Newly diagnosed HFA, looking for info & friends

[Novalion]

Hi everyone! My name is Ari and I'm a 33yo LGBT female from NYC who just got diagnosed with High-Functioning Autism recently.

I'm here because I want to learn more about HFA and the autistic community, make new friends I don't have to explain myself to with an essay of disclaimers, as well as understand more about myself. I'm the kind of person who wants to pick my psyche apart like a clock to figure out what makes me tick, so any new info is gold.

My psych team and I have been suspecting I had something like HFA for a while. It would explain a lot of aspects of my life that my other hangups and mental disorders don't (main ones being severe depression, social/general anxiety, and borderline personality disorder). But I never seriously considered it until I read about autistic burnout and realized it described almost exactly what I thought was a nervous breakdown years ago that I never really recovered from. My life has been a shambles since then - had to drop out of grad school, no employment, on disability & EBT, socially isolated (by choice), rarely leave the house, and so on.

Now that this new road of diagnosis has opened up, I'm hoping to find some fresh options and answers. Where do you guys suggest should I start reading/looking/researching? There are a lot of sections on this site alone, and it's a little overwhelming.

And if anyone has some extra time and wouldn't mind making friends with a newb who doesn't know much about the community yet, I'd love to meet you.

 

[tree]

 

[Nitro]

Hello Ari

 

[clg114]

Welcome to AutismForums!

 

[Nason]

Hi everyone! My name is Ari and I'm a 33yo LGBT female from NYC who just got diagnosed with High-Functioning Autism recently.

I'm here because I want to learn more about HFA and the autistic community, make new friends I don't have to explain myself to with an essay of disclaimers, as well as understand more about myself. I'm the kind of person who wants to pick my psyche apart like a clock to figure out what makes me tick, so any new info is gold.

My psych team and I have been suspecting I had something like HFA for a while. It would explain a lot of aspects of my life that my other hangups and mental disorders don't (main ones being severe depression, social/general anxiety, and borderline personality disorder). But I never seriously considered it until I read about autistic burnout and realized it described almost exactly what I thought was a nervous breakdown years ago that I never really recovered from. My life has been a shambles since then - had to drop out of grad school, no employment, on disability & EBT, socially isolated (by choice), rarely leave the house, and so on.

Now that this new road of diagnosis has opened up, I'm hoping to find some fresh options and answers. Where do you guys suggest should I start reading/looking/researching? There are a lot of sections on this site alone, and it's a little overwhelming.

And if anyone has some extra time and wouldn't mind making friends with a newb who doesn't know much about the community yet, I'd love to meet you.

Hello Ari!

It is quite possible that we have similar experiences. Although I am male, I have struggled with anxiety, depression, and adhd. However, I am 95% certain that I embody HFA or Aspergers (I hear mixed info about the comparison of the two), but yeah. I say this because I have not been diagnosed yet.

I had a series of profound meltdowns/shutdowns leading to a burn out. I did successfully graduate from grad school (i am cheering you on if you still are in progress), but I still feel stuck/frozen; I want to go back to grad school for mechanical engineering.

My sensory experiences/needs are strange. I have always thought of myself as a highly sensitive person, but never related that to Autism... but when I connect the dots I find that my sensory needs (when not met) can interfere with my life.

I have found many resources on YouTube through ASD blogger, and a book call: The Journal of Best Practices.

I live in MA, USA. Nice to meet you!

Nason

 

[Sloth]

had to drop out of grad school, no employment, on disability & EBT, socially isolated (by choice), rarely leave the house, and so on.

Wow, that's exactly what happened to me for the last two years , except I'm undergrad. I'm trying to turn it around now though, and just like you, I just joined this forum as a baby step towards doing that! I do think there is a very large amount you can learn about yourself just by reading the stories and comments of others, things that I wasn't able to figure out purely through self-analysis (even if your super good at it, I believe people can have huge blind spots regarding themselves). Welcome to the forum!

 

[Gracey]

Hello Ari

 

[WittyAspie]

Welcome Ari!!

 

[Thinx]

Hi Ari, welcome. There's a lot on this site to explore! Plus I think a good publisher to look at is Jessica Kingsley they specialise in autism books, a good read for adults is Been there done that try this, edited by Tony Atwood and with many ideas and accounts from adults with Aspergers and high functioning autism. Also some good books there by or about women with Aspergers try Aspergirls by Rudy Simone also Karen McKibin's and Sarah Hendrickx's books,and others. I hope you enjoy it here.

 

[StephF]

Hello & welcome to the forums

 

[Nightingale121]

Welcome, @Novalion!

Where do you guys suggest should I start reading/looking/researching? There are a lot of sections on this site alone, and it's a little overwhelming.

If there is something you are particularly interested in, you could start a forum search on the topic and find relevant threads about this topic first to narrow down the content.

There are some resources for further information in the resources section if you want to continue your research with books or on other sites: https://www.autismforums.com/resources/
The resources are divided into different categories as well, so you could have a look at the ones you are the most interested in.

I have found many resources on YouTube through ASD blogger, and a book call: The Journal of Best Practices.

I agree with you about YouTube.
Some time ago someone posted a blog entry about ASD YouTubers she recommended: https://www.autismforums.com/blogs/some-asd-youtubers-i-have-enjoyed-watching.2548/
Maybe some of these are interesting for you as well.

And if anyone has some extra time and wouldn't mind making friends with a newb who doesn't know much about the community yet, I'd love to meet you.

I have created a "Friendship Corner" thread recently, which can be found here: https://www.autismforums.com/threads/autism-forums-friendship-corner.26025/
You could give it a try to make friends on this site.