eriley74
Member
Hi everybody and Happy New Year,
My name is Eric. I was officially diagnosed with Asperger's a few years ago. My 14 y.o. daughter was diagnosed with high-functioning autism 8 years ago with inadvertent help from her teacher, a kid fresh out of college with zero training in handling ASD students.
Basically, I'm here for 3 reasons:
1.) Community. It's awfully lonely in Alabama's Bible Belt for folks like daughter and me who try to navigate the subtle pressures of forced socialization in the workplace, schools, church, and small-town life in general. Anyone who is the slightest bit out of line is an easy target for ostracization, bullying, and shunning. Indeed, my Asperger's played a major role in my dismissal from my job (pharmacy tech in a mom-and-pop drugstore) back in September.
2.) Advice. I need to learn how to navigate the job market and to learn how to bolster my social skills and reduce anxiety in the workplace. Ultimately, I need to pass these lessons on to my daughters (my middle daughter suffers from generalized anxiety disorder). So, any help would be...well...helpful.
3.) Advocacy. I want to learn from others about their life experiences dealing with the dominant, and oftentimes overbearing, neurotypical culture. This way, I can write more fully developed characters and plots for my short stories and novels. My current novel project is about an autistic high school girl who learns how to discern genuine friendship and to advocate for herself while preparing for a school art contest. Any insights and advice would also be welcome.
That's me in a nutshell. I must give thanks to my wife for helping me to identify my Asperger's and for being a patient cheerleader as I finally learn how to walk the thin line between being sociable and being introverted. Hope to meet some of you soon.
My name is Eric. I was officially diagnosed with Asperger's a few years ago. My 14 y.o. daughter was diagnosed with high-functioning autism 8 years ago with inadvertent help from her teacher, a kid fresh out of college with zero training in handling ASD students.
Basically, I'm here for 3 reasons:
1.) Community. It's awfully lonely in Alabama's Bible Belt for folks like daughter and me who try to navigate the subtle pressures of forced socialization in the workplace, schools, church, and small-town life in general. Anyone who is the slightest bit out of line is an easy target for ostracization, bullying, and shunning. Indeed, my Asperger's played a major role in my dismissal from my job (pharmacy tech in a mom-and-pop drugstore) back in September.
2.) Advice. I need to learn how to navigate the job market and to learn how to bolster my social skills and reduce anxiety in the workplace. Ultimately, I need to pass these lessons on to my daughters (my middle daughter suffers from generalized anxiety disorder). So, any help would be...well...helpful.
3.) Advocacy. I want to learn from others about their life experiences dealing with the dominant, and oftentimes overbearing, neurotypical culture. This way, I can write more fully developed characters and plots for my short stories and novels. My current novel project is about an autistic high school girl who learns how to discern genuine friendship and to advocate for herself while preparing for a school art contest. Any insights and advice would also be welcome.
That's me in a nutshell. I must give thanks to my wife for helping me to identify my Asperger's and for being a patient cheerleader as I finally learn how to walk the thin line between being sociable and being introverted. Hope to meet some of you soon.
