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Hello there.

Ginseng

Ginseng

Christian
V.I.P Member
I am an oldie, self diagnosed autistic female who is also a retired mental health therapist. Most importantly I am a Christian and I filter all my beliefs thoughts and actions according to what I read in the Bible as my plan for my life. I will respect the guidelines as I read in the Group rules.
 
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Welcome to the forum. We are glad you are here. What are the pros and cons to being retired and does a self-diagnosis play a factor day-to-day?
 
Welcome momster! Since you are already retired, it seems you successfully survived even without an official diagnosis. Personally, I think that the greatest value of a diagnosis is to understand more about yourself, but you can enjoy the benefits of that without it being official. Hope this forum can be useful in that regard!
 
George Newman said:
Welcome to the forum. We are glad you are here. What are the pros and cons to being retired and does a self-diagnosis play a factor day-to-day?
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Well, I am actually retired for health reasons. I am divorced and money is scarce so... not a lot of fun or what I had hoped retirement to be. I want to live near the beach. Sigh.

As far as self dx goes, I am 63 years old. Back in my day they did not really understand autism and it was looked down on. They were definitely trying to fix us. I was fortunate that I was able to pass under the radar of the doctors.

My mother was rather indifferent and really did not notice me. My father died when I was young. I had an older brother and sister so I learned what was acceptable behavior and fortunately they all seemed to allow me to be "odd." I was a head banger, not on hard surfaces but on couches and chairs I rocked back and forth vigorously especially when distressed. I would literally sit and look at the Christmas lights for hours. I would get lost in my daydreams which were becoming more and more frequent and longer. I recognized that I needed to stop the daydreaming or I might not come out one day. That was very sad for me because I loved it and I felt I needed it. But it was going to suck me in if I didn't stop. I enjoyed playing by myself in my own world. I see things in pictures. Some words are very distracting to me. Textures are extremely important to me. I hate loud sounds. The list goes on but that is what I can think of at the moment.

Recent events have brought all this to the forefront of my life. I pretty much had put it out of my mind and utilized the coping skills I taught myself to mask autism. I actually learned I was autistic when I was in elementary school and I read a Reader's Digest magazine my mother had lying around. I was shocked. I recognized immediately that this was me. I wish I still had that article. I wanted to talk to my mother about it but I knew I could not discuss this with her. I could not discuss anything with her. I dealt with all of this alone. I am not sure that most doctors are much more informed about autism now then they were back then.
 
Momster, I’m 48. I was diagnosed at 47. Your overview was informative and appreciated. I think of retirement but am not sure I want to stick to my plan and retire early or stay working on into my 60s. I’m not sure what I would do to pass the time during retirement. I’d certainly like to give it a go in a few years. Your circumstances sound different to mine. I wish for you courage, hope, contentment, and peace. I was always the odd yet sweet little boy who seemed painfully shy. I’ve lived my life until now knowing my world was a dimensionally different experience than many of my peers but have always just worked hard and compensated. I have been an actor in life. I still am. I can’t afford to be me. I never felt that my parents didn’t care they just accepted that their kid was as they might describe backward. At times I hear stories from other members here and I think that understanding of adult autism is growing. At other times it seems that understanding is taking steps backward. Thank you for sharing.
 
Welcome! If you would like to talk about Christianity or the Bible feel free to PM me. It's a subject I might have studied just a little bit.
 
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