There's already several introductions on this site, I don't know how anyone could have the energy to look through all of them. It said I should introduce myself, but adding another long message might be stressful for anyone making the effort to read and be empathetic with the new people.
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Will this be read? - Introduction
- Thread starter Sylv
- Start date
Thank you very much. I think I'll put it here since I already created a post titled "Introduction".
I'm 15 years old, and about 6 months ago I was diagnosed with autism. It came as a surprise to me, but apparently not to my mum (she's on here, too). She told me after that I had shown signs of autism since I was very little, and had tried to have several doctors confirm it throughout my life. They wouldn't diagnose it, and one of the main reasons they gave was that I was too polite and conscientious of social norms. It seems that most of the obvious symptoms I showed when I was young (staring at toys for hours, screaming and covering ears, difficulty speaking) have vanished. I seem to pass pretty easily for neurotypical, I do my best not to cause offense, and try to make friends with who I can. I was worried that I would feel alienated from this community, but now I'm wondering if all the energy I spend worrying about doing the "right" thing (pleasing people, following the rules, achieving expectations, being smart, not thinking mean things) could be part of being autistic.
I'm 15 years old, and about 6 months ago I was diagnosed with autism. It came as a surprise to me, but apparently not to my mum (she's on here, too). She told me after that I had shown signs of autism since I was very little, and had tried to have several doctors confirm it throughout my life. They wouldn't diagnose it, and one of the main reasons they gave was that I was too polite and conscientious of social norms. It seems that most of the obvious symptoms I showed when I was young (staring at toys for hours, screaming and covering ears, difficulty speaking) have vanished. I seem to pass pretty easily for neurotypical, I do my best not to cause offense, and try to make friends with who I can. I was worried that I would feel alienated from this community, but now I'm wondering if all the energy I spend worrying about doing the "right" thing (pleasing people, following the rules, achieving expectations, being smart, not thinking mean things) could be part of being autistic.
Welcome. My young daughter was obessed about certain things and would spend hours on creative expression which l always supported. She created super kitty, a clay sculpture of a cat with a cape. Then spent weeks writing an elaborate storyline for it. She did this in 3rd grade as l recall. Later she moved on to other interests that she excessively spent a lot time on and l never interfered with her current interest at any given time.
Some of us do spend a lot of time masking to fit in, as woman, we become very skilled at this.
Some of us do spend a lot of time masking to fit in, as woman, we become very skilled at this.
Hi and welcome, glad you have joined us. Yes, I think autism causes our brains to process the world a bit differently so then we react a bit differently, and feel confused or embarrassed or anxious about this. But all we have is our own reality, so it's very hard to comprehend that our ways of perceiving the world or reacting to it aren't typical.
I did tons of therapy as a younger person and at times as an adult, but autism was part of what I was up against and wasn't ever recognised until I worked it out myself in my 50s!
I hope things go well for you, now you know. Some of how you are is just growing up and developing, autism isn't all of who we are, but it does affect communication and social relating, and once you know what's causing some puzzlement or miscommunication, it's pretty helpful, lowering anxiety and allowing you to factor it in and find better strategies around things.
There's often gifts too, I am original, imaginative and think outside the box, and have a good sense of humour! I am sure you have gifts too. I hope you enjoy it here.
I did tons of therapy as a younger person and at times as an adult, but autism was part of what I was up against and wasn't ever recognised until I worked it out myself in my 50s!
I hope things go well for you, now you know. Some of how you are is just growing up and developing, autism isn't all of who we are, but it does affect communication and social relating, and once you know what's causing some puzzlement or miscommunication, it's pretty helpful, lowering anxiety and allowing you to factor it in and find better strategies around things.
There's often gifts too, I am original, imaginative and think outside the box, and have a good sense of humour! I am sure you have gifts too. I hope you enjoy it here.
Hi. As far as how you have dealt with people and social situations you remind me very much of myself at your age. I am quite sure most would have scoffed at the idea I was autistic (had we known about HFA) since I was so concientious and achievement orientated. Smartest kid, President of the Student Council, Good athelete, etc. That would have been Frank, who spent the lunch break in the playground walking around alone and talking to himself. But inside I wasn't much different then Frank and I understood his often imaginative, clever thinking perfectly. His older brother (also ASD I am sure) was my best friend. And much of me was a facade, a construct to deal with people, fit in and avoid conflict. So when I decided that being those things wasn't cool any more I adopted an opposite approach. The sad thing is I wasn't doing what was or seemed right to me, but was governed by what I thought would make me fit in most, in other peoples eyes. I did eventually make the correction back to something truer to myself in a sort of trial and error way. But it wasn't till my late 30s that I realized autism was the missing link in my understanding of myself.
I read it... It sounds like you are possibly HFA, I was only formally diagnosed with HFA this year (and I'm 48)
My advice would be take advantage of any gov't perks you might get, in my case I get several thousand dollars in grants for college or university
But... Don't develop a victim complex around the diagnosis, it sounds like you function well enough to be able to do anything you want to, and simply learn how to work around your Autistic quirks...
My advice would be take advantage of any gov't perks you might get, in my case I get several thousand dollars in grants for college or university
But... Don't develop a victim complex around the diagnosis, it sounds like you function well enough to be able to do anything you want to, and simply learn how to work around your Autistic quirks...
Welcome to the forums! I hope you make new friends and enjoy your stay in the process!
Welcome to the forums, Sylv!
Your experience sounds somewhat similar to mine, where my parents noticed early but have not been able to get me a diagnosis yet due to similar issues (trying to emulate the people around me and their social norms, going out of my way to be too polite, etc.) I have so far been told that I just have ADHD and anxiety, but in my case I do think my anxiety is from the things you've mentioned and that the concerns are in fact caused by my autism and how people react to it.
I'm sorry it took you so long to get a diagnosis, and I do hope being on here helps you figure yourself out and allows you to meet like-minded people who are willing to support you.
Your experience sounds somewhat similar to mine, where my parents noticed early but have not been able to get me a diagnosis yet due to similar issues (trying to emulate the people around me and their social norms, going out of my way to be too polite, etc.) I have so far been told that I just have ADHD and anxiety, but in my case I do think my anxiety is from the things you've mentioned and that the concerns are in fact caused by my autism and how people react to it.
I'm sorry it took you so long to get a diagnosis, and I do hope being on here helps you figure yourself out and allows you to meet like-minded people who are willing to support you.
Hi Sylv and welcome!
I read your introduction. It can get difficult as you pointed out, but be assured that being here is a labor of love for many of us. We are here to support you in your time of need. Feel free to tell us about yourself if you want to.
You are very young and you have most of your life ahead of you. I am happy for you. Why you may ask? Because you were diagnosed at a young age. You have plenty of time to learn how to live with autism. In your lifetime you will meet people living with all sorts of conditions. Many of them you would never guess had anything going on. We call that being skilled with your condition.
I hope that you make lots of friends here.
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