Introduction from the author

I don't like to make eye contact with people. As I converse, I slide my eyes to a point above the person's shoulder to avoid looking them full in the face. I don't intend to be impolite. This action is reflexive self defense from my own sensations. On the occasions that I do make eye contact, sharp feelings surge through me forming an inexplicable sense of pain.
In my second-grade classroom, I remember sitting in a circle of fellow classmates discussing our time outside of school. My teacher had to constantly tell me to look at the person I was talking to. It went against my feelings, but it was something I had to get used to. It is no easier to maintain eye contact at age 23 than it was at age 7. This is one of the signs of my mild autism.