HI:-)

[RidgefieldRyno]

Good morning. I'm Ryan and I was recently diagnosed with autism. I'm 49 and my diagnosis hit me out of the blue and I'm having a really hard time processing it. While it puts my entire life into perspective, and cognitively I understand that the diagnosis doesn't change who I am, it's still a mind F that is all consuming and hard for me to understand.
Sorry for the verbal vomit. Not sure this is even the place for this.
BUT... Hi everyone! I'm happy to have found a place where I feel accepted and free to be me.
Ryan

 

[Neonatal RRT]

Welcome Ryan

You're not alone. However, as a person who wasn't diagnosed until I was 52, I always had some sense that I was, in some way, autistic. You and I come from a generation where the only people who were autistic were people with significant deficits, a few with savantism. We didn't fit that mold. Asperger's condition wasn't even a thing until the 1990's and I never met anyone with Asperger's until one of my son's friends came over to the house when they were kids,...that was around 2010. Even then, his personality and mannerisms where not consistent with mine,...but, I was some 35 years older than this kid. The only time I felt "autistic" was when I was sick, felt like crap, was mentally exhausted,...then it came out. I can remember watching a medical documentary on childhood autism and as they were describing it, I could totally relate,...but I didn't act like them,...so for years I wasn't sure what to think. It wasn't until we were doing some restructuring at the hospital, efficiency experts came in,...and it resulted in a significant increase in workload,...it was then that my autism started to come out as I was mentally exhausted. A co-worker who had a son with autism had suggested that I had some similar traits and to take the on-line Autism Quotient test,...which I ended up spectacularly "autistic". That prompted me to seek out a psychologist that specialized in adult autism,...and found out some very interesting things about myself,...which I actually found quite helpful.

 

[Luca]

Hi Ryan, welcome!
No worries about the verbal diarrhea, that seems to be a specialty of mine too lol.
Hope you enjoy it here!
- Luca

 

[Thinx]

Hi and welcome. This is a good place to find out more and have discussions with others on the autistic spectrum. I hope you enjoy it here and find it useful and supportive. Yes you are completely right you are who you always were, it's the way autism is often viewed that makes us feel bad about the label, and most of that is myths and misunderstandings. Chillax!

 

[VictorR]

Welcome!

 

[Nitro]

 

[Suzette]

Howdy!
I am 54 and just fit the puzzle pieces together this year. For me, it was a huge relief! But I do find that I am seeing many of my lifes experiences in a different way and I probably will for some time to come.
Hey, there is a reason we are as we are. How cool is that?!

 

[SusanLR]

Welcome Ryan!

I wasn't diagnosed until age 56 and felt the same mixed emotions.
Our generation's ideas of what autism was is the reason why it seems strange to hear that
at first.
And then they were calling it Asperger's when I was diagnosed, which gives an idea of location on the spectrum scale.
Now that has been clinically taken away, so that was rather confusing.
Most of us still call ourselves Aspies.

 

[Alexej]

Hi @Ryan
Welcome to the Forums
I was diagnosed 2 years ago and am still comping to terms with it all

 

[watersprite]

Welcome.