Don't Be Shy To Introduce Yourself

[Streetwise]

hello ,hello ,bonjour, bonjour !I’m an English autistic woman and I don’t have a child ,my favourite sound is a cat purring!

 

[Isadoorian]

Hello, hello. I'm an autistic man from Minnesota with an autistic child. I'm a husband and a father. I wish everyone here well. My greeting, "Hello, hello." was the first line in one of my favorite movies that's out of print to my knowledge. A 1987 Canadian film called I've Heard The Mermaids Singing.

Welcome to the Forums! I hope you make new friends and enjoy your stay in the process

 

[Magna]

Welcome to the Forums! I hope you make new friends and enjoy your stay in the process!

Thank you for the warm welcome.

 

[Magna]

hello ,hello ,bonjour, bonjour !I’m an English autistic woman and I don’t have a child ,my favourite sound is a cat purring!

Merci Beaucoup!

 

[Streetwise]

Merci Beaucoup!

This is the extent of my French this is the extent of my French de riens

 

[RtWalton]

Hello Everybody. I have lurked here for some weeks now, but have yet to post until now. I was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder when I was 9 years old due to the fact that my parents became skeptical of my lucidity after they made the mistake of signing me up for a baseball team, in which I responded by refusing to step on any of the plate without brushing all the dust off of it first. For many years I had little interest of social interaction of any sort, but feelings of loneliness in the past few years have caused me to feel the need to seek out meaningful contact with society: it's not going as well as I wanted it to. My sister advised me that it may be beneficial in this goal for me to turn towards forums related to my cognitive problems, and my therapist in turn advised me that this is the best place for what I am looking for. So here I am now, in part to acquire much need knowledge and social contact, and in equal part to marvel over the immaculate grammar of the posters on this forum. Now, let the journey commence!

P.S. For those of you who are curious, RtWalton isn't my real name. I am too paranoid to give my real name on a social media account, so I am just stealing the name of the narrator, Robert Walton, from Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein, a book which happens to be my favorite. Also, my avatar is that of the sinking of the ship Endurance during Shackleton's voyage into Antarctica: an event featured in my second favorite book, The Endurance.

 

[Isadoorian]

Hello Everybody. I have lurked here for some weeks now, but have yet to post until now. I was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder when I was 9 years old due to the fact that my parents became skeptical of my lucidity after they made the mistake of signing me up for a baseball team, in which I responded by refusing to step on any of the plate without brushing all the dust off of it first. For many years I had little interest of social interaction of any sort, but feelings of loneliness in the past few years have caused me to feel the need to seek out meaningful contact with society: it's not going as well as I wanted it to. My sister advised me that it may be beneficial in this goal for me to turn towards forums related to my cognitive problems, and my therapist in turn advised me that this is the best place for what I am looking for. So here I am now, in part to acquire much need knowledge and social contact, and in equal part to marvel over the immaculate grammar of the posters on this forum. Now, let the journey commence!

P.S. For those of you who are curious, RtWalton isn't my real name. I am too paranoid to give my real name on a social media account, so I am just stealing the name of the narrator, Robert Walton, from Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein, a book which happens to be my favorite. Also, my avatar is that of the sinking of the ship Endurance during Shackleton's voyage into Antarctica: an event featured in my second favorite book, The Endurance.

Welcome to the Forums! I hope you make new friends and enjoy your stay in the process!

 

[Streetwise]

Hello Everybody. I have lurked here for some weeks now, but have yet to post until now. I was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder when I was 9 years old due to the fact that my parents became skeptical of my lucidity after they made the mistake of signing me up for a baseball team, in which I responded by refusing to step on any of the plate without brushing all the dust off of it first. For many years I had little interest of social interaction of any sort, but feelings of loneliness in the past few years have caused me to feel the need to seek out meaningful contact with society: it's not going as well as I wanted it to. My sister advised me that it may be beneficial in this goal for me to turn towards forums related to my cognitive problems, and my therapist in turn advised me that this is the best place for what I am looking for. So here I am now, in part to acquire much need knowledge and social contact, and in equal part to marvel over the immaculate grammar of the posters on this forum. Now, let the journey commence!

P.S. For those of you who are curious, RtWalton isn't my real name. I am too paranoid to give my real name on a social media account, so I am just stealing the name of the narrator, Robert Walton, from Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein, a book which happens to be my favorite. Also, my avatar is that of the sinking of the ship Endurance during Shackleton's voyage into Antarctica: an event featured in my second favorite book, The Endurance.

im intrigued that you were diagnosed at 9 how much help are you getting if any ?has it made a difference ? really tired can’t type anymore:>)

 

[RtWalton]

im intrigued that you were diagnosed at 9 how much help are you getting if any ?has it made a difference ? really tired can’t type anymore:>)

You where intrigued that I was diagnosed at age 9? How so? ASD is a neurodevelopmental disorder after all, so it would only seem natural if it is more frequently detected in the earlier stages of ones development where symptoms are more exacerbated due to a lack of sufficient social conditioning on proper behavior. Is it uncommon to be diagnosed at such a young age?

Anyway, I am technically given some social support for my illness, but much of it is much better in theory than in practice. The governments and school system do supply me with some resources and financial aid for various sorts of therapies, but these therapies have so far proven to be ineffective. Cognitive and Humanistic therapies are largely inapplicable because they are meant to deal with cognitive distortions I do not have, there really are not any behavioral therapies meant for people above 13 which don't deal with trauma-based symptoms, there isn't any self-help group for Autism within my area (not surprising given that one of the defining characteristics of Autism is social withdrawal), psycho-active drugs tend to just make add on new even worst problems without solving what they are supposed to, and I probably do not even need to explain everything wrong with Psycho-analysis. So although I am technically getting a decent amount of help from the government, school, nuclear family, and mental health system, it really has not made any meaningful improvements in my life since I became about 13.

 

[Monochromeflowers]

I am 25, alive, and aware of many things(of which I grow more weary and elated from each day).

I am just now being diagnosed with aspergers(yes I know, more on that in another thread ). And well.. not in the clearest place right now. I think my main concern, the immediate reason for joining this forum is to start to understand: am I really going to have to figure this out by myself because no mental health professional has the time to invest?
Oh I've got much more positive things to say, but yes I'm probably as lonely and isolated as RTwalton up there, (hi!), don't forget about them.

P.s. how can I help, anything?

 

[Isadoorian]

I am 25, alive, and aware of many things(of which I grow more weary and elated from each day).

I am just now being diagnosed with aspergers(yes I know, more on that in another thread ). And well.. not in the clearest place right now. I think my main concern, the immediate reason for joining this forum is to start to understand: am I really going to have to figure this out by myself because no mental health professional has the time to invest?
Oh I've got much more positive things to say, but yes I'm probably as lonely and isolated as RTwalton up there, (hi!), don't forget about them.

P.s. how can I help, anything?

Welcome to the Forums! I hope you make new friends and enjoy your stay in the process!

It's not uncommon to get diagnosed later in life. Many got diagnosed after seeing their Psychiatrist or Therapist for semi-related things, commonly depression, since it's a possible comorbid of autism.

 

[Streetwise]

You where intrigued that I was diagnosed at age 9? How so? ASD is a neurodevelopmental disorder after all, so it would only seem natural if it is more frequently detected in the earlier stages of ones development where symptoms are more exacerbated due to a lack of sufficient social conditioning on proper behavior. Is it uncommon to be diagnosed at such a young age?a lot (nearly all)of autistic people born before the late 1980s dont get diagnosed til 40 or over ,Ive rarely talked to a member under 20 .

Anyway, I am technically given some social support for my illness, but much of it is much better in theory than in practice. The governments and school system do supply me with some resources and financial aid for various sorts of therapies, but these therapies have so far proven to be ineffective. Cognitive and Humanistic therapies are largely inapplicable because they are meant to deal with cognitive distortions I do not have, there really are not any behavioral therapies meant for people above 13 which don't deal with trauma-based symptoms, there isn't any self-help group for Autism within my area (not surprising given that one of the defining characteristics of Autism is social withdrawal), psycho-active drugs tend to just make add on new even worst problems without solving what they are supposed to, and I probably do not even need to explain everything wrong with Psycho-analysis. So although I am technically getting a decent amount of help from the government, school, nuclear family, and mental health system, it really has not made any meaningful improvements in my life since I became about 13.

 

[KRISTEN deanna AKLAND]

hello all. My name is kristen but my friends call me krissybelle, among other things.

In a past life, I could talk to dragons. In my current life, I can exist quietly. Future life I can get hit by a train.

I am not good at talking about myself, yet I seem to do it a lot.
I've noticed it in other folks too though. blah

anyway, I am new to this site.. officially diagnosed high functioning autism and bipolar in addition.

 

[Isadoorian]

hello all. My name is kristen but my friends call me krissybelle, among other things.

In a past life, I could talk to dragons. In my current life, I can exist quietly. Future life I can get hit by a train.

I am not good at talking about myself, yet I seem to do it a lot.
I've noticed it in other folks too though. blah

anyway, I am new to this site.. officially diagnosed high functioning autism and bipolar in addition.

Welcome to the Forums! I hope you make new friends and enjoy your stay in the process!

 

[Sasha Lewis]

Hi everyone!

My name is Sasha, I'm from The Netherlands (and quarter British) and I'm 23 years old. I expect to get my degree in Journalism within a month and currently work as a parliamentary journalist over here.

Even though things are going quite well in my life at the moment, I keep wandering in a search for who I am. And I still haven't got the right answer. Me being not sure whether I'm autistic or not and finding people 'maybe like me' brought me here. I'm looking forward to joining convo's and meeting people here!

For those interested in more details:
I was diagnosed with classical autism when I was 4 and went to medical daycare because of that diagnosis. When I read back the reports and see videos of my at that time I fully agree on why psychologists would say so. It seemed like the descriptions of 'what is autism' were written for me. One exception: I have never had troubles communicating with others (also not on the spectrum), understanding them (even jokes and sarcasm) and feeling empathy/emotions for others.

When I was 10 years old, I still had some real struggles (mostly: anxiety disorder) but went to a regular primary school and was functioning quite okay in 'normal and social life'. Therefore my diagnosis was changed from classical autism to PDD-NOS by another psychologist.

Aged 14 I overcame all of my fears but had troubles accepting myself instead (blame it on the puberty as well). My autism made my self-esteem reallyyyy low, also because of others telling me what autism should be like. Those weren't only classmates but also recommendable adults such as psychologists. Most things they would say would have the same underlying message (not to insult anyone here, I think it's not true but this was said to me): 'yeah, you have autism so you're a low-functioning human being and please don't make too big future plans because you will hurt yourself with that. You'll never come far in this life.'

As a result I started pushing the diagnosis away, hiding it for myself and other people. I wanted to be 'normal', I wanted to 'reach things in life and have a future' and I was told that it was impossible with my diagnosis. So when another psychologist (yep, I've seen a lot of them in my 23 years on this globe) said to me: 'I don't think you're actually autistic' it was the only sentence I needed to erase my whole past and start a new life. It was good for my self-esteem for sure. For a short time... Because of course you can't erase autism just like that (would be nice, right?) Since that moment I'm wandering. I tell myself and others that I have 'Sasha Lewis syndrome' because I feel more comfortable with that at the moment than I feel with autism. But naming your syndrome after yourself also makes.... lonely. So here I am again, almost ten years after successfully dumping my autism-diagnosis in the garbage can (or so I thought).

90% of the 4-year-old girl is gone now. No one in my surroundings, except my family, knows of my past and no one ever noticed something 'odd' so far. It feels really arrogant to say but I think that I'm quite 'high-functioning' at the moment and living the life of so many others out of the spectrum. But there is this 10% remained that only I or my really really close relatives (mostly my parents or best friends) will notice. This and my past keep raising questions to me about who I really am: am I autistic? If no, what's it then (I don't think Sasha Lewis Syndrome really exists ;-))? How did I turn from a kid with almost every ASD-symptom to an adult with almost none? So yeah, still wandering.

If you've read all of the above... Mad respect my friend, it was quite a long-read But since I keep it a secret for like almost the entire world at the moment also quite nice to write down for once.

 

[Isadoorian]

Hi everyone!

My name is Sasha, I'm from The Netherlands (and quarter British) and I'm 23 years old. I expect to get my degree in Journalism within a month and currently work as a parliamentary journalist over here.

Even though things are going quite well in my life at the moment, I keep wandering in a search for who I am. And I still haven't got the right answer. Me being not sure whether I'm autistic or not and finding people 'maybe like me' brought me here. I'm looking forward to joining convo's and meeting people here!

For those interested in more details:
I was diagnosed with classical autism when I was 4 and went to medical daycare because of that diagnosis. When I read back the reports and see videos of my at that time I fully agree on why psychologists would say so. It seemed like the descriptions of 'what is autism' were written for me. One exception: I have never had troubles communicating with others (also not on the spectrum), understanding them (even jokes and sarcasm) and feeling empathy/emotions for others.

When I was 10 years old, I still had some real struggles (mostly: anxiety disorder) but went to a regular primary school and was functioning quite okay in 'normal and social life'. Therefore my diagnosis was changed from classical autism to PDD-NOS by another psychologist.

Aged 14 I overcame all of my fears but had troubles accepting myself instead (blame it on the puberty as well). My autism made my self-esteem reallyyyy low, also because of others telling me what autism should be like. Those weren't only classmates but also recommendable adults such as psychologists. Most things they would say would have the same underlying message (not to insult anyone here, I think it's not true but this was said to me): 'yeah, you have autism so you're a low-functioning human being and please don't make too big future plans because you will hurt yourself with that. You'll never come far in this life.'

As a result I started pushing the diagnosis away, hiding it for myself and other people. I wanted to be 'normal', I wanted to 'reach things in life and have a future' and I was told that it was impossible with my diagnosis. So when another psychologist (yep, I've seen a lot of them in my 23 years on this globe) said to me: 'I don't think you're actually autistic' it was the only sentence I needed to erase my whole past and start a new life. It was good for my self-esteem for sure. For a short time... Because of course you can't erase autism just like that (would be nice, right?) Since that moment I'm wandering. I tell myself and others that I have 'Sasha Lewis syndrome' because I feel more comfortable with that at the moment than I feel with autism. But naming your syndrome after yourself also makes.... lonely. So here I am again, almost ten years after successfully dumping my autism-diagnosis in the garbage can (or so I thought).

90% of the 4-year-old girl is gone now. No one in my surroundings, except my family, knows of my past and no one ever noticed something 'odd' so far. It feels really arrogant to say but I think that I'm quite 'high-functioning' at the moment and living the life of so many others out of the spectrum. But there is this 10% remained that only I or my really really close relatives (mostly my parents or best friends) will notice. This and my past keep raising questions to me about who I really am: am I autistic? If no, what's it then (I don't think Sasha Lewis Syndrome really exists ;-))? How did I turn from a kid with almost every ASD-symptom to an adult with almost none? So yeah, still wandering.

If you've read all of the above... Mad respect my friend, it was quite a long-read But since I keep it a secret for like almost the entire world at the moment also quite nice to write down for once.

Welcome to the Forums! I hope you make new friends and enjoy your stay in the process!

 

[Aspychata]

Hey l missed out on this. l never properly introduced myself. I have social withdrawal big time and l didn't know it was a redeeming feature of Autism. I used to get headaches around a lot of people as a teen like in a major downtown city. I was painfully shy in high school. I took a rather unconventional job maybe because of being on the spectrum, but it actually helped my social skills. I have suffer from many different things happening to me but l try to keep moving forward! I am always seeing patterns in anything. l am totally cool with looking at huge amounts of computer code for the sheer interest. l like studying legal contracts. Anyways, sorry about being late to the intro!!

 

[Streetwise]

To @Sasha Lewis I'm the progeny of two English ,ancestor of Welsh, English, Scottish, probably Bavarian,so some relatives were called Lewis, more important to me is the person's character! so I have another surname, the comments on the internet can be vile! so I don't like giving my name .

 

[Sasha Lewis]

To @Sasha Lewis I'm the progeny of two English ,ancestor of Welsh, English, Scottish, probably Bavarian,so some relatives were called Lewis, more important to me is the person's character! so I have another surname, the comments on the internet can be vile! so I don't like giving my name .

Interesting! I fully agree with you, Sasha Lewis is my British name but in The Netherlands I'm known under another (more Dutch) name so it's still quite anonymous here. It's not entirely a fake name but people that know me won't recognise me from it.

Oh and btw, my family is English indeed.

 

[hippychick]

Hi
I have just joined the site. I am a female, age 54. I hope to find like-minded people to interact with.