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Don't Be Shy To Introduce Yourself

Bellattrice said:
Hi all,

I'm 39 and I live in The Netherlands. I got my diagnosis a few months ago. I had no idea I was autistic. When I was child I was often bullied because I was different, I was often in my own world, I struggled making friends, I was clumsy. I tried to cover it all up to feel more socially acceptable. However I would spend a lot of time at home where I could hide and feel safe from the overstimulation of the outside world. I found a lot of obstacles along the way and still do. I know I have a lot to learn about myself and my autism but I’m very positive about joining this community, because I see it as a chance to learn from others by sharing ideas, thoughts and solutions with like-minded people.
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Welcome, Bellatrice. I am happy to have a forum like this from which to learn about other people on the spectrum and their life hacks.
 
Sunny1 said:
Welcome, Bellatrice. I am happy to have a forum like this from which to learn about other people on the spectrum and their life hacks.
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Thank you Sunny1! Yes, I'm really excited to be part of this community. It seems like a place where to learn and share in a friendly and supportive environment.
 
I have a tendency to struggle with things like change and learning to say a simple hello. Why? Some may wonder, but for me it is because I struggle to understand and appreciate things like small talk and societal norms. Can I do these things in real life? When I need to, yes, but its cost is immense. I am autistic and I deal with what might be viewed as a Sithian brain. I either speak in tangential info dumps or I don't speak much beyond monosyllabic replies.

I can mask well enough to convince most people that I number among those considered normal, but then a subject I like and/or relate to comes up, my inner goblin rubs its fingers in malicious glee and whips open the card catalog that lives in my head. (Insert info dump tangent). Conversation stops dead, all eyes are now fixed on the source of the interruption. Countless years of this nightmare scenario allow me to read the faces staring back at me...

The most common remark: How the hell do know these facts and why? Who brought the know-it-all? Who's the weirdo? Why are you speaking? What planet are you from and why are you talking? Think Luna Lovegood, but with the consciousness to know that those around you see you for the freak you are.

Thusly, I do much better buried in my books or pretending to be part of the nearest wall. I am hyperlexic and have been from a very early age, but it is things like nuance that I really struggle with. This is why I make much more sense using my keyboard than I ever have using my voice. My fingers move as quickly as my brain; it allows me proofread and deer check the awkwardness through a filter that my brain is missing.
 
Darkkin said:
I have a tendency to struggle with things like change and learning to say a simple hello. Why? Some may wonder, but for me it is because I struggle to understand and appreciate things like small talk and societal norms. Can I do these things in real life? When I need to, yes, but its cost is immense. I am autistic and I deal with what might be viewed as a Sithian brain. I either speak in tangential info dumps or I don't speak much beyond monosyllabic replies.

I can mask well enough to convince most people that I number among those considered normal, but then a subject I like and/or relate to comes up, my inner goblin rubs its fingers in malicious glee and whips open the card catalog that lives in my head. (Insert info dump tangent). Conversation stops dead, all eyes are now fixed on the source of the interruption. Countless years of this nightmare scenario allow me to read the faces staring back at me...

The most common remark: How the hell do know these facts and why? Who brought the know-it-all? Who's the weirdo? Why are you speaking? What planet are you from and why are you talking? Think Luna Lovegood, but with the consciousness to know that those around you see you for the freak you are.

Thusly, I do much better buried in my books or pretending to be part of the nearest wall. I am hyperlexic and have been from a very early age, but it is things like nuance that I really struggle with. This is why I make much more sense using my keyboard than I ever have using my voice. My fingers move as quickly as my brain; it allows me proofread and deer check the awkwardness through a filter that my brain is missing.
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You are exactly like me!!!
 
Hi everyone, my name is Finn. I'm 19 and received a formal diagnosis for mild Asperger's last March. I have difficulty making friends and reading social cues
 
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Finn Hoffman said:
Hi everyone, my name is Finn. I'm 19 and received a formal diagnosis for mild Asperger's last March. I have difficulty making friends and reading social cues
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Go to the search button top right hand corner type in what ever you want to know its been discussed here in the last 12 years
 
Hi! I just joined this forum. Have a few diagnosed aspergers in the extended family and have more undiagnosed in close family whom I'm very sure are on the high functioning end of the spectrum. Then there's me. 59, undiagnosed and always thought I had ADHD. Went for an ADHD diagnosis 2 years ago. The psychologist said if I had come 20 years before I'd definitely get the diagnosis, but I had learned to cope so well, he didn'twant to give it to me if I didn't need it.

I've also wondered about aspergers, and reconized a couple things. So yeah... but then I read a site about women with aspergers and it just hit me in the face. Wow! I saw sooo many things. All of a sudden I could connect the dots.
I function well. When I was a kid I had no social skills at all. Around 14 I started to get how you can just go along with everyone as best you can and then things work better. I still get worn out by people and often feel a glitch in social skills, espc. with groups of people. But I do so well, that the few I've mentioned it to don't get what I'm talking about. They think I'm NT. That's why I signed up here. I'd love to compare notes with someone high functioning who can understand. I've also started to realize how much I've been mirroring people to fit in... and wonder what will happen when I try to find me underneath all that.
 
HI and Welcome @Me3

There are quite a few folk in here who are diagnosed later in life. Do pull up a chair to the table and make yourself at home, and join in the conversations. Your questions and comments are valid and there is wisdom among us in here
 
Hi

My name is Martin. I was officially diagnosed with Asperger's in October 2019, just before a global pandemic, great timing!

Until 2012 ish I had not heard or Autism or Asperger's and was oblivious to them. My nephew was diagnosed as autistic and started to do things I couldn't deal with. My Mum tried to explain it to me and as she was reeling off it is the reason's why he did what he did, she was slowing down as the penny started to drop... a lot of what she listed I did as well.

At first I ignored this, I'd made it this far in life, despite lots of issues, what did it matter?

Then, I started to think about it and some of stupid stuff I had said over the years without realising why, and it started to make more sense.

That and some other reasons I am still not sure about I decided to peruse a diagnosis.

As lots of people have said, I really struggle to make friends. I have 3 close friends (two very local and 1 distant) but they all came along later in life, during the earlier part of life up to my mid twenties I had no real friends and never really went out at the weekends like normal people. As a result if I go out now, I tend to get so wrapped up in the situation that I almost always end up making a complete fool of myself. Case in point, I was out with good friends on Friday night and genuinely totally lost track of who's round it was and a mate picked it up because I had already collected drinks and started walking off.

Which brings me onto what happened next. I do not understand emotion's, I once had counselling and the counsellor asked me how something made me feel. I spent quite a while 5-10 minutes answering the question and she said that was all very interesting, but it was what I thought, not what I feel. Suddenly I realised I do not understand emotions. Probably the one I understand the least is love. As a result of the above, I had an argument with my wife, or more specifically she had an argument with me, I realised I had screwed up again, didn't know how to process it and, did my usual thing of running off.

It has happened before, but always at home, this time we were away and I spend the night wandering around the town for a few hours before falling asleep on a bench in the hotel grounds to be found by my wife and friends searching in the morning.

That has been bugging and led me to think about it, because I do not understand emotions, specifically love, I do not understand how you can argue with somebody you love, so when it happens I just shut down. Which led to google for answers, which lead to Maslow's Hierarchy of Need's and loving fulfilling relationships is 3rd in the pile, which in turn as led me here.

Ok, I think I have finished waffling on now.

(Asperger's sufferer waffling for hours shocker!)
 
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Hello everyone!! I'm Cathy. I'm not on the spectrum and I only registered because I want to ask some advice to help my younger autistic brother. I really like reading, cats and nature.
 
Hey everyone, My name is Taylor. I am not sure if im Autistic or not but i have been told by people through the years that i am and may need to go get tested. I been told i dont understand social cues, that its hard to conversate with me. I been told when i talk i make no sense. I am socially awkward. I been bullied alot in life. People have said that im slow. I am sensitive to loud noises and sensitive to what people say as well. I also had a hard time in school. It was very hard to keep my grades up. When i was a kid i was diagnosed with A.D.D but now im starting to think maybe i was misdiagnosed.


I also copy other people alot. Act like them and talk like them. I don't realize it until after the fact or if its pointed out to me.


Maybe someone on here can help me and help me identify if i am Autistic or not.
 
Hello, my name is Zach, I was diagnosed when I was a child. I love science fiction, history and video games. There does not seem to be a lot of forums for people on the spectrum, so it is kind of nice finding one.
 
Hello Everyone,
My name is Marty. I've been diagnosed for as long as I can remember and never really thought of my autistic side till recently. I guess that I'm here to figure out where my Aspergers fits in the puzzle of me
 
I was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder as an adult. Growing up I was treated for severe social anxiety and OCD that didn't respond to medication. Doctors ignored my mom when she insisted something was different about me. I've always been very deeply immersed in various scifi and fantasy series and churned out an absurd amount of fanfiction in my teen years instead of doing "normal" things like making friends. It really wasn't until my later years at university that I developed an interest in other people. Despite my best attempts to mimic the appearance and behavior of those I wanted to be friends with, I had no success and didn't understand why. Until I got my diagnosis.
 
Hello! My name is Mattie Rose, but please call me Rose. I am (for now) a self-diagnosed autistic. I'm beginning the journey of obtaining a full diagnosis, and I'm scared that it's going to take me a long time. I have been diagnosed with GAD/MDD (since age 15) and ADHD (this year), but I've been suspecting ADHD and autism for the last two years.

I'm a registered nurse and I work in a mental health facility. I have one beagle, and I'm adopting another one on Thursday! I love learning (about animals, my favorite band/artists, mental health/psychology, and more), and I love staying in my apartment where it's safe :)
 
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