Hi Everyone
I hope 2017 is treating you all well. I've been wrestling with an issue since I was diagnosed with Asperger's a couple of months ago. I have only disclosed the diagnosis to my wife and children but I now realize that if I am to achieve my goal of making a difference within the AS community itself I will need to be able to identify myself as autistic more publicly. The problem is that my situation is more complex than most.
Both of my children are on the Autistic Spectrum and are suffering from depression and/or self-harm too. My wife is disabled and I am her full-time carer and am therefore unable to work. I used to volunteer with the CAB here in the UK but have recently had to give this up due to my caring commitments. Since the diagnosis I have wanted to contribute in some way to the AS community but my spare time is limited as is my ability to be out of the house for too long.
I considered writing or starting up a group for adults but I quickly realised that i don't have the time. The only thing I can come up with is to make some videos for YouTube but this inevitably requires me to disclose my Asperger's in the most public of ways. I was wondering if anyone has any experience of this or any advice they care to offer.
My self-esteem takes a constant beating because I am not able to work. Maybe making videos can go some way to alleviating that while making some sort of contribution to our community. What do you think?
I hope 2017 is treating you all well. I've been wrestling with an issue since I was diagnosed with Asperger's a couple of months ago. I have only disclosed the diagnosis to my wife and children but I now realize that if I am to achieve my goal of making a difference within the AS community itself I will need to be able to identify myself as autistic more publicly. The problem is that my situation is more complex than most.
Both of my children are on the Autistic Spectrum and are suffering from depression and/or self-harm too. My wife is disabled and I am her full-time carer and am therefore unable to work. I used to volunteer with the CAB here in the UK but have recently had to give this up due to my caring commitments. Since the diagnosis I have wanted to contribute in some way to the AS community but my spare time is limited as is my ability to be out of the house for too long.
I considered writing or starting up a group for adults but I quickly realised that i don't have the time. The only thing I can come up with is to make some videos for YouTube but this inevitably requires me to disclose my Asperger's in the most public of ways. I was wondering if anyone has any experience of this or any advice they care to offer.
My self-esteem takes a constant beating because I am not able to work. Maybe making videos can go some way to alleviating that while making some sort of contribution to our community. What do you think?