Hi I'm new.

[MichaelM9494]

Hi I was diagnosed with autism 5 years ago and would like to meet people like me.

 

[Raggamuffin]

Welcome aboard.

You say people like you - would you care to share more on hobbies, interests, what neck of the woods you're from etc?

Ed

 

[MichaelM9494]

Well what I meant by that was people with autism. I was diagnosed when I was 23 and I haven't met anyone else my age with autism, and I love music, movies, history, and food mostly. I'm a big fan of Star Wars and rock music specifically.

 

[Neonatal RRT]

@MichaelM9494,...welcome,...you've come to the right place. "I haven't met anyone else my age with autism."...It's interesting you say that because I just wrote an article for my hospital intranet web page that addressed this very issue,...autism in the workplace. I pointed out that one of the top fields for autistics is health care,...doctors, respiratory therapists, radiology technicians, laboratory med techs, internet technology personnel, and many other folks are working with each other,...and some may be autistic,...and you might not know because they are really good at hiding their autism. I have at least 2 other people in my own department that are on the spectrum, one male and one female,...and on the outside, they couldn't be more different. One guy I have known for years,...crazy smart, but socially withdrawn, depressive personality affect, vocal tics, etc,...the other,...this gal is young and new to the organization, and she acts "normal",...like she's really good at masking,...and the only reason I knew she was autistic is that the subject came up and she told me. The point being here is that we, as autistics, we tend to have just enough communication and social avoidance issues that we might not notice or socialize with each other "in the real world". That said, over the years, I've been friends/acquaintances with a brilliant pediatric neurosurgeon, a peds cardiac surgeon, 2 neonatologists, and a surgical ophthalmologist who I've highly suspected were and/or I've known were autistics,...that other staff would sort of marginalize them because they were "different",...but we just seemed to "click" from a personality perspective. We all know the drill.

 

[Raggamuffin]

What era(s) in history fascinate you the most?

Ed

 

[Nitro]

 

[MichaelM9494]

@MichaelM9494,...welcome,...you've come to the right place. "I haven't met anyone else my age with autism."...It's interesting you say that because I just wrote an article for my hospital intranet web page that addressed this very issue,...autism in the workplace. I pointed out that one of the top fields for autistics is health care,...doctors, respiratory therapists, radiology technicians, laboratory med techs, internet technology personnel, and many other folks are working with each other,...and some may be autistic,...and you might not know because they are really good at hiding their autism. I have at least 2 other people in my own department that are on the spectrum, one male and one female,...and on the outside, they couldn't be more different. One guy I had known for years,...crazy smart, but socially withdrawn, depressive personality affect, vocal tics, etc,...the other,...this gal is young and new to the organization, and she acts "normal",...like she's really good at masking. The point being here is that we, as autistics, we tend to have just enough communication and social avoidance issues that we might not notice or socialize with each other "in the real world". However, I've been friends/acquaintances with brilliant pediatric neurosurgeons, cardiac surgeons, neonatologists, and surgical ophthalmologists who I've highly suspected were and/or I've known were autistics,...that other staff would sort of marginalize them because they were "different",...we all know the drill.

Yeah, in my work I conceal my autism because I don't want to be vied as a liability. I work my my local city so I'm given a lot of trust and if I lose that it would be bad. I with I could be more open, but with my previous experience with my last job nobody cares and it was looked down upon to reveal such a thing as being autistic. Especially since I was really good at my job. It's a burden and I wish I could just tell people but it doesn't seem to help, it just creates more problems in my experience.

What era(s) in history fascinate you the most?

Ed

 

[MichaelM9494]

Mainly WW2 there's so much that happened during and after that changed our world, and there is still so many unanswered questions still it's just one big rabbit hole to get lost in.

 

[Neonatal RRT]

Well what I meant by that was people with autism. I was diagnosed when I was 23 and I haven't met anyone else my age with autism, and I love music, movies, history, and food mostly. I'm a big fan of Star Wars and rock music specifically.

I've enjoyed that whole Star Wars series, even the newer spin-offs on Disney. I am 56, so I was just a kid seeing it for the first time in 1977. It was quite the phenomenon back in the day,...a cult-like following,...people would see the movies like 100 times and line up for hours for tickets. The cinematography was cutting edge for the day,...nobody had seen anything like it back in the 70's.

I am a huge rock fan,...more "old school" rock,...70's, 80's, 90's. It sort of went off in another direction in the mid-90's though. There are a handful of modern rock bands that I enjoy though.

 

[Gerald Wilgus]

Welcome @MichaelM9494 . You will encounter autistic people with many varied life experiences here. in the 50s through 70s autism was rarely diagnosed, especially for those of us with offsetting talents. I have, in my career, worked with engineers and see that many are likely on the spectrum . . . meetings with people avoiding eye contact were common. My abilities allowed me to understand uncertainty and statistics, even applying Statistical design of experiments to my work in industrial processes. I was diagnosed at 60 so had to learn to compensate for my social deficits ignorant of how autism affected me. The social isolation as a teen and young adult resulted in PTSD that I am only now working through.

Enjoy your interests as they make you an interesting person. I too enjoy history and for WWII have enjoyed reading about the Monuments Men and other histories. I used to do tactical war gaming and especially learned how to use armor in combined operations. Both my parents served in WWII and my grandfather was sent to India by the Ford Motor Co. to support mobile operations by the British/Canadian Armies. I have a very special interest in Natural History, and trilobites.

 

[Storm Hess]

Hello.

 

[tree]

 

[Thinx]

Hi and welcome, I hope that you enjoy it here and find it useful and supportive.

 

[VictorR]

Welcome from a fellow history enthusiast! My main interest is social history - how people lived in a certain place and time, and so for that reason I love "living history" type museums.

 

[MichaelM9494]

I've enjoyed that whole Star Wars series, even the newer spin-offs on Disney. I am 56, so I was just a kid seeing it for the first time in 1977. It was quite the phenomenon back in the day,...a cult-like following,...people would see the movies like 100 times and line up for hours for tickets. The cinematography was cutting edge for the day,...nobody had seen anything like it back in the 70's.

I am a huge rock fan,...more "old school" rock,...70's, 80's, 90's. It sort of went off in another direction in the mid-90's though. There are a handful of modern rock bands that I enjoy though.

Wow I can't imagine what it must have been like to experience Star Wars when the phenomenon first hit. I remember watching the movies as a child on VHS and have some copies for future posterity. It truly is an amazing story. I really enjoyed classic rock as well you really can't beat Led Zeppelin or the Stones, the Stooges, or some Sabbath. Though I do have a great affinity for for grunge and some 90s alternative rock, as well as the occasional gems I find of more recent rock n roll music.

 

[MichaelM9494]

Welcome @MichaelM9494 . You will encounter autistic people with many varied life experiences here. in the 50s through 70s autism was rarely diagnosed, especially for those of us with offsetting talents. I have, in my career, worked with engineers and see that many are likely on the spectrum . . . meetings with people avoiding eye contact were common. My abilities allowed me to understand uncertainty and statistics, even applying Statistical design of experiments to my work in industrial processes. I was diagnosed at 60 so had to learn to compensate for my social deficits ignorant of how autism affected me. The social isolation as a teen and young adult resulted in PTSD that I am only now working through.

Enjoy your interests as they make you an interesting person. I too enjoy history and for WWII have enjoyed reading about the Monuments Men and other histories. I used to do tactical war gaming and especially learned how to use armor in combined operations. Both my parents served in WWII and my grandfather was sent to India by the Ford Motor Co. to support mobile operations by the British/Canadian Armies. I have a very special interest in Natural History, and trilobites

 

[MichaelM9494]

Cool, my grandfather served during the Korean war and my other grandfather was a soldier in the Cuban military prior to the Cuban revolution. When I was younger my dream was to join the Marines but that did not pan out. I do have an affinity for social history as well especially in our own country, it's fascinating to see how people and movements, and industry's have shaped the world that we live in. I also emphasize with your struggles as I am no stranger to trama. I hope things are getting better for you.

 

[MichaelM9494]

Sorry as well I confused this conversation with another so please disregard the parts that don't make sense.

 

[MichaelM9494]

Welcome from a fellow history enthusiast! My main interest is social history - how people lived in a certain place and time, and so for that reason I love "living history" type museums.

Hello, I too am interested in social history and as to how it impacts are lives today. That is big reason I love studying WW2 and it's impact on our modern world. Such as the birth of convinen foods from military rations, to those inventions leading to our modern grocery stores.

 

[MichaelM9494]

Hi and welcome, I hope that you enjoy it here and find it useful and supportive.

Thank you, I have been thinking about trying one of these message boards specifically geared towards people on the spectrum for some time, and so far it seems to have been a good choice.