Questor2017
Active Member
Hi! I first heard about classic autism from a movie I watched decades ago that was based on a true story. I'm not sure, but I think it was called Son Rise, and it was about a couple with an autistic boy. Although I found the movie interesting, I didn't personally relate to it. Decades later, when I was in my mid-40s I read several articles about Asperger's Syndrome over a couple of years and immediately did see myself in each of the articles. I was going thru a bad phase at the time, with a lot of bad things happening for a while. Once things settled down again, I was able to start actively researching Asperger's, and the more I looked into it the more I saw myself, so I realized that I am an Aspie. It was a big relief to know why I am the way I am, and why I have always had problems with a lot of things that don't cause problems for most other people. Not long after that, my older sister, who studied nursing for a while, emailed me that she had been reading about Asperger's, and believed that I had it, so I emailed her back about my own discoveries regarding this.
I never went for a formal diagnosis, partly because there isn't much that can be done for someone who is middle aged now, and partly because I prefer to keep my Asperger's condition on a need-to-know basis. Of course, my sister knows and can handle the situation okay. I did have to tell my father and step-mom, as they help me with stuff, but my father doesn't handle it well, so I don't talk to him about it much.
I am in my late 50s now, and over the years since my self-diagnosis, I have taken several online Asperger's tests, which all confirmed that I have Asperger's. Since I am on govt assistance for other health issues, I don't need to use my Asperger's to get assistance and would prefer to keep this off my med charts, as there does appear to be some stigma associated with people on the Autism spectrum. Unfortunately, many ignorant "normal" people think we are all going to go postal or otherwise do very weird and dangerous things. Even people in govt, and medicine fields are usually rather ignorant about the autism spectrum. Because of more than 5 & a half decades of experience, I can pass for normal, or near normal when out running errands, and to a lesser extent with family. Although I had problems with frequent meltdowns as a child, teen, and young adult, I got better able to cope with things as I matured, so I haven't had a meltdown now, in so long, I can't even remember when the last one was. I do still remember the negative reactions of people around me during and after my meltdowns, so I would prefer not to be thought of that way, or worse, as someone who might go postal.
I have several comorbids. The main ones are chronic lifelong depression--under control with the help of my coping methods, and Executive Function Disorder--unfortunately never under control.
I heard about Aspie Central from a poster on Wrong Planet, where I have been a member for some years now, so I thought I'd give this site a try, too. I don't have chat or web camera capability on my PC, so I will just be posting, and I don't have much time for doing blogs, so I won't be trying that out for now. I am a hermit type person, so I am not looking for a friend, just some friendly posting.
Guess that covers all the basics.
I never went for a formal diagnosis, partly because there isn't much that can be done for someone who is middle aged now, and partly because I prefer to keep my Asperger's condition on a need-to-know basis. Of course, my sister knows and can handle the situation okay. I did have to tell my father and step-mom, as they help me with stuff, but my father doesn't handle it well, so I don't talk to him about it much.
I am in my late 50s now, and over the years since my self-diagnosis, I have taken several online Asperger's tests, which all confirmed that I have Asperger's. Since I am on govt assistance for other health issues, I don't need to use my Asperger's to get assistance and would prefer to keep this off my med charts, as there does appear to be some stigma associated with people on the Autism spectrum. Unfortunately, many ignorant "normal" people think we are all going to go postal or otherwise do very weird and dangerous things. Even people in govt, and medicine fields are usually rather ignorant about the autism spectrum. Because of more than 5 & a half decades of experience, I can pass for normal, or near normal when out running errands, and to a lesser extent with family. Although I had problems with frequent meltdowns as a child, teen, and young adult, I got better able to cope with things as I matured, so I haven't had a meltdown now, in so long, I can't even remember when the last one was. I do still remember the negative reactions of people around me during and after my meltdowns, so I would prefer not to be thought of that way, or worse, as someone who might go postal.
I have several comorbids. The main ones are chronic lifelong depression--under control with the help of my coping methods, and Executive Function Disorder--unfortunately never under control.
I heard about Aspie Central from a poster on Wrong Planet, where I have been a member for some years now, so I thought I'd give this site a try, too. I don't have chat or web camera capability on my PC, so I will just be posting, and I don't have much time for doing blogs, so I won't be trying that out for now. I am a hermit type person, so I am not looking for a friend, just some friendly posting.
Guess that covers all the basics.
