. But, I am sure that There are Those who have been reading a while, or Started Reading, and are Curious about PTLS. You See, When A New PTLS Member is Admitted into The PTLS Family, To be fair, They are a Bit Scared when They come in and See what PTLS has to offer. They worry about Many Simple Things that Most People would not; PTLS is Unique! Haven’t You Heard? (breaking out in Song) Da, Da, Da Bird, Bird, Bird, Bird Is The Word! Just Kidding about The Bird, It is Family Guy Reference. Aaaannnnnyway, So I, The Caring Guy that I am, is going to try and Help both New Members and Refresh for The Standing PTLS Members. So, I’m going to take this in sort of a Political Candidate/Interview kind of Way. So, Here We Go.

First Off, I would to like Welcome You to The PTLS Family! My Name is Christian Smith-Centeno (also known as “Christian Centeno”) I am currently 30 Years Old and I have PTLS. I usually say that statement Very Proudly. Even though I edit it to My Age, Every Year, I still say it Proudly. I have had PTLS my Whole Life, Diagnosed at 3 Years Old. I was 4th In The World and 1st in The United States and through the week long research study (done Way Back then) but, that is just a Title! So, now that We have done the Introduction, Time to go for The Deep Stuff! By The Way, New Members, Please Take Your Time reading this, You don’t have to Digest It at all at Once! 

So, With New Members, They have Different Priorities when It comes to The First Question, We’ll call it, The Leap of Faith. Here We Go! 

Are You Okay?/Is My Child Going to be Okay?/ Are You at Least “Close to Typical”?: To Answer That Question. Yes, I am Okay. I am a Happy Person and Most PTLSers are Generally Happy. In Fact, They say that PTLSers have “The Happy Gene”. Second Question, This and VERY Important! Yes, Your Child Will Be Okay (Capitalized for Emphasis). Am I at least “Close to Typical”? As Good as I can be. Sometimes, It is not Easy to “Try to be Typical” because I don’t want to stand out TOO Much! I see Myself as “Unique”, In Other Words, I am Me, Simply Put.

What on Earth is PTLS?!

PTLS is shorthand of “Potocki-Lupski Syndrome”. Potocki-Lupski Syndrome is named after Two Doctors in Houston named Doctor Potocki and Doctor Lupski. and While we are at it, PTLS is NOT a Disease (It is a Disorder), It just happens. It is also worth Mentioning that Potocki-Lupski Syndrome has Autism-like Behaviors.

Oh My Lord, What do I do about Potty Training?! 

Okay, now This is My Bias Story, So it may or may not work for You. One Day, It was Raining and My Mom had a Frustrating Moment and Told Me that “The Baby down the Street needed My Diapers and I could not go in My Pants” Long Story, Short. I looked at Her like She had Two Heads and I eventually went to The Bathroom, by My Self. Needless to Say, Us PTLSers are Very Stubborn! 

Important Stuff

The Stuff I feel that You should know about us. That I consider to be Important. We are Detail Oriented (All about The Details!), Routine Oriented (as in Getting Up at Same Time and Going to Bed at The Same Time, Predictability in Life helps us focus!), We do get Overwhelmed with Too Much Noise or Activity. In Other Words, VERY Sensitive Hearing when We are Young, It does go down as We get Older. We are a bit OCD and Obsessive about Things. and, Most Importantly, We are Rule Followers, If You tell us a Rule that We will Follow It and Expect Others to Follow It. We (or at least, Myself) have an Issue with Gooey Textures or Things that Look like that. 

Eating

 That They will do at Their Own Time. I personally Ate nothing but Macaroni and Cheese, Yogurt, Apple Sauce, and Pasta most of My Childhood. PTLSers these Days, Love Fruit and Veggies. More so Fruit. So, The Next Part gets a bit split in The PTLS Family with Different View Points.

Walking and Talking (Plain and Simple) 

Usually, Anywhere around 3 Years Old, They start Walking (some earlier) and, around 4 to 5 Years Old is when PTLSers start trying to Talk (Some Earlier, Some Later, and Some Non-Verbal). It should have a Disclaimer here that, PTLSers have a range, so Those Stats are a Give or Take. But, One Thing that I want you to Know in This Segment is that PTLSers are Smarter than You realize. They soak in Everything and In Turn, They end up Mimicking What They are around. 

Schooling. Oh The Complication:

So, This is My View, so Do with It What You Will. Throughout School, My Mom made sure that I had a Good Mix of Special Ed and Regular Classrooms. The Special Ed was more for The Subjects that I needed extra help in, like Math, Writing (With an Aide), English (With An Aide), and finally Reading. Now I should mention that We are Very Literal. So, Spacial Learning is The Best Way to Go. Now, I did Regular Classrooms like Geography (With An Aide), Environmental Science (With An Aide), Aqua Science, and Art (Both Regular and Sculpture Art, without an Aide). I Will mention that Back in High School, I did a little “Job Crew” Class and I got to do something, I referred to as “Parking Lot Duty”. My Job was to Check the Big Staff Parking Lot (about 100 or so Cars) and Make Sure that Everyone was parked in the right place. I had to write The License Plate Number if They weren’t. I had 100% Compliance that Year. 

College

 So This One is a bit hard for Me. I really don’t like People who are Not Understanding asking Me if I go to College. Disclaimer Here, Your Child CAN go to College if They are Ready or Want to. Me, Personally, I did not go to College because My Math and Writing Levels were not at College Level. However, In A Way, I attempted a College Class. See, I tried to take one Online. I took a “Globalization Class” because after all, I am interested in how Geography, History, and Politics all mix together. As Crazy as it sounds, I used to think that History was boring, It had Nothing to do with Geography. Boy, Was I wrong! But, Anyway, in Said Class, I had Read from a Text Book (on The Computer), Checked out Websites They told me to Check Out, Watch The Video Lecture, and then A Knowledge Check Test. I tried One Week of It and It was a Bit Overwhelming in learning about Things that I probably should not. I did passed Two Knowledge Checks without Reading the Whole Chapter It told me to read. 

Dating. Oh Boy!

 Okay, Those of You who are wondering if I have Ever Dated, The Answer is Yes. I have had Two Girlfriends and I have been to a Homecoming Dance. By The Way, Homecoming in Texas is The Autumn Equivalent to Prom. Now, as For Future Dating, I plan on Finding The Woman of My Dreams, Bridgett (I am believing that is Her Name) and Dating Her, and Eventually, Marrying Her. 

Do I Plan on Getting Married?! 

Now, This is Not a Common Question of New PTLS Members, but I know it is One of Those Curious Questions that People are a bit afraid to ask. The Answer to This Question is Yes. Well, I think I pretty much answered that one at The End of The Last Question I answered, funny how that happens. Now, Although I do plan on Getting Married, I pray that it goes off really well. The Thought of It, I have to say, makes me Anxious. As For The Other Stuff, I do plan on that too and I hope that My Texture Issues will not flip on me. And, Final Question

 The Future

 Hard to Answer but, I know I plan on Getting Married, I plan on a Job that has Structure and Predictability in a Field that I Love, and Probably Most of All, I plan on Traveling The World to see It’s Great Beauty. All in all, With all The Questions I answered, I want you to know Most Importantly that with All The Craziness of Figuring Out PTLS along “The PTLS Highway” (Refer to “PTLS Highway” Newsletter), I Want You to know that Your Child WILL be Okay!

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. The Spirit that Brings Awareness? That is The Christianville Spirit.