Hello Everyone:
Apologies in advance for the long post:
Some will get the reference I make in my title for this thread. Expanding on that title, I can assure everyone I'm not a "man of wealth", I may be a man of "taste" and I'm certainly not Lucifer.
I might have posted an introduction when I joined initially, but I don't recall and I think it would have been back when I was self-diagnosed. I have since received a professional diagnosis of ASD Level 1 without cognitive impairment. I received that diagnosis when I was 48.
I'm male and have been married for 18 years. My wife is NT, although she has some social challenges and values "alone time" and as such, personality traits she has are compatible with traits that I have. I would consider her an atypical neurotypical. One of our children has the same diagnosis as me.
I've been gainfully employed in many different jobs through the years and have been actively working for the past 34 years. I have been working in the same field (insurance/finance/risk management) for the past 25 years. I have been in management in part for ten years up until 15 months ago when I changed jobs. I started developing autistic burnout (before I knew what it was) ten years ago due to an extreme level of multi-faceted job responsibilities in a job that was very high stress for me. Being a salaried employee in a small company I had not taken any vacation in thirteen years which added to my burnout. It got to the point about a year and a half ago where I very nearly had an actual nervous breakdown and decided something had to change. I changed jobs in the same field and have been a "line-level" employee with no management responsibilities with the company I now work for. Even though I don't like this field I've been working in (it pays the bills), my new position has been far less stressful for me and with better benefits. In negotiating my position prior to starting work I was approved for taking a daily lunchtime walk, an essential and valued part of my routine and was approved to work a four day work week (Monday-Thursday) which greatly helped to alleviate the burnout that I'd experienced. I was also given an office with a door to help with focusing on my work. As such, I did not need to disclose my autism to my employer since I needed to reasonable accommodations at that time.
As a result of the Covid-19 virus, I asked for and was granted approval to work from home on 3.17.20. I have been working from home ever since. The type of work I do is considered "essential" by my state so the boss did insist that other workers continue to report to the office. My timing in my request was apparently perfect. However my coworkers, one especially, have been incensed by not being able to work from home too.
I've found that working from home has changed my life for the better. My stress/anxiety level is virtually nonexistent. I occasionally meet with my autism therapist (via telehealth now) and she agreed that working from home is of such obvious benefit to me that it's a reasonable accommodation under the ADA for me to continue to work from home permanently. She drafted a letter and I recently gave that letter to my employer, disclosing my diagnosis to my boss and asking for permanent work at home status. He granted it. I feel very good not only about being able to continue to work from home, but also to have disclosed my diagnosis to my employer. At this point I have no idea of my coworkers have been told of my diagnosis. I don't care if they know or not.
Enough boring talk about my work.
I enjoy cooking, music, walking, gardening and working outside. I'm branching out into a new special interest of video and photography. I find that my body and well being are best after regular and vigorous exercise and good nutrition.
I suffer from lifelong tinnitus, hyperacusis and PTSD due to two separate instances of being a victim of gun violence and childhood trauma.
I've spent a great deal of time on the Wrong Planet forum, but I'm moving over here because I like it here more.
I organized a face to face adult autism group in my area and had our first (and last) face to face meeting right before the virus became an issue. I hope at some point that I'll be able to reactive my group as it was a very rewarding thing.
One more thing: I picked my screen name, Magna, which can mean "loud" in Latin. With my sensitivities to sound (I wear earplugs in public), the world is a very loud place to me.
Thank you to all who read this. I hope to provide value as a member to this forum.
Apologies in advance for the long post:
Some will get the reference I make in my title for this thread. Expanding on that title, I can assure everyone I'm not a "man of wealth", I may be a man of "taste" and I'm certainly not Lucifer.
I might have posted an introduction when I joined initially, but I don't recall and I think it would have been back when I was self-diagnosed. I have since received a professional diagnosis of ASD Level 1 without cognitive impairment. I received that diagnosis when I was 48.
I'm male and have been married for 18 years. My wife is NT, although she has some social challenges and values "alone time" and as such, personality traits she has are compatible with traits that I have. I would consider her an atypical neurotypical. One of our children has the same diagnosis as me.
I've been gainfully employed in many different jobs through the years and have been actively working for the past 34 years. I have been working in the same field (insurance/finance/risk management) for the past 25 years. I have been in management in part for ten years up until 15 months ago when I changed jobs. I started developing autistic burnout (before I knew what it was) ten years ago due to an extreme level of multi-faceted job responsibilities in a job that was very high stress for me. Being a salaried employee in a small company I had not taken any vacation in thirteen years which added to my burnout. It got to the point about a year and a half ago where I very nearly had an actual nervous breakdown and decided something had to change. I changed jobs in the same field and have been a "line-level" employee with no management responsibilities with the company I now work for. Even though I don't like this field I've been working in (it pays the bills), my new position has been far less stressful for me and with better benefits. In negotiating my position prior to starting work I was approved for taking a daily lunchtime walk, an essential and valued part of my routine and was approved to work a four day work week (Monday-Thursday) which greatly helped to alleviate the burnout that I'd experienced. I was also given an office with a door to help with focusing on my work. As such, I did not need to disclose my autism to my employer since I needed to reasonable accommodations at that time.
As a result of the Covid-19 virus, I asked for and was granted approval to work from home on 3.17.20. I have been working from home ever since. The type of work I do is considered "essential" by my state so the boss did insist that other workers continue to report to the office. My timing in my request was apparently perfect. However my coworkers, one especially, have been incensed by not being able to work from home too.
I've found that working from home has changed my life for the better. My stress/anxiety level is virtually nonexistent. I occasionally meet with my autism therapist (via telehealth now) and she agreed that working from home is of such obvious benefit to me that it's a reasonable accommodation under the ADA for me to continue to work from home permanently. She drafted a letter and I recently gave that letter to my employer, disclosing my diagnosis to my boss and asking for permanent work at home status. He granted it. I feel very good not only about being able to continue to work from home, but also to have disclosed my diagnosis to my employer. At this point I have no idea of my coworkers have been told of my diagnosis. I don't care if they know or not.
Enough boring talk about my work.
I enjoy cooking, music, walking, gardening and working outside. I'm branching out into a new special interest of video and photography. I find that my body and well being are best after regular and vigorous exercise and good nutrition.
I suffer from lifelong tinnitus, hyperacusis and PTSD due to two separate instances of being a victim of gun violence and childhood trauma.
I've spent a great deal of time on the Wrong Planet forum, but I'm moving over here because I like it here more.
I organized a face to face adult autism group in my area and had our first (and last) face to face meeting right before the virus became an issue. I hope at some point that I'll be able to reactive my group as it was a very rewarding thing.
One more thing: I picked my screen name, Magna, which can mean "loud" in Latin. With my sensitivities to sound (I wear earplugs in public), the world is a very loud place to me.
Thank you to all who read this. I hope to provide value as a member to this forum.
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